Public Administration: Research in Public Administration & Organizational Science

Testimonials

Christoph Ossege studied Research in Public Administration and Organizational Science and is working on his PhD in Bremen.

'I think the approach to this study Program is very different to that at other universities and faculties. Here spirited debates are held and the lecturers give you lots of personal attention. Whatever question you might have, you always receive an answer within a few days and you can speak to anyone. I like that very much. At first I has to get used to the different Philosophy of Science approaches but now I think that it is one of the strongest points of the Program: you’re introduced to all kinds of perspectives and later you can make a deliberate choice depending on your particular research question. Now I know where to look. Furthermore, I found it very stimulating that in the second year you have so much freedom to follow your own line of interest and that you are able to tackle such a large research project. You can study a theme at length and in depth. For me the Program was an excellent test. Now I know for sure that I like doing research.
At present I’m still writing an article on the influence of accountability on the behaviour of managers in the public domain. Do they put more time and energy into decision-making situations if they’re made directly accountable? At first I thought that if you’re intrinsically motivated to do your job well, being accountable would have less effect on your behaviour. This does not, however, seem to be the case. I’m still working on my conclusions, but already more detailed research seems necessary.
I have started working on my PhD at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Science and will study the dependence of supervisors in the European Union. They appear independent, but in fact they’re not completely independent. The question is, therefore, how strongly they depend on different actors, and how the actors exert their influence. The precise setup of my research is not yet entirely clear. That’s what I’m setting to work on now.'

Denise van der Klauw tweedejaars masterstudent

‘Ik zocht na mijn bachelor Bestuurs- en Organisatiewetenschap aan de Universiteit Utrecht een nieuwe uitdaging voor mijn masteropleiding. Ik vind het leuk om onderzoek te doen en om ‘de puzzel’ van een probleem op te lossen. De Research Master Public Administration & Organizational Science bood mij een mooie kans om mijn onderzoeksvaardigheden te verbeteren, theoretische verdieping te vinden en mijn studententijd te verlengen.
In het programma zijn veel keuzemogelijkheden en daarom voldoende manieren om mijn eigen interesses te ontdekken en daarin te verdiepen. Omdat de groep klein is en alle studenten ontzettend gemotiveerd zijn, word ik uitgedaagd het beste uit mezelf te halen.
Ik verwachtte dat de studiedruk hoog zou zijn, maar de inspirerende én gezellige leeromgeving maakt dat helemaal goed! Ik heb intensief contact met de beste professoren uit Rotterdam, Utrecht en Tilburg en met studenten van verschillende jaren, waardoor ik een interessant netwerk krijg. Op dit moment loop ik stage bij de Raad voor de Volksgezondheid en Zorg (RVZ), waar ik mijn afstudeeronderzoek dichtbij de praktijk kan uitvoeren. Ondanks dat ik nu nog niet direct een carrière in de wetenschap ambieer, verwacht ik dat deze Research Master mij een goede basis geeft om een interessante baan te vinden in beleidsonderzoek of -advies.’

Karin van Boetzelaer studied Research in Public Administration and Organizational Science and works for the Netherlands Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.

'After two years of doing research I was ready for a change of scenery, a different way of working, and for working with colleagues in a team. A good job opportunity presented itself at the Ministry of the Interior, so I thought: let’s go for it.
I’m mainly concerned with two themes: population shrinkage and cross-border cooperation. Fortunately, I’m also still doing research. At the moment I’ve commissioned a study to investigate how other countries deal with population shrinkage. I drafted the research design, collected the background information, but the actual research will be carried out by a research agency.
In different regions in the Netherlands the emphasis is on raising awareness of population shrinkage. If you anticipate, you can prevent nine out of ten of the harmful consequences. In cooperation with the Minister for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration we’ve tackled, amongst others, vacancy levels and the decline in levels of amenities. For instance, we’re talking with housing corporations on matters such as durable building in order that future generations can still benefit.
Furthermore, we’re looking into good initiatives like minibuses to fetch children from different villages and then take them to a centrally situated school, because keeping schools open in regions with shrinking populations, is difficult.
With regard to cross-border cooperation, my primarily focus is on improving labour mobility across the borders in, for example, the regions of Limburg and North Rhine- Westphalia. At the ministry we try to coordinate the solutions to these problems as much as possible. For example, we see to it the right parties enter into negotiations. Together with Foreign Affairs we see to it that foreign authorities are involved, for instance, if administrative effort is required on the other side of the border.
I’m on the road a lot; after all, themes such as population shrinkage and cross-border cooperation occur mainly in the border regions. This makes my work very interesting, because only sitting behind a desk in The Hague is not for me.'