- Driving change
The project explores how small-scale producers in the DRC can be better included in decision-making around mineral supply chains for electric-vehicle batteries, focusing on human rights, social, and environmental impacts. By combining participatory research and critical analysis, it aims to develop a framework for more meaningful participation and accountability in transnational supply-chain regulation. - Informational Citizenship (InfoCitizen)
InfoCitizen investigates how grassroots and expert-led data initiatives in the Global South shape new forms of citizenship, identity, and political engagement. By tracing how data is produced, circulated, and used across five countries, the project explores how information can drive cultural, economic, and democratic transformation from the bottom up. - Powering development, stabilization and conservation?
The project evaluates the impact of rural electrification on economic development, security, and conservation in communities around Virunga National Park, DRC. By comparing changes over time between areas with and without electricity access, it tests whether electrification can reduce reliance on natural resources and armed groups while promoting sustainable development. - The promise of eCooking
This project partners with Virunga Energies to scale up clean electric cooking in Goma, DRC, building on a successful trial of Electric Pressure Cookers that proved beneficial for households, the environment, and the utility. The current research tests innovative pricing, incentives, and complementary technologies to improve adoption, reduce charcoal use, and support sustainable business models. - EDITOR
EDITOR uses advanced Earth observation to assess how mining and related land disturbances in Eastern and Southeastern DRC contribute to geo-hydrological hazards like landslides and floods, and how these changes impact vulnerable communities. The project focuses on understanding the compounding effects of human activities and natural conditions on environmental risk. - Uneven, unsafe and insufficient water access: resource governance in a mineral rush (WATERRUSH).
This project investigates how the cobalt boom in the DRC's Copperbelt affects water quality, availability, and access in rapidly urbanizing mining areas. By combining environmental science, mapping, and social research, we aim to inform fair and sustainable water governance amid the global rush for critical minerals. - SPRING | Social Protection & Inclusive Growth
SPRING is a research and policy platform uniting partners from Belgium, the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda to explore how transformative social protection can be achieved in economies dominated by informal work. The initiative supports inclusive growth by promoting decent work, expanding social protection, and advancing universal health coverage through evidence-based dialogue. - From handmade gravel to handmade urbanism
The project traces the value chain of sand and stones extracted around Lake Kivu, focusing on human labor, environmental impact, and the city's architectural development. By improving extraction processes, protecting labor (especially female labor), and enhancing urban construction in Bukavu, the project fosters sustainable urbanization and multidisciplinary collaboration in environmental, labor, and architectural fields.