Multimodal mobility hubs are increasingly promoted as sustainable solutions to reduce car dependency, yet many do not align with user needs due to limited public involvement in the design process. To see if the planning of hubs can align with community preferences, this study performs a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) focused on the Dutch city of Zwolle. PVE makes it accessible for a large and diverse group of citizens to be involved in policy issues and decision making. Through two choice tasks, participants allocated limited resources among various hub design options, reflecting real constraints and trade-offs faced by decision-makers. The PVE set-up is grounded in structural and functional components of four European mobility hubs, innovatively using the Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework as a learning tool. Latent Class Cluster Analysis (LCCA) revealed preference-based user segments, ranging from bike- and public transport enthusiast to mainly car-oriented users. Despite varied priorities, all clusters emphasized the importance of physical and social safety, and core amenities like public toilets, parking and public transport integration. Qualitative analysis showed respondents reasoning behind numerical choices, highlighting once more, concerns about safety. Expert interviews confirmed PVE's relevance as a practical planning tool, especially when implemented in the right phase of hub design. While sample representativeness and expert diversity were limited, the findings suggest that integrating PVE into recurring planning cycles can improve the social legitimacy and effectiveness of mobility hubs. This research offers a replicable framework for embedding community values in urban transport planning, with implications extending to other Dutch and European contexts.

(S) The global transition to a carbon-neutral economy increasingly relies on alternatives such as hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. However, hydrogen production through electrolysis requires ultrapure water, which places additional stress on freshwater resources that are already under pressure due to population growth, urbanisation, and climate change. Over 2.7 billion people are affected by water scarcity yearly and this poses major challenges to human health, socio-economic development, and environmental stability.
Desalination of seawater is a promising solution to produce the required water. However, water desalination also produces a high-salinity byproduct called brine. Consequently, traditional discharge methods threaten marine ecosystems with brine disposal. New desalination approaches such as Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and Minimal Liquid Discharge (MLD) technologies offer a potential to mitigate environmental harms with brine by reducing or even eliminating the liquid waste. However, these systems require a lot of technologies placed in series with energy demand which makes the new approach expensive. This leads to concerns about the economic feasibility of MLD and ZLD technologies. (C) Most studies evaluating MLD and ZLD systems rely on Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA). TEA methods focus on capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX). The downside of TEA is that it often fails to capture broader societal and environmental externalities such as marine degradation from brine discharge or benefits of freshwater recovery in water-stressed regions. Furthermore, the choice between ZLD and MLD is also very complicated. ZLD achieves higher recovery rates than MLD and single water desalinations but at the same its technological complexity and high energy consumption make it a difficult application. In contrast, MLD systems offer lower recovery rates but may present a more cost-effective and feasible solution. Despite this, the literature lacks a more societal and environmental application such as a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to assess whether the broader societal value of MLD systems justifies their higher costs. This absence represents a significant knowledge gap in the literature and policy evaluation. (Q) To address this knowledge gap, the following research question is formulated which focuses on Nanofiltration (NF) and Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) as the core technologies for MLD, in order to keep the research feasible within the 21-week timeframe of this study: "What are the societal costs and benefits of Minimal Liquid Discharge (MLD) technologies, with a focus on Nanofiltration (NF) and Multi-Effect Distillation (MED), for hydrogen production?" (A) This thesis applies a CBA framework to assess the economic and societal viability of two MLD configurations. The first MLD is a stand-alone MED system and the second MLD a hybrid NF-MED system. The research uses a mixed-methods approach by combining a structured literature review with expert interviews to identify and validate cost elements, operational parameters, and environmental impacts. All cost elements of the CBA including CAPEX, OPEX, and environmental externalities were monetised, so the Net Present Value (NPV) of the two MLDs can be calculated. The CBA demonstrates that while both systems carry significant upfront and operational costs, the standalone MED and the hybrid NF-MED result in positive NPVs. The hybrid NF-MED MLD results in higher water recovery at reduced steam cost per unit of ultrapure water because of the opportunity to operate at higher temperatures. The COSEM Master Thesis Minimal Liquid Discharge for Hydrogen Production results show that wider benefits, such as protecting ecosystems and saving freshwater, can make up for the high upfront costs. Especially if certain conditions are met such as access to green electricity or free waste heat. However, this is dependent on which individuals have standing in the CBA and how they value the wider benefits. The study also shows that using only a TEA gives an incomplete picture, because it leaves out these important environmental and social benefits. (R) This research recommends the adoption of CBA as a complementary tool to TEA in evaluating MLD systems, especially in sustainability sectors like hydrogen production. Policymakers should consider regulatory frameworks that internalise the environmental impact of brine discharge, making MLD systems financially more competitive. For project developers and investors, the hybrid NF-MED system represents a promising solution between conventional water desalination brine discharge and the more expensive ZLD. Further research should focus on scaling the pilot project with additional pre- and posttreatment, and exploring the integration of entirely renewable energy sources and alternative waste heat to further reduce OPEX.

