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prof.dr.ir. L. Volker (Leentje)

Full Professor

About Me

My name is Leentje Volker and I am a Professor of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) at the Department of Civil Engineering and Management (CEM) of the Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) at the University of Twente (UT), The Netherlands. Intrigued by interaction between people and the public built environment, the aim of me and my group is to create feasible and integrated civil engineering solutions that add value to society and stimulate innovation in the construction industry. 

As an construction management scholar, I focus on the realisation and maintenance of infrastructure assets in networks and (eco)systems. This includes procurement and contracting of (a portfolio of) social and economical infrastructure, the design of project governance and the reality of project organising.

I consider construction projects in the public sector as collaborations between public and private partners that involve strategic asset management decisions for public infrastructure. Connecting individual, organisational and institutional levels contributes to balanced way of value creation and value capture of a wide range of values.

My co-creative and qualitative multidisciplinary research approach often leads to interesting and innovative results that bridge the gap between theory and practice. This fits with my active social involvement in committees, boards and public meetings. Feel free to walk into the Horst Z226 or send me an email if you would like to get to a higher level of knowledge together.

For more info about me on the 'Featured Scientists' page, click below:

Expertise

Engineering & Materials Science
Construction Industry
Contractors
Sustainable Development
Business & Economics
Construction Industry
Infrastructure Projects
Innovation
Procurement Strategies
Public Value

Ancillary Activities

  • Rijkswaterstaat
    Corporate Tender Board Rijkswaterstaat

Research

I believe that value can be created for the complete construction ecosystem by explicating the tensions and dilemmas between fragmentation and integration, formal and informal rules, legal and social systems. Therefore I find it particularly important to exploit the exploration and explore the exploitation in construction processes.

Most of my research is related to: procurement and contracting of civil infrastructure, project organising and construction management, strategic asset management processes, collaboration between public and private partners in the construction industry, developing innovation and governing business ecosystems, and business models design.

I have a co-creative and qualitative multidisciplinary research approach which leads to interesting and innovative results that bridge the gap between theory and practice. Most of my research data is collected through interviews, (participant) observation, workshops, serious gaming, or surveys, often in engaged scholarship with practitioners.

Publications

Recent
Ruiz, A. , Santos, J. , Vinke - de Kruijf, J. , Volker, L. , & Dorée, A. (2024). Sustainable Innovation Processes in the Asphalt Paving Sector: Analysis of Actors, Interactions, and Institutions. Unpublished. In 2024 Transportation Research Board (TRB) 103rd Annual Meeting Transportation Research Board (TRB).
Coenen, T. B. J. , Volker, L. , & Visscher, K. (2023). Circular infrastructure in terms of institutional logics. In A. Tutesigensi, & C. J. Neilson (Eds.), ARCOM Thirty-Ninth Annual Conference 2023: September 4-6: Proceedings (pp. 731-741). Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM). https://www.arcom.ac.uk/conf-archive-indexed.php
Ruiz, A. , Vinke - de Kruijf, J. , Santos, J. , Volker, L. , & Doreé, A. (2023). Sustainable innovation processes in the asphalt paving sector: A system innovation approach. In A. Tutesigensi, & C. J. Neilson (Eds.), ARCOM Thirty-Ninth Annual Conference 2023: September 4-6: Proceedings (pp. 780-789). Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM). https://www.arcom.ac.uk/conf-archive-indexed.php
Pap, M. , Vosman, L. , & Volker, L. (2023). The implications of programmatic working on bid/no-bid decisions of contractors. Paper presented at 39th Annual ARCOM Conference 2023, Leeds, United Kingdom.
Volker, L. , & Schotanus, F. (2023). Tendering and Supplier Selection. In J. Grandia, & L. Volker (Eds.), Public Procurement: Theory, Practices and Tools (pp. 97-119). Palgrave Macmillan. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18490-1_6
Grandia, J., Kuitert, L. , Schotanus, F. , & Volker, L. (2023). Introducing Public Procurement. In J. Grandia, & L. Volker (Eds.), Public Procurement: Theory, Practices and Tools (pp. 1-18). Palgrave Macmillan. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18490-1_1
Sloot, R. N. F. , Voordijk, H. , & Volker, L. (2023). Making Sense of Tensions and Equivocalities in Digital Transformation. Paper presented at 83rd Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2023, AOM 2023, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2023.10389abstract
Coenen, T. B. J. , Visscher, K. , & Volker, L. (2023). Circularity in the Built Environment: A Goal or a Means? In G. Lindahl, & S. C. Gottlieb (Eds.), SDGs in Construction Economics and Organization: The 11th Nordic Conference on Construction Economics and Organisation (CREON) (pp. 253-267). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25498-7_18

UT Research Information System

Google Scholar Link

Education

My teaching involves procurement and contracting of social and economical infrastructure, project organising and project management, strategic asset management processes, developing innovation and business ecosystems, and designing new business models for new roles in construction.

Affiliated Study Programmes

Bachelor

Master

Courses Academic Year  2023/2024

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.
 

Courses Academic Year  2022/2023

Projects

Currently involved in the following projects:

  • Digital transitions at Rijkswaterstaat (PhD research Ruth Sloot)
  • The role of Rijkswaterstaat in the transition towards a circular economy (PhD research Tom Coenen)
  • Programmatic collaboration (PhD research Lynn Vosman, PhD research Gijsbert van der Waerdt, PhD research Eveline Hinfelaar)
  • Implementing asphalt innovations (PhD research Angie Ruiz Robles)
  • Towards an integrated approach of water safety protection in Natura2000 areas (postdoc Karin Snel)
  • Strategy implementation in infrastructure asset management organisations
  • Multi-objective design and decision support for circularity (EngD Susan Groenia)
  • Fieldlabs@Scale (PhD Lucca Vadecca)

 

Contact Details

Visiting Address

University of Twente
Faculty of Engineering Technology
Horst Complex (building no. 20), room Z226
De Horst 2
7522LW  Enschede
The Netherlands

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Mailing Address

University of Twente
Faculty of Engineering Technology
Horst Complex  Z226
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
The Netherlands

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