UT-led project URRRRRban secures NWA funding to transform urban policymaking

We are proud to announce that the UT-led project ‘Urban Resilience through Responsive, Relational, Representative and Responsible Policymaking – Enabling methods for Change’ has been awarded funding (3.1 MEuro) under the NWA-Key Enabling Methodologies programme.

This programme aims to develop knowledge and insight into the use of Key Enabling Methodologies, or KEMs, in solving major societal issues. KEMs are methods and instruments that help professionals and policymakers to structure change processes, formulate joint goals and develop effective frameworks.

Project URRRRRban

Cities must develop cohesive strategies to adapt to challenges that ask for resilience like climate change, digitalization, and social inequality. The URRRRRban project explores how Key Enabling Methodologies (KEMs) can foster resilient, equitable and just urban policies. Collaborating with 4 municipalities, 18 scientific experts from 5 universities and 4 universities of applied science, 16 societal partners and 23 complementary experts, we will redesign KEMs across five policy cases:

• Energy transition in Amsterdam Zuid Oost
• Healthy, safe and attractive living environments in Enschede
• Smart data use to shape urbanisation in Amersfoort
• Redevelopment and sustainability in vulnerable neighbourhoods in Rotterdam
• Building inclusive and resilient communities for AI and digital transition in Amsterdam.

By improving methodologies, providing reflection tools and developing a learning environment, we provide policy professionals with tools and ways of working to engage societal partners and citizens in shaping resilient urban policies, ensuring that cities, their inhabitants and their environment are better prepared for the future.

Meaningful collaboration

The project has a transdisciplinary approach in which scientific knowledge is combined with practical and experiential knowledge from societal partners. In addition to the core project team, there will be a community of 23 complementary experts who will enrich project insights with their own expertise and practical experiences acquired in case related practices.

The URRRRRban project is led by Mascha van der Voort and Cristina Zaga from the Human Centred Design group of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. Mascha: “I am extremely proud of our societal representative consortium. With the granting of this proposal, we do not only receive funding to execute our timely and societally very relevant research, but it is also an important recognition of research based on true transdisciplinary collaboration.”

UT colleagues Robert-Jan den Haan (ET) and Carissa Camplin (ITC) are also part of the core project team. The transdisciplinary collaboration within the project will be supported by DesignLab, UT’s transdisciplinary ecosystem.