Regional mobility hubs offer a promising solution to address growing mobility demands and sustainability challenges across urban and rural areas. While their potential is widely recognized, regional hubs often face the challenge of solving urban problems, such as congestion, through interventions located outside the city, leading to a mismatch between problem and solution space. This misalignment complicates local buy-in and contributes
to fragmented stakeholder collaboration across multiple governance levels. This research investigates how collaboration can be improved during the development and implementation
phases of regional mobility hubs. A conceptual collaboration framework was developed from literature and applied to a case study of the Brainporthubs in the Eindhoven region. The
findings reveal that relationship quality is a critical prerequisite for effective engagement, eventually leading to successful collaboration. Additionally, shared value creation, especially through integrated policy agendas, emerges as a key driver for stakeholder commitment. Based on these insights, the original framework was refined and translated into actionable strategies for both existing and future hub projects. This study contributes an evidencebased model and concrete strategies to enhance collaborative governance in complex transport initiatives.

People with a Disability (PwD) often rely on public transport, towards their need for accessibility policies. Knowledge about the user's perspective on accessibility policies is crucial to decide what is most urgent, yet remains limited. Hence, this study researches what accessibility policies people with a disability and citizens in general prefer. The preferences of citizens are relevant, for they illustrate public support for different accessibility measures.
To fill this knowledge gap, Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) is performed in the Netherlands. 1254 respondents, of whom 328 had a disability, advised policymakers on which accessibility policies are most urgent. In the PVE, participants could indicate for nine policy measures whether they should get more priority, subject to an effort constraint.
The results show that both PwD and citizens prioritised the repair of broken elevators most, followed by wheelchair accessible vehicles. These policies were prioritised despite the high effort required. The results show great homogeneity of results amongst different disabilities. Participants prioritised policies because of their perceived necessity and effectiveness in helping people with a disability use public transport. The research suggests that people prioritise more expensive, long-term policies that facilitate independent travel for most PwD, over less expensive measures that do not improve independence in the long term.
Policymakers and scholars are recommended to focus on the necessity and effectiveness of accessibility policies, prioritising long-term improvements.

Private rail sidings form the physical access gates for companies to the rail network. Without these rail freight, transport is not possible and these private sidings can be seen as an indicator of the competitiveness of rail transport. However, the number of private sidings has dropped significantly over the last decades, which limits the rail freight sector and the resilience of the rail network. A resilient rail network is important to reach societal goals such as emission reduction and less road nuisance. This research focuses on this problem by proposing concrete strategies to help the companies using rail transport and allow them to use their private sidings. Through the help of literature, data and stakeholder interviews, an Osterwalder business model canvas, SWOT analysis and TOWS matrix are constructed to identify the problems and propose strategies. Causal diagrams show the coherence of the sector and how problems, strategies and private sidings influence each other. The first result is a new way of categorising companies and their respective private sidings. This reveals the underlying problems and strengths per type of private siding. The most important problems are rising costs, unreliability of the rail network and limited usability of the private siding due to regulations and non-electrified infrastructure. To combat this, six strategies are proposed with the introduction of a second infrastructure manager to combat costs and regulations and specific infrastructure investments as the most promising strategies. Effective policies require tailored solutions based on the type of company and private siding. This can help the Dutch rail sector and increase the resilience of the transport network.

Transportation planning is increasingly incorporating public participation, with Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) emerging as a key method. However, the validity of PVE, particularly its face validity across different demographic groups, remains under-explored. This study addresses this gap by analyzing face validity evaluations from three recent PVE consultations in the Netherlands. Statistical analyses, content analysis, and expert discussions were employed to examine how factors such as age, gender, and education influence these evaluations. The findings indicate that while PVE is generally perceived positively, specific groups—particularly older adults and those with lower education levels—consistently evaluate its face validity negatively. To enhance the legitimacy of PVE in transportation planning, tailored strategies are recommended to address these persistent negative evaluations.

