Interface management (IM) is an emerging construction management practice that is mainly concerned with the integration effort of (mega)projects through the management of project interfaces. Even though a plethora of benefits is attributed to IM, a clear overview of how to effectively manage interfaces is non-existent. Without a general understanding on what IM entails, false expectations about its use are created. At the same time, IM developments from academic research are facing obstacles in their adoption in practice, for practitioners are often not represented in these developments.

The absence of situated knowledge (i.e. knowledge found and created in practice) in IM development is problematic, for a profession, or professionalism in general, builds on a body of knowledge comprised of integrated knowledge from theory and practice. For this reason, this research has attempted to take a step in the professionalisation of IM by converging the knowledge from theory and practice. That is, enriching the professional content by creating uniformity on the concept of IM and its key principles. The following research question underpinned this effort: What step can be taken in the professionalisation of IM, based on the perspectives from theory and practice?

For this, the theoretical perspectives on IM and its professionalisation were studied first, by means of a literature review. Then, practitioner perspectives were studied on the same topics through semi-structured interviews with twelve practitioners involved in the different domains of integral project management. These practitioners were all employed by a large Dutch engineering and consultancy firm. The gathered data was then subject to thematic analysis.

A comparison of the findings revealed a similar dichotomy in IM in both theory and practice: a distinction between the technical and organisational aspect. As the results showed possibilities for professionalisation from both sides, it was argued that professionalisation should ultimately happen on both fronts.

To create a basis for professionalism, an appropriate means to integrate the theoretical and situated knowledge needed to be found. To this end, literature on the professionalisation of related construction management disciplines was consulted. Inspired by the professionalisation of risk management, a set of key principles was deemed an appropriate medium to integrate the theoretical and situated knowledge of IM. Hence, a rough guide to IM has been created containing key principles. These principles have been validated by two IM experts in separate validation interviews.

Concluding, the development of a set of key principles of IM is the answer to the research question, which in itself provides a step towards professionalisation. Uniformity on the topic has now been created by the convergence of knowledge from theory and practice. The principles thereby lay a foundation for (professionalism in) conducting IM, while leaving room for customisation at the same time. Practitioners from the different roles of integrated project management are recommended to use the principles at the start of (infrastructure) construction projects to create an understanding of interfaces and IM in general. It is believed that in this way the established uniformity on paper can be translated to practice.

Researchers in the past have shown that communication is integral to successful results in a project's design phase. This is said so as there are multiple professionals from diverse backgrounds who come together to prepare a project's design. Consequently, communication between these professionals becomes a key component as it is the way they share project information apart from sharing their knowledge and thoughts at this stage. However, the relationship between communication and project success is not well defined, particularly the understanding of the barrier and drivers of communication in a design team seems obscure. Thus, this research builds on this theme and tries to understand project communication in detail. By examining the communication practices of a design team through the lens of literature, this study aims to describe how communication affects the project outcome and specify ways to improve it. To fulfill this objective, this research is divided into three parts. In part A, the literature is reviewed to gain insights and reflect on the attributes that describe the communication of a design team and explain the influence of these attributes on project success. In part B, a document review is done to analyze the documents produced by a design team that provide guidelines for the team's communication practices for project success. In part C, semi-structured interviews are conducted to obtain empirical data explaining the communication practices followed by the team while working on a project. Following this, the results obtained from the three parts are compared, which helps identify the gaps in literature and the guidelines contained in the documents on the communication practices to be used by the team.
The results of this study suggest that communication is the central aspect that controls the functioning of the team. Communication practices impacts the team's collaboration, coordination, project performance, and quality of the work produced by the team. The impact of communication practices on these aspects of a project is categorized under two categories: drivers and barriers of communication. Based on these, recommendations for improving communication practices and mitigating barriers to project success are made and validated with experts. The study concludes with discussions on how adapting lean principles can bring many benefits to a team in the form of focus in meetings, minimizing transaction time of sharing information and developing a feedback culture. Also, these discussions describe that when working on a complex project, using a recommendation framed in this research; a team can mitigate various challenges associated with groupthink.

