PhD Identifying Collective Values Amongst Housing Collectives for Sustainability Transitions

Join TU Delft as a PhD researcher within the ECCO project to explore how housing collectives embody values such as solidarity, care, sustainability, and cooperation.

Project Overview
This position is part of the NWO-funded ECCO (Empowering Citizen COllectives in societal transitions) project, a groundbreaking collaboration between five leading Dutch universities. ECCO investigates how citizen collectives—grassroots organizations formed by citizens working together on shared goals—can become powerful drivers of societal change in areas such as housing, work, income, and sustainability. The project examines how these collectives can partner effectively with governments to address pressing challenges, from climate change to social inequality. Within ECCO, 11 PhD researchers will form a cohort working collaboratively across disciplines and institutions. This particular position will be hosted at the Department of Management in the Built Environment (MBE), Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft.

Your Role
As a PhD researcher, you will investigate how housing collectives identify societal shortcomings and embody alternative values such as solidarity, collectivity, sustainability, and care. Your research will focus on understanding participants’ motivations and values, and on how diverse groups can develop a unified identity that strengthens their voice in governance. You will employ methods including the Means-End Chains method, collaborative ethnography, and data analysis. Working closely with societal partners such as Cooplink, Ecodorpen, and the Knarrenhof Foundation, you will map collective values and design pathways for housing collectives to influence housing policy and sustainability transitions.

This position is ideal for candidates motivated by housing justice, collective agency, and values-based approaches to systemic change. You will be supervised by Dr. Darinka Czischke (main promotor) and Prof. Tine de Moor (co-promotor). In addition to being part of the ECCO PhD cohort, you will be affiliated with the Co-Lab Research Group at TU Delft, where you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other PhD researchers working on related subjects in the Netherlands and internationally.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct research through qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, surveys, and workshops.
• Develop the Collective Values Navigator, a digital co-creation tool.
• Create a roadmap to enhance housing collectives’ performance and impact.
• Facilitate sense-making sessions with diverse stakeholders.
• Collaborate with fellow PhD researchers within the ECCO consortium.

Job Requirements

• Academic background in social sciences (e.g. sociology, anthropology), management sciences, organisational studies, or human geography, with experience or affinity for housing studies.
• Strong methodological skills in both qualitative and quantitative research, including:
  • Survey and interview methods.
  • Focus groups and workshop facilitation.
  • Experience with qualitative analysis software (e.g., Atlas.ti, NVivo).
• Proficiency in Excel, SPSS, and other statistical tools.
• Full fluency in English; proficiency in Dutch is highly desirable.
• Ability to communicate complex findings to diverse audiences.
• Excellent organizational and teamwork skills.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research on housing collectives and sustainability transitions, while being part of a vibrant international consortium.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale.

Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment

The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. The driving force behind the faculty’s success is its robust research profile combined with the energy and creativity of its student body and academic community. It is buzzing with energy from early in the morning until late at night, with four thousand people studying, working, designing, conducting research and acquiring and disseminating knowledge. Our faculty has a strong focus on 'design-oriented research’, which has given it a top position in world rankings. Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

Conditions of Employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months, followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €3059 - €3881 gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Additional Information
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Darinka Czischke, via e-mail: d.k.czischke@tudelft.nl.