Refineries in the Port of Rotterdam (PoR) account for 20% of Dutch industrial and 6% of national CO2 emissions, with high temperature heat emissions representing 70% of this total. Decarbonising these refinery operations is challenging, with the EU and Dutch CO2 reduction targets consisting of 55% reduction by 2030, 90% by 2040 and 100% by 2050.

Blue hydrogen is seen as a promising solution for decarbonising high temperature heat within refineries. However, existing studies have primarily focused on the technical and commercial feasibility from a corporate perspective, lacking a comprehensive, holistic view. This is relevant since the government is obliged to reach the decarbonisation targets. This research aimed to determine the cost and benefits of using blue hydrogen for the decarbonisation of high temperature heat within PoR refineries from the public and corporate perspective, in alignment with Dutch/EU net zero targets in 2050.

The main research question which was answered is: What are the costs and benefits of using blue hydrogen for the decarbonisation of high temperature heat generation within refineries in the Port of Rotterdam considering the Dutch/EU net zero targets in 2050, from the perspective of the corporate versus the public?

A Social Cost Benefit Analysis (SCBA) under EU guidelines was conducted, comparing a business as usual (BAU) reference case, which is not reaching the climate targets, with a blue hydrogen intervention scenario. The intervention scenario resulted in an overall CO2 reduction of 44.4 Mt between 2024 and 2050, needed to reach EU and Dutch decarbonisation targets.

After identifying all effects resulting from the intervention scenario, the cost and benefits of both perspectives could be assessed. This study finds significant differences in valuation between the corporate and public perspective. The corporate Net Present Value (NPV) is 172MEUR, while the public NPV Is 8,834 MEUR. This underscores that societal and environmental benefits are not captured in corporate metrics. This is primarily due to the undervalued Corporate CO2 EU ETS price compared to the Social Cost of Carbon. Addressing this gap may require policy measures such as increasing the EU ETS or the local Dutch CO2 Levy. Further research should assess mechanisms to align CO2 pricing with true external costs.

The electricity grid in the Netherlands is highly congested and poses a significant challenge due to increasing demand and the transition to sustainable energy sources, which overwhelms the existing infrastructure. To address this issue, Distribution System Operators (DSOs) like Alliander are tasked with managing waiting lists for power connections and transport capacity requests. The traditional First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) principle unintentionally delays transport requests that can be argued are more important to society. This motivated the policymakers to propose a prioritization framework based on societal importance. This framework prioritizes clients in categories such as congestion softeners, safety, basic needs, and sustainability, aiming to benefit society as a whole.

However, the introduction of this framework raises several implications, particularly concerning distributive justice. To systematically identify and deliberate these implications, a Design Science Research methodology was used. This methodology involved a comprehensive literature review across various research areas including Energy Justice, Waiting List Management, and Distributive Justice. Subsequently, a qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted to understand the impacts on waiting times for both priority and non-priority clients.

Stakeholder opinions were analyzed across different industries, revealing concerns and suggestions regarding the social prioritization framework. The quantitative analysis estimated the real impact on waiting lists, considering technical constraints and proposing distributive justice metrics such as time equity disparity and change in the estimated time-to-solution ratio.

The analysis of real waiting lists demonstrated mixed outcomes, with priority clients experiencing decreases in waiting times while non-priority clients faced delays. Some non-priority clients were needlessly delayed. Distributive justice metrics highlighted disproportionate burdens on non-priority clients. Moreover, the framework's impacts extended beyond delays to financial, and psychological effects.

Recommendations for future research include incorporating historical data, obtaining more client information, improving stakeholder feedback loops, and further analyzing other aspects of Energy Justice. Additionally, connecting quantitative implications to societal values could enhance understanding of the framework's benefits to society.

Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the implications of implementing a social prioritization framework for electricity grid waiting lists, highlighting the importance of considering distributive justice and societal impacts in policy development and decision-making processes.

The thesis titled "Towards Smart Maintenance: The Implementation of Predictive Maintenance in the Railway Industry" focuses on integrating predictive maintenance (PdM) technologies into railway operations, emphasizing freight rail. PdM employs data analytics, machine learning, and IoT-enabled sensors to shift from traditional maintenance approaches to a proactive, data-driven methodology. This transformation promises reduced downtime, optimized resource use, and enhanced system reliability.

