Witteveen+Bos Scriptieprijs 2026: Participatory design
Witteveen+Bos Scriptieprijs 2026: Participatory design
At Witteveen+Bos, we value creativity, drive and (sustainable) innovations. We see it as our job to encourage the engineers of the future in their persuit of a better world. Therefore, we will award the Thesis Prize for the 5th time in the autumn of 2026. Each edition focuses on one of Witteveen+Bos’ seven sustainable design principles. The prize is open to all students of universities and universities of applied sciences. With the prize, Witteveen+Bos aims to promote sustainable design among the new generation of consultants and engineers. This year the theme is: Participatory design.
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The Thesis Prize has two winners and will be awarded to the wo- and hbo-thesis that contributes best or most to – and/or has the greatest impact on – the (further) development of the Witteveen+Bos sustainable design principle being highlighted that year, and which explicitly aligns with at least one of the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.
The conditions for submission are as follows. The thesis:
- is written as part of an university/college thesis;
- contributes to and/or has an impact on the (continued) development of Witteveen+Bos’ sustainable design principle ‘Participatory design’;
- explicitly aligns with 1 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN);
- is innovative;
- is socially relevant;
- is applicable;
- is published in the academic year of the award ceremony, 2025-2026;
- is submitted by 15 September 2026 via this form.
The prize consists of €3.000,- to be used by the winner in connection with the relevant sustainable design principle. This could take the form of a course of study or related trip, a training course, a conference, project development, or the further development of the winner’s abilities. The winner also receives the Witteveen+Bos Sustainable Design Trophy.
Participatory design
The ‘Participatory design’ principle means not designing for the local environment but with the local environment. This increases support for the project, which increases its implementation efficiency, and the design will be more in line with the wishes of those living and working in the local environment, which increases the benefits.
Stakeholders acquire an active role in the design process. We facilitate this by organising meetings, individual discussions and online participation platforms. We collect input (ideas, concerns and interests) from the local environment, take this into account during the design process, and then feed the considerations back to stakeholders. We use this stakeholder input to improve our design, while at the same time using our design to create satisfaction in the local environment. This integrated approach links content to process in spatial challenges, enabling Witteveen+Bos to create added value for both the design and the participation process.