Cost estimation of construction projects is still carried out using highly manual traditional tools and processes, which are deemed as inefficient and have a direct impact in the productivity levels of the industry. Building Information Modelling or BIM is changing the way projects are developed and has introduced some changes to cost estimation. One of these changes is the possibility to generate semi-automatic quantity take-offs from BIM models, greatly speeding up the project quantification process. Furthermore, the concept of 5D BIM, or BIM with the addition of a cost “dimension”, aims to connect BIM and cost estimation. However, the participation of the cost engineer in BIM-based processes is still limited, and this actor frequently only appears at the end, to deliver single cost estimates. This study aims to observe and identify the possibilities of integrating cost engineers in BIM-based project development as a step towards reaching 5D BIM. The research is carried from a managerial and organizational perspective. The potential outcomes of the integration impact the process of cost estimation and other associated processes, namely project design and modelling, and project management and development. To conduct this study, a case study was carried out at a Dutch engineering company where interviews were carried out to respondents of different specialties. Activity theory was used as a theoretical framework for the analysis, discussion and development of a solution. Its use marks an interesting approach to the current problem as it provides the ground for simultaneous analysis of multiple activity systems to reach an integrative solution. The results support other studies that conclude cost engineers are detached from BIM-based project development. Furthermore, the results show that the integration of cost engineers in BIM-based project development has mainly positive potential outcomes for cost estimation and associated processes. It is, however, also concluded that at its current state BIM instruments alone are not fit to handle all information relevant to cost estimation, namely non-graphical elements. The research concludes that to achieve positive results from integration of cost engineers, it is required, a) 5D BIM specialized software, b) appropriate integration of actors in project development, and c) adoption of standards, mainly for development and use of three key tasks. The final deliverable of the research is a collaborative framework which is intended to provide the ground for the integration of cost engineers in BIM-based project development, aimed at reaching 5D BIM.

Previous research assessing public organisations in the delivery of infrastructure projects mainly focuses on public project delivery organisations and their interaction with private parties. However, many challenges experienced by these project delivery organisations relate to the interaction with the public parent organisation. In practice, this interface mainly materialises as the interaction between the internal commissioner (Dutch: ambtelijk intern opdrachtgever) and the project manager. Internal commissioners are appointed to control whether project organisations adhere to the project assignment. Due to dynamic complexity emerging in infrastructure projects, causing deviations from the defined project assignment, more commitment of these commissioners to projects is needed by these public managers during project realisation. By qualitative research in diverse Dutch public sector organisations, more insight into the internal commissioning role during project realisation is created. The research suggests several ways of improving the efficiency of internal working procedures in public parent organisations. Furthermore, the research identified management recommendations for improving professionalism in the internal commissioning role during project realisation.

The process of execution of construction projects is subjected to multiple complexities which are highly dynamic in nature. Among several complex dynamic elements present in a project, the scope is one of the elements which is extremely important. The scope is adjusted multiple times during the definition and execution phases to add or remove a feature which is known as scope change. Whereas, there exists a situation where the scope of the project grows organically, uncontrollably and unexpectedly out of the desired scope during the conception, definition and execution phases which is known as scope creep. The scope creep activities find sources from multiple factors such as flaws in contract, poor scope management process, poor communication and so on. From the identified sources of scope creep Agile Scrum-ban and BIM 5D integrated scope management model for high budget projects and cost conscious solutions such as assigning case manager, including scope creep as risk in WBS etc. for low budget projects are proposed as a suitable recommendations to address scope creep in onshore wind farm projects and thereby improve the project delivery.