The research identifies technical, financial, and organizational challenges as key barriers to PdM adoption, including data standardization, algorithm maturity, high initial investment, and resistance to change. Drawing lessons from industries like aviation and infrastructure, the study highlights phased implementation, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder collaboration as critical enablers.

Employing tools like Interpretive Structural Modeling and Fuzzy MICMAC, the thesis maps interdependencies among barriers and demonstrates PdM's potential for reducing maintenance costs by up to 47.8% over two decades. It concludes with recommendations for systematic adoption, addressing both technical and managerial factors, to ensure safer and more efficient railway maintenance practices.

Urban mobility systems in European cities face climate, health, and spatial challenges that call for policies to reduce private car use while increasing access by public transport and active modes. Road space reallocation shows promise, but there is limited understanding of how citywide implementation affects travel behavior over time. This research addresses this gap by conceptualizing the effects of citywide road space reallocation on travel behavior and developing a quantitative System Dynamics (SD) model. The method is combined with Scenario Discovery to evaluate the role of uncertainties on the effectiveness of the policy, and expert interviews are conducted to support the validation of the model. Applying the model to a single case study with ongoing road space reallocation indicates that the policy can trigger significant modal shift to cycling for mid-distance trips (1.5–6 km), while modal shift from the car to public transport for long-distance trips (7–10 km) is slower and more uncertain. The level of change depends on uncertainties, including the future availability of bike parking and the uptake of e-bikes. The research contributes a data-light SD model that quantifies existing conceptual models and provides strategic insights for designing robust road space reallocation policies. Next modeling steps should prioritize the inclusion of bike-and-ride, and future empirical research should examine bike adoption over time in cities with improving cycling networks. Recommendations for policy makers include accelerating bike adoption through targeted initiatives, improving monitoring and target-setting, and collaborating across municipalities to address car dependence in suburban areas.

Participation activities areoften dominated by individuals who are easy to recruit, vocal, and comfortablein public arenas. As a result, white, older, higher-educated, and male citizenstend to overshadow other citizens, which can lead to a misinterpretation of thetrue community interests. This leaves underrepresented groups – such as ethnicminorities, youth, women, and lower-educated citizens – with a lack of voice orpower. This research examines how public participation processes of projects inthe urban environment in disadvantaged neighbourhoods can be improved to betterrepresent the voices of these vulnerable groups.

The study involved a policydocument analysis and semi-structured interviews with ten experts and thirteencitizens from two disadvantaged neighbourhoods, Feijenoord and Meerwijk.Through this secondary and empirical data, this research found that expertsemploy various strategies in the following areas: accessibility, communication,existing networks, human aspect, location, and rewards. This study alsoformulated a definition of disadvantaged neighbourhoods based on literature andthrough the perspective of the experts. Next, experts formulated multiplechallenges they experienced during participation processes in terms ofengagement, expectations, outside influence, participation design,representation, and understanding the neighbourhood. Lastly, the barriers andmotivators of residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods to participate arediscussed. The thesis concludes with eleven recommendations for policy andpractice aimed at improving inclusivity and effectiveness in publicparticipation for disadvantaged communities. 

