My research focuses on collaborative spaces, co-creation, and participatory organizing as pathways to more desirable futures. I study “real utopias,” socially innovative forms of organizing found in impact hubs, living labs, and peer-to-peer communities. Then, I translate what works there back into the mainstream world of work to support digital and sustainable transformation. Increasingly, I ask under which conditions unusual alliances emerge between citizen initiatives, public administrations, businesses, and researchers, and what it takes for such alliances to hold together across differences to build collaborative business ecosystems.
At VU Amsterdam, I lead the team science platform, Organizing Social Transformation, where we research the role of experimental spaces in urban transitions. Much of my current empirical work also unfolds through the Project Value Modeling research collective, where we intentionally design methods for joint value creation processes. I also serve as an Affiliate of the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Sydney Business School and a Visiting Scholar at the Research Institute for Urban Management and Governance at WU Vienna.
Theoretically, I focus on how relational, place-based, and atmospheric dynamics influence collaborative governance. I am especially interested in how the 'lost art' of community-driven business or 'commoning' is rejuvenated in today's energy communities, food and housing co-ops, open source projects, and steward-owned businesses. Another research stream is concerned with initimate co-creation in teams, focusing on the role of listening, tensions, and facilitation.
Combining my passions for organizational ethnography and participatory facilitation, I employ co-design as a research methodology. Together with colleagues, I create serious games and co-creative workshops that serve as both research tools and practical instruments for project teams. Beyond the ivory tower, I work as a consultant and trainer on creative leadership and collaboration design. My pedagogy combines arts-based methods, serious play, and adult development theory to foster creativity and responsible innovation.
