Imrat Verhoeven is Associate Professor of Governance and Policy at the University of Amsterdam and Special Lecturer in Democratic Professionalism at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Together with John Grin, he is project leader of Just Prepare. Within the project, he focuses on the role of professionals who work at the intersection of technical and social issues to make homes in vulnerable neighbourhoods more sustainable. Imrat specialises in conflict and cooperation between governments, housing associations, other agencies and residents in the energy transition. Among other things, he is involved in the Energie Lab Zuidoost in Amsterdam at the Kenniscentrum Ongelijkheid.

Erik Jansen (PhD) is a psychologist and lecturer in Social Sustainable Practices at the Academy of Human and Social Sciences at HAN University of Applied Sciences, as well as a visiting professor at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences in Bergen (NO). He has been working on practical improvements and action research in the social domain for more than 15 years and is co-founder of the Dutch-Flemish network for the Capability Approach in the Social Domain. With his current research group, Erik is working on making everyday life more sustainable, focusing on the balance between sustainability and justice as values, including by developing a strategy tool for the Interreg NWE SCEPA project on scaling up energy poverty approaches. He is the work package leader for WP5 Learning Labs within Just PREPARE.

Dr. Mark A. Wiering (man) is an associate professor in the Environmental Governance and Politics (EGP) chair group and head of the Academy at the Institute for Management Research (IMR) at Radboud University. He specialises in social and political transformations towards a sustainable society and the role of new discourses, mainly with regard to renewable energy and water management. He is co-designer and co-coordinator of various international research projects, for example on climate change and water management (STAR-FLOOD; Knowledge for Climate) and grassroots initiatives in renewable energy (JPI-CC Mobilising grassroots). In addition to being work package leader in JUST-Prepare, he is project leader of an NWO-DUT project on the role of citizens and communities in the development of energy-positive neighbourhoods (Creating, Optimising and Planning Positive EneRgy districts - COPPER).

Dr. ir Joep Frens is Associate Professor in the field of interaction design in growing systems. He has a background in industrial design and takes a hands-on approach to education and research. He enjoys combining his research and teaching activities. In addition to his work as a researcher and lecturer, he is chair of the examination board of the Faculty of Industrial Design. Joep is often asked to give workshops and guest lectures, and he held the prestigious Nierenberg Chair of Design at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design in 2014-15.

Lenneke Kuijer is design researcher and university lecturer at the Industrial Design department of Eindhoven University of Technology. Lenneke trained as an industrial designer at Delft University of Technology, where she also obtained her PhD on the subject of energy consumption in households. In her research, Lenneke looks at the role that technology and designers can play in changing everyday activities that consume energy. For example, she conducted research in England on the rise of central heating in social housing. In her most recent project, she investigated how Dutch households can remain energy-efficient and comfortably healthy in hot weather, resulting in conceptthermostaat BRYS. Since 2024, Lenneke has been leading the Energy Transition in the Built Environment focus area of the Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems.

Anna de Zeeuw (Dr.Ir., 1963) is a senior programme manager and researcher at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Department of Engaged City. She trained as an industrial designer and business administrator and subsequently obtained a PhD in public administration on the subject of Perceptions of market forces and quality in higher education and elderly care.

She focuses on setting up and conducting research into living labs, using action research. In doing so, she focuses on metropolitan issues such as those surrounding the energy transition.

The theme of this is often cooperation between formal and informal organisations in a metropolitan setting. In addition, she uses her business expertise to conduct research in the field of chain innovation and cultural change, including in relation to the construction transition.

See also: https://www.hva.nl/profiel/z/e/a.m.de.zeeuw/a.m.de-zeeuw.html

Sietske Veenman currently works at the Chair Group of Environmental Governance and Politics at Radboud University Nijmegen. Her research focusses on environmental governance from a futures perceptive. Although Sietske addresses a wide range of environmental issues, her research focuses on the energy transition. Within this empirical focus, she uses a variety of perspectives such as: futures thinking and policy making processes, energy vulnerability, justice and narratives, anticipation and long term uncertainty, comparative politics, etc. Sietske has been involved in several research projects, from the local level to international projects.

Dr.Ing Thaleia Konstantinou is an Associate professor in the Department of Architectural Engineerin and Technology of the Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology and head of the Building Design and Technology section. Her activities, related to research and education, focus on energy efficiency, sustainability and circularity, façade design and constructions, industrialisation, product development, and integrated approaches to decarbonise the built environment.

She is the editor-in-chief of the Journal on Façade Design and Engineering, member of the editorial board of the Energy and Building journal, Theme leader of “Towards zero-energy buildings & beyond: Future-proof buildings and neighborhoods, ” of the Urban Energy Institute (UEI), member of the European Façade Network (EFN), the Ambassador Board of BUILD UP – The European Portal for Energy Efficiency in Buildings, and her faculty's cross-over research Themes "Circular Built Environment" Hub.