Amsterdam's extensive network of bridges and quay walls is facing a critical maintenance backlog due to structural underfunded infrastructure maintenance. The many upcoming bridge maintenance projects to ensure safety are expected to cause significant more hindrance to road users. However, complex road networks with high traffic density in urban areas like Amsterdam make it difficult to foresee how the effects of different maintenance projects interact and how the projects can be planned efficiently to reduce hindrance.
This study aims to optimise the planning of a given set of bridge maintenance projects to reduce hindrance to road users, combining a genetic algorithm with traffic simulations using a new estimation method to improve the assessment of simultaneous closures. The genetic algorithm selects the optimal starting time and execution duration for each bridge while minimising maintenance cost and additional travel times for the modalities car, freight and bicycle. Using the fast static traffic simulation of the Urban Strategy Tool of TNO, a new estimation method for evaluating simultaneous closures is proposed, accounting for interdependencies between bridges. Results of a case study on four urban bridges in Amsterdam show that the new method provides more accurate estimates of additional travel time compared to previous methods and generates better solutions. Moreover, the fast proposed optimisation framework makes it possible to evaluate multiple scenarios in reasonable time to assist in decision making of maintenance planning.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of death globally, causing 38% of all premature deaths. Providing care for the patients who survive is considered a priority for healthcare managers. In the Netherlands, 1.7 million people currently are diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases. After experiencing and surviving a CVD event, patients require support to get their lives back on track. However, over the next years, the number of patients is expected to increase to 2.6 million people, creating a burden on the healthcare system. Moreover, the costs of healthcare have been increasing over the last few years, decreasing the accessible and affordable for the patients to receive care. Intervention is needed to keep the quality of life of patients high. However, most interventions focus on the prevention of CVDs, with no attention to patients that already diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases. This research presents a model for the support of patients with cardiovascular diseases within the Netherlands. It is done in conjunction with Harteraad, a non-profit Dutch patient organisation that represents the interests of the 1.7 million patients. The model aims to explore the effect of interventions on the lives of patients while keeping the investment cost-efficient. To successfully answer the research question, four steps were taken. First, a literature study was conducted to find potential candidate interventions that Harteraad can implement. The results from the literature study suggest that the priority lies in interventions on physical activity, mental health and medication adherence. In the second step, a causal loop diagram (CLD) was built that maps the interventions to outcomes. For this research, the main outcome variable is the social returns on investment (SROI). SROI measures value creation on a social, environmental and economic level. Secondary outcomes include deaths, hospitalisations, and quality of life. All three of which are used to calculate the SROI. The CLD shows that the interventions affect the outcomes by improving patient behaviour. Whether that is in more exercise, seeking mental support or medical adherence. In the third step, a System Dynamics model was developed to simulate the economic effect of different interventions. Population data were retrieved from the Hartstichting, whereas data sources on input values were found in academic literature. The latter being a source of uncertainty, as healthcare systems across countries cannot be directly compared. So in the fourth step, uncertainties were incorporated into the SD model and tested systematically. The results for the simulation show that the SROI is positive for six interventions. As such, the recommendation is to invest in either of those interventions. More specifically, for physical activity, the efficient interventions are “Active-at-Home”, “Video Gaming”, and “Group-Based Training”. For mental health, the efficient interventions are “Care Coordination”, “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy”, and “Telemedicine”. Lastly, for “CombiConsult”, the recommendation is to offer additional mental support as well to create social return. Although the model is able to give insights into potential interventions, more research is required. The model is only a simplified representation of the real world. Data was either lacking or outdated, creating nuance in the model results. As such, the model cannot be used to give the optimal solution. These nuances thus need to be addressed in future research. Despite the limitations of the model, the research provides societal and scientific contributions. The research shows that system dynamics modelling is a suitable method to model the support of patients. Moreover, the model is able to determine if interventions are cost-efficient while increasing social benefits to the patient. This research furthermore adds a contribution by performing a systematic uncertainty analysis and so on, offering aid in robust decision-making. Lastly, the model is suitable to be used in different countries under different healthcare systems. As such, this research contributes to the research on patient support.

The Dutch government is committed to transitioning to a low-carbon economy. District heating networks are considered essential for achieving this transition. This research aims to compare two different methods of involving citizens in decision-making and development related to district heating networks. The novel Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) method is compared to a general survey to explore differences in the results of these two. The research approach encompasses multiple components, including 12 stakeholder interviews, the design and use of a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) and survey and subsequent analysis. The survey and PVE were even and randomly distributed across 2700 citizens of the neighbourhood Blijdorp in Rotterdam. This led to 138 completed PVE’s or surveys. As a last step the results of the two different consultations were analysed in terms of reaching the stakeholders goals. The research findings indicate that a Participatory Value Evaluation and survey have different results in incorporating the goals of the involved stakeholders. The PVE was able to create more detailed input for the stakeholders and was better in creating understanding of the complexity of the problems the stakeholders are facing. However, it is important to acknowledge that respondents in the PVE took longer to complete the evaluation and the PVE was rated more challenging than the survey. As a result, the response rate for the PVE was only half as much as the survey. This research contributes to the field of research into public participation in multiple ways. Firstly, the PVE has been applied in a new context. It has been shown that a PVE can be utilised to address the challenges of engaging citizens in the establishment of heat networks. Secondly, most studies on a PVE as a participatory method lack comparative research. This study demonstrates that a PVE and survey have distinct advantages and disadvantages. The identified advantages and disadvantages have been compared to findings from other studies on PVE. While some align with existing research, others present contrasting results.