The positive relation between the performance of the client-contractor team and the end-result of a project has led to a growing attention for the human factor in construction procurement exercises. Over the last decade, assessments of constructors’ collaborative behaviour have been used more widely as a partner selection method. One of the most intensive forms of evaluation on soft parameters can be performed via an assessment (centre), also called workshops, with the tenderer’s and client’s team. The purpose of this explorative study is to provide more insights by 1) collecting the client’s motives to use these collaborative tender criteria, 2) identifying the different formats of assessments, and 3) learning lessons from projects that have conducted behavioural assessments. Ten cases are selected across the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Finland, all of which focus on the procurement phase of a medium to a large-scale infrastructure project. Eleven semi-structured interviews with project and contract managers are used together with five assessor-interviews to gather empirical information. These independent assessors are involved by a public client to score the tenderer’s team during the assessment on a predefined list of sub-criteria. The thematic analysis shows that the use of collaborative criteria can be linked to the development of relational contracting and early contractor involvement. Especially in alliance and design team models with an integrated project team, a high weight is assigned to collaboration in the tender evaluation. Clients also aim to stimulate bidders to be more aware of collaboration and soft skills. The team assessment is applied for this purpose: it assesses the authentic behaviour of key figures that will be working on the project instead of only focussing on written bids. Results reveals that the assessment puts ‘collaboration’ high on the agenda of all parties right from the start, brings the team-related points for attention upfront, and stimulates bidders to approach team composition in another way. Nevertheless, several other instruments could lead to (some of ) the same goals and ongoing attention is needed to utilise the benefits of the assessment. Hence, the attitude and reflection of the client’s team is considered to be crucial for proper implementation. This study shows that the team assessment has proven to enable clients to make a more informed choice for a contractor on its collaborative behaviour. In this way, team assessments can fulfil the potential of being one of the instruments to facilitate high performing teams and project success.

Authors associate the PMO with an increase in the success rate of projects, reduce overall costs, and delivery time. Which explains why firms replicate and modify it while adopting project-based structures and strategies. PMOs in different organizations hold little similarities with each other. Staffing the PMO is an overhead cost to projects, and seeking to optimize resources organizations tend to allocate more functions to them. As a result, there is a broad range of activities a PMO can perform. This study found in literature 36 different functions associated with this structure. Agile and traditional project management methodologies have fundamental differences in both planning and operational organization. Agile argues that overhead costs, requirements elicitation, and planning processes result in overspending and delaying innovative product development. These differences conflict with previously established roles, functions, and, more problematically, the people that perform them. In this sense, the introduction of agile ways of working is a disruption of traditional practices in the organization. The change to agile methods has effects of various aspects of a firm’s organizational structure, including the PMO, a symbolic figure from traditional project management. Agile standards have different approaches to the use of a PMO, and it is not clear whether the PMO in agile has similar roles and responsibilities as the PMO in traditional methodologies. This study proposes to investigate the impact of the transition from traditional project management to agile on the PMO to address this gap. The main research question makes it explicit: “How do the roles of Project/Program/Portfolio Management Offices change with the introduction of Agile methodologies to a large number of teams?” This study adopted a descriptive exploratory approach to answering this question.
The study observed the changes in the roles of the PMO before and after implementations of agile with four case studies. The research conducted semi-structured interviews and applied surveys with nine professionals in these different companies. The contribution to science of this study is twofold. First, it contributes to the description of the PMO, enriching the field towards a unified theory of project management. Second, it provides empirical evidence for the changes in roles of the PMO with the introduction of agile.
This study found that there are wide disparities between the roles of the PMOs in different organizations. It also found that PMO performs different functions before and after the introduction of agile methods in a firm. It seems to be consistent that the PMOs are involved in the activities of monitoring, controlling, and standardizing project methodologies in both periods. A common theme across the participants' reports is that the PMOs participation got diminished or repurposed to a supporting and serving role with the introduction of agile. An explanation for this change is the shared responsibility the PMOs have with the agile teams on processes they were the sole or main responsible in traditional settings. Another common theme is the interfacing part the PMO plays, bridging traditional sectors and agile sectors of the firm. Participants in all firms believe the current state of the PMO is not final and expect it to continue to change.
Disclaimer: This research was supported by Accenture B.V.

Despite the mission of universities to help engineering students develop leadership, many engineers perceive that this ambition is not being met in practise, but often later in engineers’ professional careers. This work on engineering education explores how educational organisations can support engineering student’s leadership development using experiential learning. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used to explore the topic through 25 interviews with engineering student leaders, professionals, and educators in TU Delft and Engineers Without Borders USA. The experiential methods explored included Project Based Learning, Project Based Service Learning, and Internships. Perceptions of students, educators, and engineering professionals alike confirmed that engineering leadership is a complex notion. While viewed by some as being an individual responsibility, it is viewed by others as being a more abstract group process. Leadership development is part of a dynamic process, one that is rarely explicitly strived for by students or course designers. While students indicated that they believed experiential learning helped support their leadership development, they rarely joined those contexts with that goal in mind. Additionally, the experiential contexts explored weren’t usually designed with leadership development as an explicit outcome. This may be because leadership is a difficult outcome to measure. It is also possible that a focus by universities on technical qualification has led to a trade off in the subjectification and socialisation of students as socially responsible leaders. All of this considered, engineering leadership development will likely continue to remain an elusive to measure goal. However, this research contributes to the larger field by presenting a set of factors of experiential methods that organisations can use to support leadership development. They can do this by structuring experiential learning methods in ways that promote a feeling of psychological safety within student engineering teams.

