Field of research

• Sustainability transitions
• Water
• Energy
• Food nexus
• Institutional economics

Profile

Nontsikelelo’s PhD research examines the role of institutions and communities in the creation of sociotechnical imaginaries and the resulting sustainability transitions. Over the period 1970-2024, she investigates historical and future institutional changes and imaginaries in Atlantis, South Africa.

Nontsikelelo is a member of the Research Network on Sustainability Transitions. The research she conducted is part of a larger project entitled “Nexusing Water, Energy, and Food to Increase Resilience in the Cape Town Metropolitan Region”. This project is a collaboration between Stellenbosch University, Utrecht University, the University of the Western Cape, and several industry partners and practitioners. The consortium is funded by the NRF and the NWO

As well as her academic and research career, she has extensive experience in green infrastructure engineering, evidence and research, knowledge management, and facilitation, focusing on sustainability, resilience, liveability, and specifically justice within urban environments in the Global South, having worked in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa.