Research Sigrid De Bois

Abstract

School governing boards occupy a particularly prominent, but and also too often underestimated place in the educational landscape. However, they are responsible for various policy aspects and strongly determine the powers, responsibilities and autonomy of school leaders in schools (and school networks). They organise education and, from a legal perspective, have the final responsibility over the quality of that education. Thus, the government cannot pursue a policy regarding educational quality without involving school governing boards in the policy agenda. Yet, due to a number of reasons, it is unclear which regulatory mechanisms the government can use to promote the effectiveness of school governing boards. The constitutional freedom of education implies that Flemish school governing boards adopt different legal forms and organisational structures. Specifically, this means that the same Flemish educational policy objective requires a differentiated legal-technical approach that fits optimally within the legal and administrative characteristics of each type of school governing board. However, the issue of school governing boards has barely received explicit attention in empirical research over the past decades. Thus, to date, it is rather unclear what the determinants are of effective school board functioning. There is little systematically collected empirical evidence on the composition, functioning and effectiveness of school governing boards, and conceptualisations are descriptive rather than analytical in nature. In this regard, research on the relationship between school boards and school management has been fragmented until now. In addition, the government remains in the dark about how to translate this knowledge base into fitting policy strategies. After all, the societal role of the government to direct, monitor and support school boards, and how to shape this role, must fit within the framework of fundamental rights and legal positions in education. This requires a substantiated and detailed view of which regulatory mechanisms and corresponding instruments the Flemish government can use in this regard. The central research question in this study therefore is which regulatory mechanisms the Flemish government can develop to promote the functioning of school governing boards. To underpin and answer this research question, a multi-method research approach is used in which several sub-questions are addressed. The research activities are clustered into three components. The conceptual-legal component inventories the existing (inter)national knowledge base, maps the Flemish legal context in which the relationship between legislator, government and school governing boards is situated, and analyses existing regulatory mechanisms within alternative sectors and international education systems from which the Flemish government can learn. The empirical research component, aimed at further conceptualising and explaining effective school governance, makes a description and analysis of (the functioning of) school governing boards in the Flemish context using case studies and survey research within the various types of school governing boards. Finally, the policy-oriented component provides for the development of policy scenarios with various regulatory mechanisms suitable for a multilevel educational governance landscape, and an ex ante evaluation of these policy scenarios with prominent stakeholders from within the Flemish field of education. 

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanhoof Jan
• Co-promoter: De Bois Sigrid

Research team(s)

• EduBROn

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The professional reality of architects is changing quite radically due to different developments. Contemporary construction projects are more and more often interdisciplinary collaborations. The projects are expected to provide sustainable urban solutions for so-called "wicked problems", such as climate change, mobility, health and the aging society. Addressing wicked problems in construction projects requires expertise from different disciplines. An example of such an interdisciplinary project that relies on close collaboration between various experts is the Dutch 2nd Skin project. This project aims to increase the energy-efficiency of existing structures through the use of modular façade elements that form a second "skin" around the building. The technology is the result of a collaboration between engineers, architects, housing corporations, real estate developers and climatologists. In Belgium the relationship between the architect, the owner and the constructor is typically represented by a "construction triangle", in which the architect takes the lead. However, as complex construction projects are increasingly based on partnerships with a variety of expertise and interests, the dynamics within this traditional construction triangle have shifted over time. This could ultimately lead to a move from the "construction triangle" towards a kind of "expertise network". Although architects continue to play an important role in those interdisciplinary projects, this "new reality" has a significant impact on the way architects are operating. Nonetheless, key components of the Belgian legal framework for architects have not been adapted to this new reality. Moreover, the literature does not systematically address this issue despite the fact that an academic debate has been launched in Belgium to think about the "Architect in the 21st Century". As this legal framework is currently under revision, this is an excellent moment to take into account the new professional reality of architects and to re-evaluate the legal framework. Therefore, the main objective of the current project is to systematically rethink the role of the architect (Architect 2.0) and to re-evaluate the relevant Belgian legal framework in a more fundamental way. In terms of methodology, we employ a comparative legal analysis (i.e. Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK) combined with qualitative empirical research. At the end of the project, an examination will be made whether it is necessary and appropriate to recommend changes to the Belgian legal framework and/or best practices facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration in design and construction processes.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Bois Sigrid
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: Nysten Sander

Research team(s)