Every year large quantities of plastic waste accumulate in Bali’s environment. This has a negative impact on Bali’s environment, local society and its tourist driven economy. With lacking waste management facilities and local awareness plastic waste enters Bali’s rivers, through which the waste ends up in the ocean. A concept small-scale recycling business, aiming to improve local waste management and awareness, is proposed to solve the problem at the source. The goal of this research is to investigate the technological, social and financial feasibility of the concept recycling business and to find a target location. The research first aims to choose three potential locations with different social-demographics through a literature study on Bali’s regional social-demographics and the results of previous ”Pantai” Project researches. Based on this three locations are chosen: Denpasar, Canggu and Pulukan. For better understanding of the areas of interest, the crucial steps for setting up a business on Bali and its local waste management are investigated. A detailed stakeholder analysis is therefore also conducted. This is researched through participatory observation, literature study and interviews with local inhabitants, local businesses and governmental institutions. Surveys are conducted in the areas of interest to analyze how to Balinese handles their plastic waste, their mentality towards the plastic problem and their willingness to participate in the concept recycling plan. The results of the survey show enthusiasm of the local people towards the concept recycling business in the target areas. However, not all stakeholders are represented in conducted surveys, thus care must be taken when concluding the social feasibility. To investigate the technological feasibility literature study is done on plastics and different techniques in all steps of the recycling chain. Through this, feasible techniques for all steps of the recycling chain are chosen, regarding the concept recycling business. Plastic waste is to be sorted by hand and processed by easy operable machinery based on the open-source designs of Precious Plastic. A conceptual model of the small-scale recycling business is introduced for better understanding of the plastic and money streams involved in the concept recycling facility. To investigate the financial feasibility, first the plastic stream is evaluated. In each location households separated and collected all their plastic from the rest of their waste for one week to estimate the composition and quantity of their weekly plastic waste production. From this result the plastic input per location is estimated through calculations. A model is presented to evaluate financial stability of the concept recycling business. Input values for the model are the results from own waste collection measurements and the values acquired from connected parties. Calculations show, although being a rough estimate, financial feasibility. However more in-depth market study has to be performed for more detailed results. Taking everything into account it can be concluded that it is indeed feasible to start a small-scaled recycle business on Bali in Pulukan or similar areas, which is determined by a multi criteria trade-off. However close consideration of local conditions should always be taken into account.

Since the introduction of Best Price Quality Ratio (BPQR) tendering, specific (non-financial) tender elements in the bid can also be decisive for winning the tender. These so-called qualitative aspects are therefore important means in the tender to distinguish a bid from competing bids. Although competition is believed to enhance a fair quality price ratio in the tender phase, this study points out that safeguarding the competition principle throughout the execution phase is not guaranteed. It turns out, added value of a measure in the execution phase, does not always coincide with the promised value in the bid (=misalignment). The objective of this research was to determine to what extent distinctive tender elements are aligned with added value during or after project execution for projects procured with the BPQR tender procedure. Besides, the aim was to define what underlying mechanisms in the BPQR tender process are causing eventual (mis)alignment. In this regard, the following research question has been drawn: What underlying mechanisms cause (mis)alignment between distinctive BPQR tender elements and the actual added value during or after project execution? Three research phases are being distinguished in this investigation: the exploration, the analysis (consisting of phase A and phase B) and lastly the synthesis. The exploration phase involved a literature study in which the aim was to gain full understanding of the theoretical aspects surrounding the topic of research. It was found that misalignment is mainly perceived as both disadvantageous for the client as well as for the losing bidders. As a result, the current focus is on alignment between tender and practice. This explains initiatives like SMART formulation of measures and the introduction of fines for non-fulfilment. Even new ‘out of the box’ ideas emerge like involving the losing bidders of the tender in auditing the execution of the project . All these approaches aim at maximising alignment, assuming misalignment would be disadvantageous for the client. The first phase of the analysis involved the analysis of the BAM Infra tender results. This analysis is used to create a general image of the tenders on which BAM Infra did perform outstanding and thus was able to distinguish itself. Furthermore, this analysis enables a proper selection of the tenders to conduct the case study research. The second phase of the analysis therefore explores the impact of quality aspects, bothin the tendering as well as in the execution phase of a project. This second phase involves a case study on four strategically selected projects regarding the distinctive character of the tender bid for each project. Subsequently, the study assesses how these elements turn out in practice, by conducting interviews with both the client and the contractor. The first finding is that measures can be divided in four quadrants: 1. Measure not implemented; effect not achieved (Q1) 2. Measure not implemented; effect nonetheless achieved (Q2) 3. Measure implemented; effect not achieved (Q3) 4. Measure implemented; effect achieved (Q4) Only measures in the fourth quadrant are examples of alignment, since in those examples both the implementation and the effect are aligned with the original promise formulated in the bid. Literature refers to, among other causes, strategic behaviour of contractors (adverse selection, moral hazard and strategic misrepresentation) as the cause of misalignment between tender and practice. The researcher did however identify four main causes for misalignment: Change of situation (A), enhanced / new insights (B), strategic behaviour (C) and bad luck (D). Subsequently, the total set of measures determining the distinctive character of the bid has been analysed. Resulting from this analysis, the researcher composed a categorization and a list of characteristics that measures can have. The categorization is both Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhausting (MECE) and it involves a distinction between process vs. product measures and temporary vs.permanent measures. Furthermore, the researcher did formulate seven characteristics. These characteristics are not MECE, which implies one measure can have multiple characteristics and the list might not necessarily be limited to the seven characteristics listed below. Ø Integral measures Ø Performance measures Ø Technical specification Ø Sexy measures Ø Beads (Dutch: Spiegels en kraaltjes) Ø Commercial-off-the-shelf measures Ø Multi-applicable measures Thereafter, the measures are mapped in the quadrants and subsequently analysed on commonalities. It was found that although their abundance in the set of most distinctive measures is roughly equal, product measures are more frequently implemented and more often achieve the intended effect than process measures. Furthermore, it turned out that measures that are not implemented whilst the effect is achieved, are always process measures. However, most process measures involved concerned situations in which the added value was absent. Besides, temporary measures are most coincide with process measures and, hence, score for the majority similar with these process measures (measures not implemented prevail). Temporary measures are less often implemented than permanent ones. Also, performance measures seemed to be the perfect measures in order to achieve alignment. Nevertheless, the room for distinguishing on this type of measures is questionable. But since the promised effect is very likely to be achieved by these measures, criteria of high importance of the clients could best be formulated as a performance measure. Commercial-off-the-shelf measures are preferred by contractors since they are easy to implement and are proven concepts. Yet, the clients state that these measures do not add value, since they would also have been conducted anyway. Sexy measures come with a large reputational risk for the client. This also relates to the responsibility public authorities have: generating public value. If public expenditures do not generate the value expected; public authorities will encounter social discontent. Based on the findings of this research, the following conclusions are drawn that answer the main research question: What underlying mechanisms cause (mis)alignment between distinctive BPQR tender elements and the actual added value during or after project execution? This research pointed out several causes for misalignment, of which strategic behaviour is one category. Strategic behaviour does however not dominate. It was however found that presumably, changes of circumstances are stimulating strategic behaviour of contractors. Issues underlying causes of misalignment are amongst others: multi-headedness of both the client as well as the contractor; lack of full-openness (of both parties) during the competitive dialogue and the use of inappropriate criteria to mitigate future maintenance costs in a construction contract. This results in misunderstanding, or a lack of (correct) information. In this respect it was learned that higher similarity in team composition (i.e.linking pin principle) between tendering and execution phase, can avoid loss of background information on important measures in a project. The research did also reveal that alignment is no holy grail. The focus on alignment not always generates value. Of the identified causes for misalignment, several cases are found in which fulfilment of the measure appeared to be disadvantageous for the client (!). This is especially the case when new insights occur and unforeseen added value appears. Yet, this study reveals that in those cases the specific measure involved often is not implemented. So, client satisfaction can also be achieved in case of misalignment. Although important, alignment is no cure for contractual discussions. A rigid focus on alignment may even have a negative impact on the provided added value for the client (and thus a negative impact on public value). Discussions whether measures are righteously implemented or not, consume time. And time – delay – means money. Given the fact that most clients are public bodies, this would involve loss of taxpayer’s money. In addition, rigid focus on alignment will put strain on the element of trust in the relationship between contractor and client, bringing the positive outcome of other future discussions in jeopardy. This reflection implicitly emphasises that a more externally focused value approach may have its advantages. Initiatives such as mixed client-contractor construction teams (Dutch: Bouw teams), that have an entirely different approach of project definition before the tendering phase, anticipate on that. In other words: currently the aim is to maximise internally focused value (=alignment of tender and practice) but in the end the evolving relevant issues all seem to indicate more externally focused value generating approaches in the future.

