Kateryna Pereverza

My research is focused on urban transition governance and is informed by the theories from the fields of transition studies, future studies, complex system theory, and transdisciplinarity. Since 2019, I have focused on the conceptualisation of the emerging more systemic, "beyond projectification", and long-term-oriented approaches for steering multi-level and multi-actor processes of urban transitions. I proposed the concept of Transformative Portfolio-based Approaches (TPAs) to refer to this novel kind of governance approach.

Since 2023, I'm leading two research projects to advance TPA from various perspectives:

• "Forging systemic coherence: Transformative portfolio approach for urban transition governance"
  (funded by Formas "Early-career researchers" grant in 2022)
• "Climate-neutral and inclusive communities - Skellefteå"
  (funded by Formas)

I started researching TPAs in 2019 within the Formas-funded project "Connect to Transform: Enabling transitions via quadruple helix co-creation". In this transdisciplinary study, I collaborated with the Swedish Strategic Innovation Programme "Viable Cities" to explore how transformative innovation policy can create conditions supportive for wider implementation of "beyond projectification" approaches in cities. Since 2020, I have collaborated with the Strategic Innovation Unit of UNDP to learn from their pioneering work on introducing TPAs as a process for system transformations in a variety of geographical and governance contexts. I'm interested in the toolboxes of TPAs, the co-creation of theories of (transformative) change that underline the logic of TPs composition, (re)framing of challenges in the course of TPAs, and actor roles and (individual and organisational) capabilities needed to implement them in urban governance. One example is the evident role of national and international intermediaries in the piloting of TPAs by municipalities and their partners.

I have an interdisciplinary background with a PhD in Industrial Ecology (KTH Royal Institute of Technology – Sweden), a Master’s Degree in Social Informatics (IASA, National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI” – Ukraine) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Mathematics (IASA, National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI” – Ukraine).  I also gained extensive project management experience when I co-founded and successfully developed for 10 years a multidisciplinary international summer school AACIMP (during 2006-2015).

I defended my PhD thesis “Steering sustainability transitions? Modular participatory backcasting for strategic planning in the heating and cooling sector” in April 2019. My PhD study was based on two full-scale participatory backcasting projects implemented in the cities of Ukraine (Bila Tserkva) and Serbia (Niš) and aimed at fostering sustainability transitions of heating and cooling systems by 2050.

Since 2016, I have been developing and teaching AL2115 "Transdisciplinary Approaches for System Innovations" course for interested students from across KTH and for students of the KIC InnoEnergy master program "Energy for Smart Cities". The course is challenge-driven and transdisciplinary by its nature. During the course, students work in multi-background groups to address complex urban transition challenges in collaboration with societal partners. The course introduces a problem-solving process based on the thirteen modules of mPB described in this online manual. I also contribute to the MJ2673 "Research Methodology and Theory of Science" course with a lecture about scenario planning and supervise master students at SEED. Being interested in innovative pedagogic approaches which could foster a transformative mindset and collaborative learning in both physical and digital spaces, since 2020 I've co-edited a series of publications on Medium "Meaningful collaborations for system transformations".