Rob Maessen has been a senior policy advisor for sustainable development and environmental issues with the public administration of the Province of Noord-Brabant in The Netherlands. He retired in September 2016 and is now working as a consultant. Over the years, he has been involved with a great variety of topics, i.e. the development of waste management policies and the exploitation and after care of regional landfill sites, with scenario studies for agriculture, environmental management strategies for SME. He has a special interest in the interplay at the regional level between public administrations, the corporate sector and civil society regarding the realization of a sustainable society. He used to be the Noord Brabant representative for the national programme DuurzaamDoor (https://www.duurzaamdoor.nl) and has been involved with a number of European projects on social innovation (Interreg North West Europe). Recent topics of interest are local food, in particular its value for shaping local communities in prosperity and good health, as well as the power of energy democracies, and the role of the next generation in delivering sustainable development.Rob has a degree in Psychology and was trained in experimental and cognitive psychology and the philosophy of science. He had several years of experience in social welfare projects and voluntary work in the Netherlands as well as abroad, before he started these studies.