Internship project Cycling Institute

Internship project 

Who are Urban Cycling Institute? 

The Urban Cycling Institute is an Amsterdam-based, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to accelerating the transition to sustainable urban mobility. They bridge academia and practice by conducting research on urban cycling, offering professional training, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders and communities and officials to improve city environments. More info on: https://urbancyclinginstitute.org/ 

Project information 

In recent years, action has been called for to increase physical activity levels globally, especially amongst vulnerable population groups. It has been suggested that incorporating physical activity levels into the daily lives of the most inactive population groups – particularly through walking and cycling – can provide impactful benefits to public and planetary health. Global physical activity levels vary region by region, and data suggest that low levels of physical activity exist amongst members of Caribbean population groups. Moreover, high levels of obesity, mortality and morbidity have been highlighted amongst Caribbean populations. The Caribbean Dutch municipality of Bonaire is no different, with data suggesting that 60% of Bonaire residents experience overweight, obesity, and other (oftentimes preventable) health conditions. 

In January 2024, Urban Cycling Institute, supported by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport of the Netherlands commenced a 4-year pragmatic research project aimed at enhancing active mobility and reducing health inequities on Bonaire. The project sets out 4 overarching objectives to be achieved over the period 2024-2027, culminating in the co-development of a set of evidence based policy recommendations for active mobility. The first year of the project aims to explore and understand the factors which hamper and facilitate active mobility and physical activity for residents of Bonaire. In year 2, mixed methods community based research will be carried out that uncovers local narratives regarding the social determinants of physical activity and active mobility and the stakeholder network responsible for physical activity and active mobility. The third year will focus on the identification and evaluation of existing interventions on Bonaire. Finally, year 4 will be focused on the development of evidence based policy actions.

The project is currently in its third year and the project team will hold workshops with various stakeholder and government groups to begin the formation of policy actions for active mobility. Objectives which the the candidate will work on may include: 

● Assist in the planning, delivery and analysis of up to 3 workshops with community members, local politicians and stakeholders to develop policy actions for active mobility ● Work with the Urban Cycling Institute team to progress workshop outcomes into the next stage of policy development. 

● Develop a roadmap in collaboration with project team to plan policy development process, including an overview of Bonaire political process and upcoming opportunities to intervene with political processes, for the remainder of the project 

● Liaise with community based researcher to assist with observations, surveys and any other on the ground data collection 

● Host meeting with Rincon school, project team and other relevant partners to discuss ‘school streets’ possibility in Rincon 

● Explore potential scale up or start of street-based and community-based interventions such as CYCLOVIA, Ride for the Roses, Bikecafe Fietsersbond Bonaire 

Requirements 

● Workshop facilitation skills 

● Fluency in Dutch and English. Papiamentu would be a strong advantage. ● Spend a period of time on Bonaire. 

If you have any questions please contact Dylan Power (Senior Researcher - Urban Cycling Institute) at dylan@urbancyclinginstitute.org. 

Want to know more about the project? 

● Read the evaluation report of Baislife Bonaire’s school based cycling program ● Read our baseline report 

● Read our academic journal article published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 

● Read our active mobility evidence briefs for policymakers 

● Read our feature and case study in the World Health Organisation’s report on strategic urban health 

Learning Communities 

This project is linked to the Even Groene Vrienden Learning Communities ‘Sustainable Environments’ and ‘De Gezonde Wijk’ on Curaçao. More information on Learning Communities can be found here: (www.evengroenevrienden.nl). For questions about the Learning Communities, you can contact Barbera Keukens (Community Coordinator - Even Groene Vrienden) at b.m.keukens@tudelft.nl