My research concerns different forms of active citizenship, with a strong focus on citizen science, volunteering and participation. Most of my work has concerned environmental topics, especially biodiversity and nature conservation, and more recently the energy transition. My key aim is to bring the perspectives of active citizens into focus, especially their motivations and experiences. In other words, foregrounding the 'citizen' in citizen science and citizen participation.

I have a strong passion to carry out research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and is of direct relevance to societal partners, which is why I'm part of the core team of the Academic Collaborative Center (ACC) on Climate and Energy.

I'm a conservation social scientist who enjoys drawing on both quantitative and qualitative methods. My PhD research drew on survey research to investigate the profile, motivations and experiences of Dutch biodiversity citizen scientists and other green volunteers. These studies were commissioned by diverse Dutch nature organisations in order to strengthen their knowledge on what's important to their volunteers.

Transitioning to a postdoc offered the opportunity to further draw on qualitative methods. In the international project EnviroCitizen, I carried out interviews and fieldwork to explore the potential for ornithological citizen science to foster environmental citizenship. 

I'm currently active within the Academic Collaborative Center on Climate & Energy, where I carry out both literature reviews and empirical research on participation and citizenship in the energy and climate transition, while continuing to write on citizen science and volunteering.

I have coordinated and carried out teaching on different topics, including citizenship, participation and the energy transition, as well as empirical research methods. Currently, together with Martijn Groenleer I coordinate the Governance Clinic, a MSc Public Governance & Strategy course where students work in groups for real-life clients on a governance challenge. We also coordinate a master thesis circle on governance of the energy transition.

Click here for my courses.