Postdoctoral Researcher: Social Design of Intergenerational Contact Zones

About this position

This 30-month full-time postdoctoral position, starting in February 2027, will lead the Dutch work package and contribute to the work of an international consortium across all work packages. In this role, you will combine qualitative, quantitative and design research methods to develop and test a structured methodology for intergenerational co-design of public spaces in five European cities.

The opportunity

As care increasingly moves out of institutions and into communities, the neighbourhoods and public spaces around the home become part of the care ecosystem. Intergenerational contact zones can turn public spaces into everyday infrastructure for social connection, helping to counter loneliness and ageism while supporting healthier, more resilient ageing communities.

DESIGN4AGES aims to develop and test a Intergenerational Co-Design Methodology for planning Intergenerational Contact Zones in European cities. The project addresses the current lack of systematic, empirically grounded methods for involving multiple generations in the collaborative design of inclusive and climate-adaptive public spaces. The methodology will be applied in both physical and virtual co-design settings to explore its feasibility, its effectiveness in fostering intergenerational collaboration, and its adaptability across cultural and urban contexts.

The project conceptualises structured co-design as a mechanism for fostering empathy, creativity, a collective value-base and cooperation across age groups. The theoretical framework recognises that meaningful intergenerational encounters in urban planning processes can reduce age-based stereotypes, enhance mutual understanding and generate more innovative solutions related to healthcare transformation. The methodology will be tested in Aalborg (DK), Antwerp (BE), Lisbon (PT), Enschede (NL) and Valladolid (ES), each with distinct climatic, cultural, demographic and institutional conditions.

The role

You will be based at the University of Twente, within a team of interaction designers specialising in care and the engagement of older adults. The team's expertise spans co-design, systemic design and community-based participatory design. For the DESIGN4AGES project you will contribute across all work packages and play a central role in exploring co-design and collaborative practices that give individuals and communities a voice in shaping inclusive public spaces and urban policies.

Key responsibilities include:

Designing and operationalising the SICoD-M protocol, building on WP1 and WP2 findings, and developing participatory methods such as storytelling, collaborative mapping, role rotation, multi-sensory design and feedback loops.

Leading stakeholder recruitment, including experts, community organisations and mixed-age participants across sites.

Coordinating an expert Delphi study with experts across five countries to validate the protocol.

Supporting pilot implementation through workshops across five cities, where mixed-age groups (18–35 and 65+) co-design local public spaces as Intergenerational Contact Zones.

Overseeing data collection and data management in line with ethical and FAIR data principles.

Refining the final protocol with experts based on pilot insights.

Leading academic publications, including a scientific article on the pilot results, and contributing to knowledge translation activities for policy, practice and community audiences.