On September 26, 2024, the institute for a Circular Society (i4CS) hosted a dynamic Pressure Cooker session at The Greenhouse in Utrecht, as part of the Seed Funding call for our Circular Safe Hospitals research line. The event brought together 20+ researchers from the four EWUU alliance universities (TU/e, WUR, UU, and UMCU) with the shared goal of developing innovative circular solutions for healthcare through inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration.

Morning: Setting the Stage for Circularity in Healthcare

The morning session focused on establishing a shared understanding of the challenges and knowledge gaps related to circularity in healthcare. Professionals from UMC Utrecht outlined their goals and actions for creating circular hospitals, highlighting critical knowledge questions in areas such as:

• Circular procurement and contracting in hospitals.
• Towards circular laboratories.
• Integrating circularity from a planetary health perspective.

In several groups, participants explored these themes in depth, using methods from the Rathenau Insititute and the Centre for Unusual Collaborations. This included introductory rounds, and interactive ways to explore the topics and expertise of the participants.

Afternoon: Catalyzing Collaboration

The afternoon was focused on catalyzing collaborations. A matchmaking session helped participants identify potential partners and build on the morning’s discussions. Parallel sessions allowed groups to dive deeper into specific research questions.

During the second half of the afternoon, teams moved to the proposal drafting stage, working together to translate their ideas into concrete plans for research proposals.

The event concluded with a plenary session, where participants shared key insights and next steps before wrapping up

Next Steps

Researchers now have until October 18, 2024, to submit their proposals for seed funding. The selected projects will have the opportunity to receive support in developing new circular solutions for healthcare.

A thank you goes out to the supporting team from the i4CS and the Centre of Unusual Collaborations and all participating researchers and stakeholders!

Overall, the Pressure Cooker session succeeded in building new connections and generating transformative ideas to advance the circularity agenda in the healthcare sector.