This thesis presents the findings and recommendations of a research project focused on designing an engagement strategy for the ACHI horticultural programme in Ghana. ACHI provides youth with practical and entrepreneurial horticulture training to address challenges such as youth unemployment, low agricultural productivity, and limited professional networks. While the programme is expanding rapidly across Ghana and has established a strong foundation in curriculum delivery, significantly less attention has been given to the pre- and post-participation phase, attracting and informing new participants and supporting and engaging alumni after graduation.

The project researches how ACHI can improve its communication and engagement across the stages of the participant journey. Through a combination of strategic analysis and user research, the thesis explores how ACHI’s brand visibility, alumni network, and participant experience can be enhanced to support sustainable growth. The findings from the strategic context analysis and interviews and questionnaires with participants and alumni were synthesised into a participant journey map that highlights key pain points and unmet needs across the pre-, during-, and post-participation phase. The research identifies three critical focus areas:
- Improving Information Sharing and Accessibility: Programme information is often fragmented or spread through informal networks. Centralising communication can increase clarity, visibility, and trust for potential participants.
- Facilitating Continuous Learning: Alumni expressed a wish for ongoing access to updated and advanced horticultural and entrepreneurial knowledge.
- Strengthening Alumni Engagement and Support: Although WhatsApp groups exist, structured alumni engagement, peer networking, mentorship, and access to resources remain limited.

To address these challenges, two core design interventions were developed:
- A website: Designed to improve accessibility and user experience, the website presents ACHI’s mission, curriculum, application process, and alumni stories in one centralised location.
- A Horticulture Business Event: A three-phase strategic plan to build long-term alumni involvement by a designed event:
- Horizon 1 – Activate: Reconnect alumni through annual events that stimulate networking, showcase their businesses and facilitate workshops.
- Horizon 2 – Expand: Integrate partners into alumni engagement, creating opportunities to share knowledge and collaborate.
- Horizon 3 – Lead: Create a mature ecosystem of stakeholders within the horticulture value chain to promote innovation, networking and collaboration while supporting inclusive growth and sector-wide transformation.

These interventions were shaped through co-creation workshops with ACHI staff and alumni, design iterations, and user testing in both Dutch and Ghanaian contexts. The final engagement strategy supports ACHI in reinforcing its core educational mission while expanding its capacity to foster meaningful, long-term relationships with participants, amplifying both individual impact and sector-wide transformation.

This study explores how consent, respect, and boundaries are navigated within the Latin partner dance community in the Netherlands, focusing on salsa, bachata, and kizomba. Given the intimate and often sensual nature of these dances, understanding the management of personal and interpersonal boundaries is crucial.

To address this complex issue, a dual approach combining ethnographic research with theoretical analysis was employed. The Double Diamond method structured the research through four phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. This involved gathering data through observations and literature, refining focus areas, generating ideas, and testing solutions.

The findings reveal that boundaries in Latin partner dancing are fluid and highly context-sensitive. They shift based on individual comfort levels, dance style, and experience, making it challenging to consistently set and respect boundaries, especially in a setting characterized by frequent partner changes and minimal verbal communication.

The physical nature of partner dancing, which is predominantly non-verbal, complicates the expression and respect of boundaries. This environment can inadvertently normalize inappropriate behaviour, as open discussions about these issues are often avoided within the community.

It was found that while dancers generally recognize inappropriate behaviour as crossing personal boundaries, the reluctance to openly address these issues allows such behaviour to persist. This normalization of inappropriate behaviour is reinforced by cultural tendencies to avoid confrontation and the lack of structured mechanisms for discussing consent and boundaries.

In response to these findings, a critical design intervention was implemented to provoke reflection and discussion about boundaries and consent. By presenting thought-provoking quotes on tangible items like coins, the intervention successfully engaged participants, prompting them to reflect on their own behaviour and the broader issues within the community.

Evaluation of the intervention demonstrated its effectiveness in initiating reflection and debate. Participants engaged in meaningful discussions about their experiences and consent. However, feedback highlighted the need for less explicit language and more diverse presentation methods to improve engagement.

To advance the conversation on consent and respect, the study recommends the following:
1. Clarify prompts: Ensure that the purpose and context of prompts are clear to prevent misinterpretation and guide effective discussions.
2. Soften language: Use neutral language to make the intervention more accessible and comfortable for all participants.
3. Enhance engagement: Continue using tangible items like coins but explore additional methods to capture attention and facilitate reflection.
4. Promote long-term change: Develop ongoing initiatives to reinforce the messages about consent and respect, supporting sustained behavioural change within the community.

Overall, this study highlights the intricate dynamics of consent and boundaries within the Latin dance community. Addressing these issues through reflective and engaging interventions is crucial for fostering a more respectful and inclusive environment, ultimately enhancing the dance experience for everyone involved.

The energy transition holds significant importance across various sectors of our lives, and the housing sector is no exception. While constructing CO2-efficient buildings can substantially reduce emissions, the renovation of older structures is equally important. Renovation plans for the latter are predominantly focussed in increasing the thermal quality of the building and integrating green energy sources. Besides this climate goal, this challenge is also pushed by a social goal. Renovation is in some cases also vital to address the increasing number of households living in energy poverty. Households within this category have both high energy bills which is likely caused by the poor insulation and in addition to this, receive a generally low income.

Participation and engagement within this process is recognised as an important factor for successfully navigating the renovation journey. However, this is not alway an easy task since VvE boards are already carrying the heavy load of the practical renovation tasks. My research looked in the context for the barriers that hold participation back and for potential drivers that proved to be efficient in this context to stimulate participation. The six themes found are: position, trust in officials, knowledge, social cohesion, practical factors and personal factors. These themes overlap and influence each other.

Therefore, to explore and evaluate possible solutions to address the problem definition, I used the method Research through Design to observe how a design is responded to in the context. The five directions that I explored were around a vision building workshop, public discussion starters, serious gaming and interactive and visual knowledge tools.

The project concludes with an embodied design solution that addresses the problem using an interactive and visually engaging approach. The design aims to reduce barriers related to the four of the six themes found: position, knowledge, social cohesion and practical factors. Ultimately, to enable residents to engage and interact with the available information to let them experience the influence they can have in shaping the sustainable renovation process of their own homes.