• Government and Law
• Research Group for Urban Development

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

According to recent research, the Belgian legislation no longer matches the architects new professional reality (Uytterhoeven 2016). However, the legal literature on this topic does not take into consideration the way future metropoles are evolving. The literature on urban theory describes the need for cities that respond to complex challenges, so-called 'wicked problems', e.g. mobility, sustainability, housing and safeguarding cultural heritage. The literature and practice show that such problems can only be tackled by way of interdisciplinary collaboration between different experts and participation of all relevant stakeholders - e.g. architects, engineers, urban planners, project developers, scientists, policymakers and citizens (Aravena, 2015; Ratti and Claudel 2015). In our research we use the notion 'Open Metropolitan Design' (OMD) in order to refer to this type of collaboration. The application of OMD in urban development also has some implications for the architect's copyright, in particular for the moral rights. For instance, can architects invoke their moral rights to object to alterations to buildings that they have designed even if that would have negative effects on certain societal interests? This could occur for example when a building would be adapted in order to comply with sustainability requirements. Until now no literature exists on this type of issues. The research team 'Metropolitan Legal Lab' (MLL) - an informal interdisciplinary collaboration established by the promoter and co-promoter of this research application - aims at filling this gap in the literature. A comparative legal research method will be used focusing on the implications of the new professional reality of the architect with respect to his moral rights within the context of OMD. The objective of this research application is to carry out preparatory research on the basis of a systematic literature review, a number of interviews and a comparative legal analysis in view of drafting a research application for external funding. During a recent Research Workshop, organized by MLL and funded by STIMPRO2015, the relevance of these developments and of this new legal line of research concerning urban development was unanimously confirmed.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Bois Sigrid
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Research Group for Urban Development

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit New York and New Jersey hard. The Rockefeller Foundation and the Hurricane Sandy Rebuild Task Force (US Departement of Housing and Urban Development) issued a design competition named 'Rebuild by Design' (RBD). The objective of RBD is to develop resilient cities prepared for future challenges through collaborative processes between a variety of stakeholders - architects, urban planners, scientists, engineers, biologists, policy makers and citizens. In order to address this design challenge and to create resilient, innovative and sustainable cities for the future, knowledge sharing and collaboration between all those different stakeholders is required in order to succeed. Unfortunately the legal system may act as a barrier to this type of processes. Inflexible, complex, front end, descriptive legislation hinders smart and resilient urban development. The legal concept 'Adaptive Law' meaning a resilient legal technique, developed in the US, is relevant here. The American problems concerning urban development and societal challenges are analogue to the 'wicked problems' that Belgian and European cities of the future are dealing with, i.e. mobility, climate change, housing, innovation and digitalization ('smart cities'). Experts also observe that our legal system does not facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration in the urban development process. There is a lack of legal research concerning the opportunities of introducing Adaptive Law in continental legal systems to support the development of resilient and smart future cities. Therefore, this topic is proposed as a new line of research in the context of the collaboration called 'Metropolitan Legal Lab' (Faculty of Design Sciences and Faculty of Law) that will contribute to both fundamental legal research and applied research concerning urban design. The city of Antwerp, as a future proof metropole, can take the lead in this topic.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Bois Sigrid

Research team(s)

• Research Group for Urban Development

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In the Flemish debate on urban planning policy, Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) have recently been suggested as a possible solution for urban planning problems. The underlying principle of TDRs is relatively simple: property rights and development rights of real-estate are being separated and a market for development rights is created. Those development rights can then be traded and transferred to other real-estate owners or developers. Typically a distinction is made between the places where a community would like to see less development, the so-called sending areas, to places where a community would like to see more development, the receiving areas. The sending areas are generally areas where the government would like to achieve certain public policy objectives, such as safeguarding open space or preserving the environment or the rural or historical nature. Although the concept is not new (origins in the US beginning of the 20th Century) and a strong interest exists in Flanders to explore the utility of TDRs, no systematic academic literature or policy studies have been carried out to examine whether TDRs would actually fit within the Flemish/Belgian legal framework or whether this would require a modification of the legal framework. The proposed research project aims at filling this gap by examining to what extent it is necessary and feasible to introduce TDRs into the legal framework to respond to the identified needs and problems of contemporary urban planning.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: De Bois Sigrid
• Co-promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project aims the development of a new line of research entitled "Open Metropolitan Design and Intellectual Property Law (IP Law)". Open innovation and "the global city" are key themes for future (international) metropolitan cities. The modalities clash, however, with the fundamental principles of IP law. The literature does noet deal with these challenges. The current proposal aims to provide innovative legal solutions for these challenges.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Bois Sigrid
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Research Group for Urban Development

Project type(s)

• Research Project