Marina Bos-de Vos | Delft University of Technology

The role of values in circular co-creation processes

More and more companies are 'going circular'. They are designing circular products, services, business models and supply chains together with other parties. Yet, the nice steps that are taken in getting products, services and chains circular often turn out to be insufficient to get the finishing line of a transition process within reach and to further scale up the circular economy. What can we learn about circular co-creation processes if we look specifically at the values parties aim to establish and the values that influence the collaboration process? Marina Bos-de Vos, assistant professor at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology, together with Ellen Loots of Erasmus University Rotterdam, is investigating how circular design processes involve many different types of values, value-related tensions and opportunities that are not always recognized. With their research, Marina and Ellen draw attention to the importance of reflecting on the role of values in the co-creation process itself. Using practical examples, they show how reflection across time and contexts can provide inspiration for dealing more consciously with values and working from circular co-creation processes in a more focused way towards the ultimately intended transition. In this process lie beautiful, often untapped opportunities for designers.

Marina Bos-de Vos is a researcher and assistant professor of Strategic Design for Ecosystem Innovation at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Her mission is to increase knowledge about the co-creation and appropriation of value in complex multi-stakeholder design projects. She pays specific attention to the value-related tensions and opportunities that arise and the role that designers can play in tackling them. By integrating the theoretical insights generated by her research into practical methods and tools, Marina helps design students and professionals to make meaningful contributions to multi- and transdisciplinary projects that aim to make the world a better and more beautiful place. Her current work is a continuation of her Architecture studies at Eindhoven University of Technology (2006 cum laude), her work as a practicing architect and her PhD at TU Delft (2018 cum laude).

Her PhD research focused on how architects create and appropriate value in the interaction with other parties. Her focus now is on the co-creation and appropriation of value in projects that want to contribute to the ecosystem innovations needed for major societal transitions, such as the transition to a circular economy. For example, together with Ellen Loots (Erasmus University Rotterdam), she investigates value co-creation in circular design processes and how insights from this can be integrated into the education of future designers, entrepreneurs and managers in the creative industry. Marina's work has been published in leading scientific journals and is part of various educational programs.

[Discover Marina Bos-de Vos on LinkedIn.]