In terms of social and economic impacts, floods are the biggest climate-related disasters. Moreover, the severity of floods will increase as climate change intensifies tropical cyclones, accelerates sea level rise, and increases coastal and river flooding. The Netherlands is the world’s second-lowest country, making it vulnerable to flooding, mainly since one-third of the country lies below sea level and is surrounded by water. However, the flood defenses have never been more robust, and the technical knowledge regarding flood measures has grown. Nevertheless, the vulnerability of the Netherlands only increases with the increasing population growth, GDP, and economic value. Therefore, flood risk management plans need to be improved, which requires revising policies...

With the new Environment & Planning Act (Omgevingswet) planned to come into force on the 1^st of July 2023, citizen participation is currently relevant in the Dutch public debate. The Association of Dutch Municipalities (Vereniging Nederlandse Gemeenten) deems citizen participation as important because it enables a comprehensive consideration of interests and perspectives. Moreover, it is expected to prevent delays of juridical procedures in the realisation phase of a project. However, the implementation of the new Environment & Planning Act is the responsibility of the government authorities. One governing body struggling with the implementation of citizen participation is the Dutch province of Utrecht, together with its municipalities. The province of Utrecht wants to develop public transport nodes (PTNs). To be able to help municipalities with citizen participation the province has the desire to understand how citizens can best be involved in the development of public transport nodes (PTNs). Scholars studied the participation preferences of citizens, but two shortcomings were identified for the case of PTN development. Firstly, these studies took place in a different context than the context of PTN development. Secondly, these studies examined how citizens themselves want to participate, not how citizens think the government should let citizens participate. Both factors were expected to influence the participation preferences of citizens.
This problem background, the corresponding scope, and knowledge gap lead to the main research question of this study: How do citizens weigh different attributes of citizen participation regarding the policy-making process by the province of Utrecht in the context of public transport node development?

The main method to answer this research question is a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Firstly, literature research was conducted to identify relevant attributes of citizen participation. This resulted in five attributes: the Participation Moment, the Participation Selection Method, the Mode of Participation, the Extent of Influence, and the Costs. The literature research also established the preliminary levels of all except the Costs attribute. Secondly, to establish the final levels semistructured interviews were conducted with nine policymakers and civil servants. To establish the levels of the Costs attribute market research was conducted. Nine companies specialised in citizen participation were contacted. Ultimately, the levels of the Costs attribute were based on the information of one company but were verified by public sources and interview results. Thirdly, the information from the literature research, interviews, and market research was synthesised. Furthermore, for all except the Costs attribute, level descriptions were developed which explained the level and, if applicable, suited it to the case of PTN development. Fifthly, a survey was developed which included an opening statement, an introduction to the attributes and levels, ten choice sets with two participation scenarios and one No Participation scenario, and eight closing questions about demographics. In the choice sets, respondents were asked which participation scenario they would prefer for the province of Utrecht to choose...

In the history of pension funds, the goal of their investment policy was capital growth within a limited investment risk. This goal was part of their fiduciary duty, the legal responsibility to act in the beneficiary's best interest. In recent years, the purpose of pension funds has shifted to aim for long-term social gains in addition to focusing on financial returns. Pension funds have increasingly integrated social, environmental, and ethical considerations in their investment process. This has been attributed to various factors, including the positive correlation between ESG and financial performance but also external pressures from non-governmental groups fuelling public opinion through the media and actions to act more responsibly. The participants must support decisions relating to a responsible investment policy for the pension funds. However, pension fund beneficiaries' preferences for integrating responsible criteria have not been sufficiently investigated.

The aim of this study can be split up into three parts. First, to understand the preferences on the sustainable criteria from the beneficiaries of ADP. Secondly, based on research findings and interviews, find a suitable approach to implementing this in the investment strategy of ADP. Lastly, recommendations will be made on other stakeholders' steps for a successful SRI implementation.

