Envisioning the ‘Grondstoffenstation’
Help a community imagine their circular future. Research inspiring examples of repair cafés, tool libraries, and remanufacturing hubs operating beyond recycling. Apply the Value Flower method to map economic, social, ecological, and cultural value creation. Transform findings into compelling visuals that inspire stakeholders to envision Rotterdam's first community-owned Materials Station. Creative, participatory, sustainable.
The Challenge
What does a truly circular neighborhood look like? Rotterdam’s Afrikaanderwijk Cooperative is pioneering a bold experiment: establishing a Grondstoffenstation (Materials Station)—a community-owned hub for recycling, remanufacturing, refurbishing, repairing reusing, and ultimately refusing waste. But there’s a fundamental challenge: how do you help a diverse community of citizens, civil servants, local businesses, and researchers envision something that doesn’t yet exist? Current approaches to circular economy often focus on recycling (the bottom of the R-ladder), yet the most impactful interventions happen higher up: refuse, rethink, reduce, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose. We don’t have enough tangible examples and inspiring stories that show what’s possible when communities organize around materials stewardship at these higher levels.
Your Project: Mapping Value Creation Across the R-Ladder
You’ll investigate exemplary projects and theoretical frameworks operating at the higher levels of the R-ladder to help stakeholders imagine possibilities for the Grondstoffenstation:
- Research & curate: Identify and analyze 15-20 inspiring examples of circular economy initiatives (repair cafés, tool libraries, remanufacturing hubs, community workshops, sharing platforms)
- Apply Value Flower method: Analyze what forms of value each initiative creates—economic, social, ecological, cultural, aesthetic—and for which stakeholders
- Co-create with community: Facilitate workshops with Cooperative members, municipality representatives, and stakeholders to explore how these examples could inspire the Grondstoffenstation
- Visualize futures: Create compelling visual materials (posters, booklets, or digital formats) that make case studies accessible and inspire stakeholders
- Map value networks: Document how different circular economy models distribute value among various actors and how this might inform governance structures
What Make This Special
- 🌍 Real-world impact – Your research will directly inform the design of a pioneering community-owned materials hub
- 🤝 Participatory approach – Work with citizens as equal partners, not research subjects
- 🔄 Circular economy focus – Explore cutting-edge models beyond recycling
- 🎨 Creative communication – Translate research into inspiring, accessible formats
- 🏛 Multiple value dimensions – Go beyond economic value to include social, ecological, cultural, and aesthetic considerations
Who We're Looking For
You have strong research and visual communication skills. You’re passionate about sustainability and circular economy, excited about participatory design, and skilled at synthesizing complex information into accessible formats. Bonus points for experience with circular economy, community organizing, the Value Flower method, visual design, or systems thinking. It is a plus if you can conduct research in Dutch, important for stakeholder engagement.