Cooperation figured prominently in the Dutch construction industry’s agenda over the past years. In 2016, major clients, sector organizations and the relevant market parties officially committed to promote a culture based on good cooperation and healthy relationships by signing the "Market Vision" (De Marktvisie, 2016). This document illustrates the objectives, principles and necessary changes to achieve this ambition in 2020. However, according to the report of Rijkswaterstaat (2019), there have not been structural changes in cooperation within the supply chain where fighting relationships, self-interest and opportunistic behaviours still prevail. The unattractive risk-return profile, i.e. the ratio between the expected return and the amount of risk undertaken by contractors, of large projects in the civil engineering sector is considered to be a barrier that prevent this change. The current approach to risk management is one factor that contribute to decrease the risk-return ratio. According to the report of Rijkswaterstaat (2019), market parties have the impression that risks are not always allocated to the "natural owner". The natural owner is the party that has the knowledge, ability and financial capacity to manage a certain risk. Market parties have more or less consciously accepted risks under competitive pressure although Rijkswaterstaat argue that during the tendering process of large complex projects some risks are taken back based on the contractors’ argumentation. However, construction companies point out that the dialogue focus on limiting risks on the client’s side and they are not yet sufficiently stimulated to discuss their own risks. This research proposes risk sharing to fills the gaps of the current approach with the purpose of stimulating the development of cooperation. The scope of the research is limited to Dutch infrastructure projects procured by public authorities through Public-Private Partnership. The research objective is to provide partner organizations with a framework to share risk at the project level in order to foster commitment and cooperation for the long duration of the partnership. The first step to achieve the research objective is to investigate current risk sharing from a theoretical and practical perspective. This is achieved through literature review, exploratory interviews with employees of WitteveenBos and document review. The results of these activities are compared with the elements mentioned in the literature to stimulate cooperation. Afterward, a conceptual model is elaborated based on the
results of literature review and exploratory interviews. The purpose of the proposed conceptual model is to illustrate contractual and relational elements that can be added to the current risk sharing in order to promote cooperation. Then, the proposed risk sharing mechanisms that constitute the conceptual model are discussed with practitioners. This activity aims to refine the proposed risk sharing mechanisms in order to obtain detailed measures that form the risk sharing framework. Finally, the proposed framework is validated with experts in order to assess whether it meets the economic and functional requirements of its intended users and fits within the restrictions imposed by the current practice. The risk sharing mechanisms applied in the construction sector mentioned in the literature refer to financial incentives such as government guarantees, target cost contracts, etc. However, the literature study suggests that the attitude and willingness of partners to engage in cooperative behaviours is stimulated more by trust and relational norms than formal enforceable rules. Therefore, it can be argued that risk sharing requires additional elements in order to promote cooperation. The proposed risk sharing framework requires certain personal attitudes of team members in order to be effective in promoting cooperation. According to practitioners, partners should: • seek the participation of all team(s)members, internal and external; • take the initiative to help rather than being passive; • show behaviours oriented toward the achievement of common goals and mutual benefits; • be open and receptive to new ideas, different perspectives, external influence; Furthermore, an essential attitude is to accept and embrace the idea that risk ownership does not exclude the chance of managing a risk together. The legal boundary of having one risk owner should not prevent partners from being forthcoming and providing support to control risks. Based on the results of the discussion with practitioners, the proposed risk sharing framework is effective in stimulating cooperation only if partners coordinate with each other and commit to implement these measures together.