First, this research sets up a choice experiment. It then uses discrete choice modelling to determine participants’ preferences and willingness to trade financial profits against SRI goals using Random utility maximisation (RUM). With this method, we find that participants are willing to contribute part of their pension income to implementing SDGs. Furthermore, we can see that participants think it is especially important that pension funds focus on reducing inequality. There are several motives for integrating ESG into the decision-making process. However, the execution of policy is different per motive. When participants want to integrate ESG to achieve higher returns, the implementation differs from when the motive is to impact the world positively. Therefore, additional analysis has been executed.

To determine whether the participants consider an equal contribution between the step from no attention to do no harm and do no harm and do good. The utility contribution of each attribute level is also measured; we can observe that for most SDGs, there is little willingness to put in extra money to make a positive contribution to the SDGs, except for reducing inequality. The RUM model is very good for calculating the weights given to the attributes that best fit all participants' answers. However, the model does not reflect whether there is heterogeneity in the population. Therefore, interaction effects on individual characteristics are estimated; this method allows heterogeneity between different groups based on their characteristics. However, when using this methodology, an issue could arise. Observable covariates may not produce some heterogeneity. Therefore, latent class analysis was also used.

Through the analysis of interaction effects, we find that there are already many differences in preferences based on individual characteristics. In the latent class analysis, we see three distinct groups. In these classes, we find a large group that gives little utility to pension income and finds all the SDGs important. The 2nd and 3rd groups are smaller, containing about 18% of the population. Group 2 especially finds retirement income very important, and group 3 finds reducing inequality very important. In this analysis, we find that the strong preference of groups 2 and 3 greatly impacts the RUM model. From these analyses, we find that there is heterogeneity in the population. We can use this input when we look at how participants’ preferences can be implemented in the investment policy.

By first analysing the factors and stakeholders involved, we can find which obstacles to overcome when implementing policy. When analysing stakeholders, we find three different groups. First, we find the societal actors; these mainly influence the shaping of policies. Secondly, we find the political actors who influence the rules of the game. Lastly, we find the economic actors who influence the policy's implementation. In this analysis, several challenges have been found.

Lastly, we have looked broadly at options for implementing participants' preferences. In conclusion, the analysis shows that there are different ways in which a pension fund can develop an SRI policy. This can be done differently, depending on the participant's wishes and preferences and the pension fund's contract form. The pension fund first needs to develop a vision of how they want to achieve a sustainable world. After this, they can create an investment strategy and investment mandate. Policymakers also have a role to play in changing the financial sector. Besides implementing policies to improve transparency, they could also implement financial incentives so it will be more financially attractive to adopt ESG practices.

We can conclude that participants are willing to contribute part of their pension income to the implementation of SDGs. Furthermore, we can see that participants think it is especially important that pension funds focus on reducing inequality. Based on the latent class analysis results, we can see that different groups within the population have other preferences. This is important to take into account when formulating policies.

The model results and our analysis are subject to limitations. The model could be improved by allowing participants in a choice experiment to allocate money between different investment options, including policies only focusing on returns. Furthermore, the results could be influenced by self-selection and the population focus. Therefore, we recommend studying a more diverse population with participants from different pension funds. Lastly, we focused on how the results could be implemented and what tools the pension fund could use to accomplish an impact, as most of these recommendations are based on qualitative research. It may be interesting to conduct a quantitative analysis of the established objectives based on implemented policies.

