Our mission is to contribute to the development of an infrastructure sector that is robust, sustainable, and resilient
Doing so, we aim to support the civil engineering domain by analysing challenges, developing new ideas, educating students and practitioners, and providing actionable perspectives and practical solutions. We draw upon expertise from various disciplines, including engineering, management studies, and public administration. Our research and solutions span all levels—from individual projects to large-scale programmes, and from single organisations to entire sectors within the built environment. We leverage our interdisciplinary skills, diverse backgrounds, creative thinking, and connections to global knowledge to address complex problems in civil infrastructure.
We believe that this mission can only be achieved by collaborating as partners with governments, private organisations, communities, and other educational and research institutions. Moreover, this mission is also embedded in the courses we offer within the civil engineering bachelor’s and master’s programmes. Together, we pursue a shared goal: ensuring the civil engineering field is prepared for the future.
Research lines
Two research lines are formulated that guide the IPD mission. Research line A addresses the broad questions related to the transitions in the infrastructure sector and they way these transitions can be governed. Research line B looks deeper into the organizational and project practices and how they can be improved in line with a future-proof sector. The research projects are connected to those research lines.
A: Resilient infrastructure systems
To address societal challenges in civil engineering and support actors operating within the built environment, we participatory develop socio-technical scenarios that envision and promote a sustainable, adaptive, and resilient sector. These scenarios aim to provide positive, actionable futures that empower people and organisations in infrastructure to navigate and overcome complex transition challenges. We study and develop ways to translate those alternative futures into actionable governance modes, interventions, and organisational strategies.
We work on improving practical ways to manage multi-stakeholder processes that involve for example government agencies, contractors, designers, and local communities. By studying the practices with and within these groups, we help create and implement innovative policies, practices, and procedures in infrastructure. By doing this, we learn how innovations – like working towards a standardised circular solution or adopting digital tools for project coordination – can be supported or blocked by novel ways of governance, management and interaction.
B: Value-based project and programme delivery
To drive the change in line with the transition challenges, we actively establish, nurture, and study interdisciplinary, mission-oriented ecosystems in the infrastructure domain. These ecosystems can be understood as public-private collections of actors that align their activities and collaboration forms towards specific transition challenges. Within these ecosystems, clients, contractors, designers, and academics collaborate to explore, co-create, and implement forward-thinking innovations that address current and future challenges. Relevant examples are the shift from project structures to programme structures or the establishment of public-private innovation networks.
We support and enable innovation across public and private organisations as well as infrastructure project practices. By fostering capacity-building and guiding actors in the adoption of future-ready approaches, we advance methodologies in asset management, risk management, value management, and general project and process management, ensuring they remain fit for purpose in an evolving landscape. Doing so, we aim to further the civil engineering processes in the direction of the transitions in the sector.