The research explores ways to improve productivity in turnaround/shutdown projects from a contractor perspective.

A System Dynamics study towards the potential effects of interventions on the food waste produced by households. Households are a major contributor to the waste of food within the Netherlands. There are negative consequences regarding the waste of food. A causal relation diagram is created, a set of interventions is defined, and based upon a System Dynamics model is created. Based upon the simulations, it is concluded that the process in which food is wasted is fragmented. Reducing the waste of food effectively demands combining multiple interventions. There are two important aspects within a household when multiple interventions are applied. Interventions should focus on the 'willingness' and on the 'knowhow' within a household. Focusing on both aspects results in a synergy. The combined effects of the interventions is bigger than the individual effects accumulated.

Mobile money has just started to emerge in Western countries; however Kenyans have already been using phones for transactions for 10 years mainly through the mobile money system MPesa. This hints towards a largely ignored innovation potential residing in developing countries that can even allow them to lead the path of innovation for specific sectors. To assess the potential for developing countries to become lead markets a framework was created based on the literature of lead markets and frugal innovation, a case study on MPesa and interviews on mobile money. The framework can be used for policy makers to assess whether their domestic market is suitable for the market introduction and further development of an innovation, thereby contributing to the effectiveness of innovation policy. The lead market potential of developing countries resides mainly in their capability of redefining the fulfilment of basic needs. This research can be further improved by studying the emergence of mobile money in developed countries and its effects on mobile money in Africa can provide insight into the sustainability of developing countries as lead market potential and whether they are truly global lead markets to further improve this research.

This thesis is focused on benchmarking municipal sport policy. Physical activity is used by the Dutch government as a policy tool to create a healthy society. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport stimulate people to adopt active life styles in order to combat the prosperity diseases: overweight, diabetes and depression. In benchmarking municipal sport policy there are the following complexities. Firstly complexities related to the governance of municipal sport policy, there are many actors involved with contradictory interests. In addition municipal sport policy is focussed within municipal boundaries and evolves on previously pursued policies. Secondly complexities related to benchmarking. Benchmarking is from origin a method developed for the industrial industry and now is also applied in the public sector, but the applicability of the method is contested. Moreover benchmarking is not straightforward and is dependent on its design, data reliability and the way of processing data.

An essential actor in sport policy are the municipalities: they conduct sport policy in order to heave healthy citizens and focus their policy to a large extent on sport facilities. Currently municipalities lack insight in whether the output of the sport policy (namely the quantity, type, and location of sport facilities) leads to the desired effects (namely healthy citizens), which we define as a lack of insight in the effectiveness of the sport policy. This insight is crucial for municipalities, since it can be used in the policy evaluation to assess the performance of their policy.

A method that has been proven useful for measuring and comparing of performance is benchmarking. Benchmarking is the research in which the output between organisations can be compared. However, there is a lack of literature describing how sport policy by municipalities can be compared, whereas comparison with other municipalities can provide additional insights and stimulate learning. In this study a benchmarking method for municipal sport policy aspects is developed and conducted.

The benchmarking method is designed based on a benchmarking literature review. Based on the review it was established that the design of the benchmarking method consists of phases, process steps and criteria. Subsequently with the literature review a benchmarking model is designed consisting of phases, steps, and criteria directed at assessing the performance of municipal sport policy. In the benchmarking criteria common elements are: the usage of indicators, transparency in performance measurement method and self-assessment of performance. In the benchmarking models common process steps are: set objectives, define indicators, select benchmark groups, collecting data, preparing data, analyzing data, determining significant different findings and reporting findings.

With the designed benchmarking model the benchmark is conducted, resulting in the following findings. The benchmarking results found no significant correlation between the dimensions, the output and the outcome of municipal sport policy. This study found that for benchmarking both the benchmarking design as the benchmarking process are crucial. Currently literature focuses on the design of the benchmarking method. This study found that the benchmarking process confronts challenges mainly related to data analytics.