The municipality of Amsterdam plans to transition away from its reliance on fossil fuel-based energy sources for residential heating by 2040. The municipality has laid out a roadmap that details possibilities for sustainable heating on a per-neighborhood basis. One neighborhood of particular interest is Geerdinkhof in Amsterdam South East. There are three long-term sustainable transitions that can take place within Geerdinkhof; a high temperature (HT) district heating network, collectively-owned options and heating options per individual household. The present research refers to citizen social acceptance of these long-term transitions for sustainable heating. It would be ideal to address the possible lack of social acceptance for a new technology before it is implemented. It is argued that social acceptance issues can best be anticipated by understanding the underlying value conflicts associated with technologies. However, literature indicates that very few tools have been implemented for ex-ante analysis of social acceptance. It is argued that the consequences of value conflicts on a future lack of social acceptance can be anticipated by identifying scenarios of value change. In order to best balance the need for both quantitative and qualitative scenario analysis, Cross-Impact Balances (CIB) was chosen as the methodology execute this thesis. This method that can construct qualitative and semi-quantitative scenarios systematically. The values observed in this thesis regard affordability and comfort, which are at the forefront of the transition for citizens in Geerdinkhof. The analysis produced a total of 23 internally consistent scenarios of value change. This thesis defines “internally consistent” scenarios of value change as a reflection of how the prioritization of values shift over time, considering the mathematically plausible combinations of CIB calculations. Considering the heavy work-load to analyze each scenario individually, the scenarios were clustered into seven broad scenario clusters based on how these values may trend. Sensitivity analysis indicated that there is no extreme divergence in the number of consistent scenarios discovered. For each scenario cluster, the most fitting of the three possible heating initiatives in Geerdinkhof were assessed. Moreover, analysis indicated that a HT district heating network was the most fitting heating initiative as a result of the most commonly found scenario. However, it cannot be conclusively stated that this initiative is the most suitable for Geerdinkhof, given that the least commonly found scenario also suits HT district heating. Recommendations can be provided on the best possible procedure that the municipality can take in order to facilitate more socially accepted heating initiatives. Ex-ante assessment of social acceptance is dependent on observing possible trends in neighborhood and external factors. It is recommended that the municipality assess the current trends in these factors, and compare them to the findings in the present research. It is important to note that citizens would also need to demonstrate the need for sustainable initiatives. Another recommendation would be for the municipality to continue to emphasize the importance and urgency of the impending transition, for example through information campaigns or neighborhood gatherings.

A multilateral organ, a national public and a national government are three entities that are inseparably intertwined. Together they form the dynamic policy triangle: a vibrant political system, constantly changing due to insights in the scholarly and public debate. This vibrancy leads to the fact that, despite an abundance of performed academic research, the relationship between the three entities remains a relevant field of investigation. A relatively unexplored aspect of the dynamic policy triangle is the working of a multilateral policy package within the relationship between national public and national government. An example of such a multilateral policy package is the United Nations’s collection of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The general assumption is that all the goals are of equal importance, and that no country should be left behind when attempting to achieve them. National governments seem to follow this rationale, and claim not to make any prioritisation of one SDG over another. However, literature has shown that prioritisations of certain SDGs are likely to be made by national governments. Additionally, it is conceivable that citizens also prioritise certain goals over others. Both seem previously unexplored in academic literature and government publications. This research partially fills these gaps in knowledge by performing a Discrete Choice Modelling experiment within the domain of the Netherlands. This is a method in which respondents of a survey are asked to review several hypothetical scenarios and to choose their preferred option out of a finite set of choices. In total, 36 Discrete Choice Models were estimated, either for the total sample of respondents, or for the samples of Dutch citizens and policy makers separately. The results provide indicative evidence that Dutch citizens and Dutch policy makers are to a great extent aligned in terms of their SDG preferences. For the main part, both groups do not prioritise certain goals over others. Also, when comparing individual SDGs between the two groups, no significant differences are to be found. The results, however, do suggest several differences between the two groups. Firstly, Dutch citizens relatively reject SDG 17 - to revitalise global partnership for sustainable development - to several others. In this finding, a preference for planet- and people related SDGs becomes apparent. Policy makers do not show this behaviour. Secondly, Dutch policy makers prefer SDG 15 over SDGs 7, 8, and 9 in the Netherlands. This shows that biodiversity in their own country is prioritised, and that certain economical and innovative SDGs are deemed of lesser importance. Citizens do not show this behaviour. The results suggest a preference for SDG action in the Global South; 13% more weight is attributed to SDG action in the Global South than in the Netherlands. This preference does not significantly differ between the two study groups. Also, the results indicate that both groups are loss-averse in the SDG context, meaning that SDG action is considered more important in a scenario when a certain SDG decreases than when it increases. It was found that citizens are more loss-averse than policy makers.

Baumol's unbalanced growth model predicts the tendency of aggregate productivity growth to slow down in the process of tertiarisation. This thesis studies the relationship between employment structural changes and aggregate productivity growth in the case of China. William Nordhaus’s (2008) testing methodology will be applied to the China Industrial Productivity (CIP) Database that follows the KLEMS principles. The results suggest that there is a significant sign of Baumol’s cost disease in China during 1987-2010. Moreover, with more and more workers tolerating lower pay in the stagnant sectors, aggregate demand growth in the market will slow down. Eventually, the unbalanced growth may lead to economic stagnation. Hence, it is necessary to intervene in income distribution through fiscal and monetary policies to make the workers in the stagnant industries benefit from the technological progress.