Projects
Examples of research projects of the group Citizenship and Humanisation of the Public Sector:
Back with a mission: reconsidering return trips from a relational perspective
Interdisciplinary research project that studies if and how return trips to mission areas help war veterans, their partners, and citizens to assign meaning to their wartime experiences.
Step by step: from day care to (sheltered) employment
In this project we research the wishes, needs and opportunities of day care participants trying to make the step from day care to (sheltered) work.
Action research on human contact at social services
In this project we want to investigate, together with three municipalities, what is needed to put the human touch first in the contact between government and citizens.
Solidarity in a diverse society
Populism is putting solidarity under pressure, especially solidarity across ethnic-cultural boundaries. This project aims to identify the conditions conducive to cultivating solidarity in diverse societies.
Dialogics of Justice: Assessing Recognition as a Process of Resonance
Nicole Immler received a Vici grant from NWO for her research proposal on ‘The Dialogics of Justice’, an investigation into (legal)) reparation practices after human rights violations: when do people feel recognized?
Impact of Covid-19 on Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Caregivers
A large international study is examining the impact of the Covid-19 virus on individuals with an intellectual disability and on those who care for them (care professionals and relatives).
Research into social inclusion for people with a disability in a sheltered housing environment
In July 2016 the Netherlands signed the UN convention regarding the rights of persons with a disability. We are investigating the significance of this for people with intellectual and/or multiple disabilities living in sheltered accommodation.
Narrated (In)Justice: Compensation Policies and Trans-Generational Narratives of (In)Justice
This research project in collaboration with NIOD explores compensation payments to (Jewish) victims of World War II in the Netherlands and how the policies of the late 1990s became a reference-point for present claims from post-colonial groups.
Inter-Generational Holocaust Research – Trauma & Resilience from an Existential Perspective
This research is based upon an interview collection that contains three generation interviews with members of the Dutch Jewish community about the legacy of the Holocaust in their family in terms of trauma, resilience, and meaning in life.
A critical analysis of the use of 'Family Group Decision Making' in rehabilitation treatment
In order to reduce the transition from rehabilitation clinic to home, Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) meetings have been offered to rehabilitants. There was not much interest for these meetings. The study examined the possible reasons for this.
Integration of refugees: social workers and residents in action
PhD research by Neeltje Spit into how social workers and active residents stimulate the integration process of refugees awarded resident status.
Democratic legitimation and sustainability of citizens’ initiatives
PhD research by Kors Visscher into the democratic legitimation of citizens’ initiatives. Can the gap between citizens and politics be reduced by stimulating citizens’ initiatives?
Taking Care of Caregivers (completed)
PhD research by Menal Ahmad into the experiences and needs of informal caregivers with a migration background looking after a family member with dementia.
School-to-work transitions of vulnerable young people in a meritocratic society
PhD research by Maritza Gerritsen to gain insight into how vulnerable young people go through their school-to-work transition. What do they encounter when they try to gain a place in our performance-based society?
Justifying a tailored response: the forensic social professional’s call
PhD research by Matthijs Brouwer into the way forensic social professionals reach decisions on how to offer a tailored response and how they justify these decisions towards clients and society.
Going back with a mission - pilot (completed)
Interdisciplinary research into the impact and significance of veterans’ return visits to former Yugoslavia, in collaboration with Leiden University Medical Center and the Ministry of Defence (Veterans Institute).
Network support in the community (completed)
This concerns a study in collaboration with VIAA Christian University of Applied Sciences into the social networks of people with a mental or psychiatric impairment.
Perceptions of client dependency (completed)
A study into the perceptions of dependency among people with a disability and their family members, commissioned by the Ministry of VWS.
Sustainable citizens’ initiatives and democratic legitimation (completed)
In this project we investigate the course of interactions between municipalities and citizens' initiatives in the new municipal constellation in which citizens' initiatives will play a greater role.
The promises of proximity (completed)
A four-year research project (2015-2018) examining the devolution of care and reintegration, with the title The promises of proximity; a qualitative investigation of the devolution of job market reintegration, youth care and long-term care.
Dignified care for people with multiple health conditions (completed)
This research project elaborates human dignity in the domain of public health care. The project is a collaborative venture with the City of Utrecht.
The changing role of volunteer organisations in the care sector (completed)
Research into the changing role of volunteer organisations in the care sector, and an examination of the ‘Vrijwillig Dichtbij’ (‘Voluntarily Nearby’) programme.
Tailored approach or inequality – effects of different welfare regimes (completed)
Since a number of years, municipal authorities in the Netherlands have been given more freedom to determine their own welfare policy. This research project (2018-2019) examined the questions: What differences have actually arisen as a result of this policy? And how do the welfare recipients view these differences?
Experimental governance in urban labs: the route to inclusive participation and resilience? (completed)
This project examined an experimental approach to governance in so-called Urban Labs geared to promoting the participation of vulnerable young people affected by problems in the social domain (youth care, job market integration, social support).