Projects
ACROSS
“Aligning public and CoRpOrate Sustainability goalS” : as its name suggests, the main aim of the ACROSS project is to align sustainability objectives of public authorities and businesses and to establish long-term strategic cooperation between economic players and local authorities in the participating regions. This Interreg Europe project is based on an effective inter-regional knowledge exchange process. In this project, Nathalie Crutzen and her team are a full partner, leading the collaborations and processes within the territory of Hannut, in collaboration with the municipality itself. They also aim to voice findings at the Walloon and international level.
Keywords : Sustainability Management, Governance, Multi-Stakeholders’ collaboration
BOLSTER
The BOLSTER Horizon Europe project – « Bridging Organizations and marginalized communities for Local Sustainability Transitions in EuRope » – aims to understand how marginalised communities are affected by European Green Deal (EGD) policies and whether their involvement in decision-making processes increases support for transition plans. The project is analysing how part of the European Green Pact is being implemented in seven European regions, including Hainaut in Belgium. Nathalie Crutzen’s team is in charge of the Hainaut case study, in which it is engaging with stakeholders in the region through academic interviews to understand the Just Transition processes, as well as organising multi-stakeholder forums to hear directly from citizens about their perceptions of this process.
Keywords : Governance, Multi-Stakeholders’ collaboration, Just Transition
Smart City Institute
Prof. Nathalie Crutzen is the Academic Director of the Smart City Institute (SCI), which she founded in 2015 at HEC Liege/ULiège. This institute deals with the topic of Sustainable and Smart Cities and, more broadly, the transition of cities/territories towards sustainability (economic, environmental and social dimensions). The SCI proposes to approach this phenomenon from a management- science perspective while collaborating with other disciplines (economy, geography, architecture, computer & environmental sciences, etc.). The SCI focuses its activities on the following objectives: stimulating research on Sustainable and Smart Cities/Territories; training students and practitioners; creating awareness and supporting innovation.
Keywords : Management, Governance, Innovation Management, Public Management, Sustainable and Smart Cities/Territories
UNIC
UNIC is an alliance of ten European universities, anchored in ten specific post-industrial urban ecosystems, dedicated to developing new European learning, working and research models that will shape the university of the future. The UNIC alliance offers a privileged framework for the exchange of good practice and the sharing of expertise in the fields of teaching, research and administration, on 7 transversal thematic lines: Superdiversity, Sustainability and Green Cities, Urban Resilience and Smart Cities, Justice, Security and, Institutions, Entrepreneurship for Innovation, Health and Wellbeing, Arts, Culture and Creativity. Nathalie Crutzen’s team is active in this alliance as the expert point of contact on sustainable and smart territories for ULiège. In particular, they are working on a case collection series on the governance and management of sustainable and smart territories that will be later shared and used by the whole alliance.
Keywords : Management, Gouvernance, Sustainable and Smart Cities, City-University dynamics
GROOF
Groof – Greenhouse to Reduce CO on RooFs – was an innovative Interreg Europe project aimed at reducing CO² emissions through the installation of rooftop greenhouses. The aim of the project was to facilitate the emergence of the concept on the market, by providing agricultural and construction stakeholders with a set of best practices for developing viable and functional models, and to make the design of rooftop greenhouses accessible to all. The University of Liege was involved in this project through the Centre de Recherches en Agriculture Urbaine (CRAU, Gembloux) and Nathalie Crutzen’s team, providing support for the agronomic and the socio-economic aspects of the project. ULiège was also in charge of developing a pilot greenhouse – Serr’Ure – on the new TERRA building in Gembloux.
Keywords : Management, Multi-Stakeholders’ collaboration, Urban Agriculture
ERDF – Wal-e-cities
Wal-e-Cities was an ERDF project designed to support the development of innovative Smart Cities solutions throughout Wallonia. In the Wal-e-cities project, the Smart City Institute played a transversal role linked to its expertise in management and economics in order, on one hand, to study the economic and societal impacts on Wallonia and, on the other hand, to identify a series of avenues aimed at optimising the development of ‘Smart City’ projects in Wallonia, with a view to federating the ‘Smart Region’. Nathalie Crutzen and her team published a series of practical guides on Smart Cities and their management as well as a series of research reports on topics such as Monitoring, MaaS (Mobility As A Service) and Digital Twins.
Keywords : Management, Governance, Innovation Management, Public Management, Smart Cities/Territories
Nathalie Crutzen 