The capacity map of NetbeheerNL highlights widespread grid congestion in the Netherlands, with nearly all regions lacking available electricity transport capacity for new connections. This imbalance between supply and demand prevents companies—and soon households in Gelderland—from accessing the grid. At the same time, the energy transition is shifting the system from a centralized model to a hybrid one, incorporating decentralized technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage. This shift increases the need for space and places greater demands on the energy infrastructure. These developments underscore the need to integrate energy and spatial planning. However, the two domains currently operate independently. Energy infrastructure is typically installed after spatial developments, often resulting in delays due to unavailable grid capacity. The integration is further complicated by a fragmented stakeholder landscape with diverse interests, distributed responsibilities, and communication barriers. Improving collaboration is essential for effective integration. This research explores stakeholder perspectives on how to better align energy and spatial planning in the province of Gelderland. The central research question is: What are the perspectives on how to improve the integration of spatial planning and energy in Gelderland, the Netherlands? To define these perspectives, Q-methodology was used, in combination with literature review, desk research, and interviews. 

The first perspective (“Directive Design”) advocates for a proactive, top-down governance approach in which higher governmental bodies. It emphasizes the importance of governance process and structure, and transparency in sharing information. The second perspective (“Relational Pragmatism”) underscores the importance of informal collaboration between key actors—such as grid operators and spatial planners—in achieving effective integration. In addition, a balance between short-term and long-term goals is essential. The third perspective (“Adaptive Alignment”) advocates for a long-term, goal-oriented approach with a focus on stakeholder involvement—such as relevant stakeholders related to the specific issue. Effective communication, understanding, and trust is essential. In this perspective, the province and the grid operator are considered more influential. 

The results of the research also determined some areas for further research. These recommendations consider expanding the scope of the research, analyzing a more in-depth cross-sector analysis including the interdependencies, and focusing more in-depth on what energy integrated into spatial planning may look like. Beyond the defined perspectives, the research confirms that the integration of energy in spatial planning is not solely a technical or procedural challenge, but a political issue, making the integration largely dictated by political considerations. Therefore, further research regarding political decision-making in energy and spatial planning would be interesting. Furthermore, further research may be interesting to determine the roles of key stakeholders without formal authorities, such as grid operators and RES regions, in a political issue. Finally, further research is interesting regarding the influence of professional background on the view of stakeholders. 

The water and sanitation sector faces well-documented issues that are challenging to address, leading to the establishment of the Platform of Vocational Excellence (PoVE) Water. This platform brings together five regional Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) Water in Europe and South Africa to ensure high-quality skills and competencies in the water sector. These CoVEs facilitate collaboration among stakeholders, enabling the development of vocational education and training programs to increase awareness, responsiveness to industry needs, and address sector challenges. A few months ago, CoVE Water SA was established in South Africa to achieve the previously mentioned goals. Therefore, it is important that the following research question is answered in this initial set-up phase: What actions need to be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the CoVE Water SA?
To answer this research question, several important stakeholders were interviewed. Subsequently, the interviews were analysed thematically in order to extract the most important themes and quotes, PI grids were created to assess power and interest dynamics among stakeholders, and a Social Network Analysis was conducted to understand the CoVE Water SA network and potential clusters.

The research findings have unveiled key aspects for enhancing the effectiveness of CoVE Water SA. The current network in the water sector has a low density, implying that many collaborations are lacking. This leads to a high degree of interdependence within the network, resulting in a non dynamic system. The lack of collaborations, such as connections with TVET colleges, schools, farmers and local communities, results in a lack of knowledge, funding and connection to the labour market. Governmental stakeholders, like DWS, EWSeta, and BGCMA, have been identified as influential players with extensive networks and important resources, Local Authorities and Research Organizations also play important roles. Universities exhibit substantial international links, making them crucial contributors. These stakeholders have the potential to provide knowledge, collaboration, and power. These are valuable insights for CoVE Water SA, fostering network growth and effectiveness in the water sector.

Furthermore, six key themes have been derived from the conducted interviews, addressing the needs of stakeholders and where CoVE can make a valuable contribution.
These themes include raising awareness, reducing the skills gap in the water sector, fostering international collaborations, mitigating the labour shortage in the water sector, improving education material and establishing desired collaborations. For each theme, the interviewed stakeholders have presented their views and numerous suggestions on how CoVE Water SA can assist in addressing these issues. Additionally, stakeholders have also mentioned possible failures of CoVE Water SA, which can aid in preventing any shortcomings of the platform. Furthermore, stakeholders mentioned ongoing initiatives related to the six themes, through which they can contribute to the platform.

From the Thematic Analysis, PI Grids and the SNA, a set of actions have emerged that are essential for enhancing the effectiveness of CoVE Water SA. These actions revolve around expanding and enhancing the network, organising activities and contributing to educational improvement. In terms of broadening and strengthening the network, the platform should focus on enhancing the collaborations among educational groups, building stronger relations with international institutions in Europe and Africa, involving TVETs and schools within the water network, improving stakeholder involvement and encouraging the involvement of Local Communities to increase awareness and knowledge about water issues. Furthermore, CoVE Water SA should play a role in organising activities to raise awareness of Water Resource Management. Additionally, it should assist in improving curricula, supporting students’ preparation for the workforce and making the education more practical instead of only theoretical. CoVE Water SA should also provide training and learning resources as well as comprehensive courses.

However, this study recognizes several limitations that should be considered in future research and when implementing recommendations for CoVE Water SA. These limitations encompass factors like a limited scope due to resource and time constraints, minimal varied interviewee responses, and potential biases in responses. Addressing these limitations will be crucial in guiding future research and actions for CoVE Water SA.