Piet de Koning is a designer and doctoral researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology. He investigates the relationship between technology, everyday practices and justice in and around the home through creative objects and tools. With access to various tools and materials, such as 3D printers and sensors, he works with residents to design inventive solutions for comfort and energy that build on what residents themselves have learned about their homes. Piet enjoys listening and is endlessly interested in residents' unique solutions and how people turn their houses into homes.

Charissa Leiwakabessy is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam within the Just Prepare project. Her research focuses on energy justice within renovation projects that are part of the Dutch energy transition, specifically in Amsterdam Zuidoost and Rotterdam Bospolder-Tussendijken. She studies the interaction between renovations and the living practices of residents and the role of recognition in this. Charissa uses her knowledge of social justice and policy to develop methodological solutions that make renovation processes more inclusive and do justice to diverse communities, with a view to a fair energy transition.

Diletta Ricci is a Building Engineer-Architect with a strong interest in how cross-scale design and management strategies in the built environment can significantly impact energy performance, the environment, and quality of life. She has a MSc in Building and Architectural Engineering from Sapienza University of Rome with a thesis in climate and socially-sensitive urban redevelopment projects. She worked in a multidisciplinary Italian design firm and as a teaching assistant in Building Technology and Sustainable Architecture course to assist students in designing energy renovation projects for social housing complexes. Currently, Diletta works as a PhD researcher at TU Delft with The Just PREPARE project, Housing Quality and Process Innovation Chair. Her research focuses on Just energy transition and renovation decision-making in vulnerable neighbourhoods.

Simone van WieringenShe has a degree in industrial design and innovation sciences, with the latter focusing on the social aspects of technology and the energy transition. During her studies, she also contributed to the realisation of a sustainable, comfortable and affordable home in Helmond. In her spare time, she is also involved in climate change and transitions, co-organising panel discussions and film evenings, (multi-day) cycling trips on this topic, or taking to the streets. She now works as a PhD researcher at Radboud University. For Just PREPARE, she is particularly interested in the energy transition in homes, how residents' daily energy consumption is changing and aspects of justice related to this.

Iris Loche is a postdoctoral researcher in the Building Performance group at Eindhoven University of Technology, where she contributes to the JUST PREPARE project. Her research focuses on developing resident-oriented renovation strategies for improving energy performance in social housing, with a special focus on diverse needs and user behaviour. Iris holds a PhD in Architecture, Technology and City from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil (2024). In her PhD research, she developed design guidelines for balconies as an integral part of optimising daylight, thermal performance, energy performance and natural ventilation in office buildings. During her PhD, she was also a visiting researcher at Cardiff University and Eindhoven University of Technology, where she further developed her research on the performance of sustainable buildings.

Henk Visscher, Architect, is Professor of Housing Quality and Process Innovation at Delft University of Technology and Director of the TU Delft Urban Energy Institute, a university-wide network of academics working on various aspects of energy in the built environment.

He has years of experience in research and education that contributes to safeguarding and improving the quality of existing and new homes, particularly in terms of energy efficiency, environmental impact, usability, health and safety. He currently focuses specifically on the energy transition in the existing housing stock. His work includes evaluation and innovation of policy, regulations and construction processes, with a strong focus on residents and homeowners, as well as other stakeholders.

Henk Visscher is the coordinator of a working group within the ENHR and active in various international networks such as EERA, and EFL.

Roel Loonen works as an associate professor at the Building Physics and Services Unit, Eindhoven University of Technology. His research and teaching contribute to the development of new technologies and insights that make it possible to create buildings that combine good environmental performance with a healthy indoor climate. Together with chain partners, Roel is working to accelerate the energy transition, including through the development and optimisation of integrated building envelope concepts and innovative energy systems for the built environment. By improving advanced simulation models and making them accessible to different target groups, his research contributes to more effective decision-making for making buildings and cities more sustainable.

Floris Vermeulen is an associate professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam and former co-director of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES). His research focuses on the social and political participation of people with a migrant background, mainly at the local level and on (local) policy on themes such as integration and participation. Important themes in this regard are the distance that marginalised groups feel from politics, see the recently published report with the Social and Cultural Planning Office. 'Is politics for everyone?' (together with Jaco Dagevos) and the problems this causes in the implementation of various forms of policy in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Mendel Giezen is an Associate Professor in Environmental Planning and Governance at the University of Amsterdam. He is also programme director of the BSc in Social Geography and Planning, the MSc in Human Geography and the MSc in Urban and Regional Planning. He researches processes of change and stagnation in various spatial sustainability issues and likes to link scientific insights to concrete interventions. He is involved in various European and national projects related to the energy transition, often in relation to vulnerable groups. He is also co-director of the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies, which connects sustainability researchers within the social and behavioural sciences, and sits on the steering committee of the UvA's interdisciplinary Sustainable Prosperity research programme.

