Ties van Daal Researcher and advisor

Ties is a business economist and philosopher who works as a researcher and advisor at DRIFT. He is interested in the pathways toward a new economy, focusing primarily on the revaluation of value (both social and ecological), rethinking entrepreneurship, and the activation of new transdisciplinary collaboration in transitions.

A central question in his work is: How can transitions be made attractive both economically and aesthetically to show that a more just and sustainable future is not a utopia but realistic? He combines the tireless curiosity and fundamental questioning of a philosopher with a practical mindset, which is essential for any transition.

Ties works on several projects as an advisor, as a designer and teacher in educational projects, and as a researcher on the “Transition Ateliers” project. In this role, he develops the methodology for a "making-as-transformative-learning" process by mobilizing the qualities of artists and designers in co-creative approaches to questions of transitions.

Ties obtained a BSc in Business Economics and a BA in Philosophy from Tilburg University, as well as an MA in Societal Transitions and an MA in Philosophy Now from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Before joining DRIFT, he worked as a tutorial lecturer and research assistant at Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology. At the DIT-Platform (Design Impact Transition) at Erasmus University Rotterdam, he contributed as a research assistant to studies on radical imagination, transitions, and science, as well as coordinating the Sustainable Finance Seminars.

In his free time, Ties enjoys reading, listening to obscure music, playing and watching sports, making “art” from found-objects, and having long dinners with friends and family.