The RAAK Public project "Responding to Citizen Initiatives in Climate Transitions" recently kicked off with a launch event at the HZ Tower in Vlissingen.
The project participants aim to develop knowledge and applications to enable municipal employees to effectively, promptly, and decisively respond to citizen initiatives. This collaboration aims to achieve greater success in climate transitions. HZ University is the lead institution for the project. Partners include eight municipalities in Zeeland, the Province of Zeeland, Erasmus University (Public Administration and GovernEUR), Zeeland Bruist, and the Association of Dutch Municipalities. During the launch event, participants got to know each other better.
Goals and Approach
Jean-Marie Buijs, project leader and associate lecturer with the Resilient Deltas research group at HZ, outlined the project's goals and methodology. Wouter Spekkink from Erasmus University then shared updates on the national surveys being conducted. After Spekkink's presentation, four municipalities introduced the cases they will work on with researchers and students.
- In Goes, the focus is on a citizen initiative for green facades.
- In Terneuzen, the case involves a community project for a residual heat network.
- In Middelburg, they aim to explore a greening initiative to reduce heat stress in one of the neighborhoods.
- In Borsele, the goal is to investigate how to encourage greater resident participation in energy transition initiatives.
Learning Network
The knowledge developed from the cases, surveys, and other activities will be shared and expanded within a learning network, as explained by Siri Pisters, a researcher at the HZ Knowledge Center for Zeeland Society. The project is co-funded by RAAK Public, a program of Regieorgaan SIA, which supports research driven by practical questions from the public sector.