Renée Heller has been Professor of Energy and Innovation at the Faculty of Technology at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences since 2020. Within the professorship, she works on technological interventions for the energy transition, such as energy-positive areas, smart energy networks, and highly efficient and circular solar panels.  From 2015 onwards, she was senior lecturer in Sustainable Energy Systems.

Heller studied Physics and General Arts at Utrecht University. After obtaining her PhD, Heller worked for several years at Ecofys, an international consultancy firm specialising in energy conservation and sustainable energy. There she worked as a researcher and unit manager in the field of horticulture, the built environment and local energy systems. Renée is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Milieu Centraal.

Recent publications: Renee Heller – Research output — HvA Research Database

Stan Majoor, urban planner and public administration expert, is Lecturer in Coordination of Metropolitan Issues at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and professor of Local Planning Professionals at the University of Amsterdam.

His interests lie in practical puzzles at the intersection of spatial, administrative and social domains, for example in relation to neighbourhood renewal, energy transition and citizen participation. He pays particular attention to frontline professionals who work on these issues on a daily basis in complex environments both within and outside their organisations.

Maria Kaufmann is an assistant professor at Radboud University Nijmegen and conducts international comparative research on climate adaptation, energy transition and alternative economic systems such as degrowth. Her research focuses on three main themes, all of which are relevant to a just energy transition: (1) analysis of sustainability transformations and institutional dynamics; (2) critical discourse analysis of sustainable transitions, visions of the future and environmental justice; (3) (environmental) justice, investigating inequalities in the distribution of environmental costs and benefits and the justice discourses that underlie them. Maria is co-coordinator of the TransAct (Transformation for Sustainability in Action) Research HotSpot at the Institute for Management Research.

Dr. Aksel Ersoy is an Assistant Professor in Urban Development Management at Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Management in the Built Environment. He is interested in understanding the complex relationship between social and economic transformations taking place in developing economies, metropolitan cities and the built environment. He graduated from Middle East Technical University, Turkey where he studied City and Regional Planning. He completed his master degrees on Urban Planning and Policy (Politecnico di Milano) and Town and Regional Planning (University of Sheffield). His research experience has benefitted from a combination of theories and approaches in the discipline of planning, geography and beyond. His PhD thesis at the University of Birmingham explored two sets of theories on local economic growth, i.e. the endogenous growth theory of the economists and the institutional theories of economic geographers and sociology. Later on he became interested in STS literature, in particular, coproduction of knowledge in cities and the role of communities. Recently, his interest has shifted towards the governance of ‘the smart city’, artificial intelligence, urban resilience, urban infrastructure and climate change urbanism.

Karin Landsbergen (PhD) (1965) is a biologist and social worker. In 2012, she joined the Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences as team leader and senior lecturer in the Social Work programme. From 2022, she will work as a senior researcher at the HAN Research Group for Social Sustainable Practices. From an eco-social perspective, her focus is on themes such as promoting a socially just and inclusive energy transition, energy poverty, and incorporating the voice of nature into research and education. She is co-developer of the HAN minor Energy in a Sustainable Society and the national master's programme Sustainability Transitions. Within Just Prepare, she is the driving force behind the Living Lab Dukenburg. Her work combines her biological and social backgrounds.

Dr. Korrie Melis is a senior researcher and lecturer. She works at the Social Sustainable Practices research group, Master's in Management and Innovation (HAN University of Applied Sciences) and the Living Environment in Transition research group (Hanze University of Applied Sciences). Her work focuses on themes such as regional (in)equality, quality of life, communities (villages, districts and neighbourhoods), resident participation, government participation, and changes over time and in physical space. In her research, she combines geographical and historical insights gained from her studies in Cultural Geography (MSc) and Economic and Social History (PhD), both at the University of Groningen. In Just Prepare, she is involved in Living Lab Gemert Bakel.

Luca Gennari is a Building Engineer specializing in energy-saving and sustainable buildings from the Danish Technical University (DTU). His background includes research in sustainable, healthy HVAC and work as an Environmental Engineering consultant. Currently a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Arnhem and Nijmegen (HAN), he develops educational projects focused on sustainability and circular product design, such as energy-conscious users with smart appliances and the HAN Circular Lab. He aids in spreading Just PREPARE knowledge through Learning Labs. He lives near Veluwe National Park, where he enjoys family walks in the forest with his two young children.