An International Review Committee, chaired by prof. Jean Hartley, concluded that the research group Public Administration of Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the world’s most influential research groups in Public Administration, making an outstanding contribution to society while being excellently equipped for the future. The committee reviewed four Public Administration research groups in the Netherlands (Leiden University, Utrecht University, Free University of Amsterdam and the Erasmus University Rotterdam), and awarded Erasmus University’s Public Administration group the highest possible scores in all evaluation criteria.
In its report, the committee noted: "The strategy of Erasmus for the period 2014 -2019 was to jump over an already high bar. The 2014 research assessment already noted that the quality, reputation and outputs of the programme were excellent. For the 2014-2019 period, the programme aspired to improve internationalisation, innovation and rigour in research even further. Additionally, the research programme aimed at strengthening societal relevance, integrity, and diversity. Overall, as is evident from this report, the Committee believes that the programme achieved these ambitious goals.”
The committee was impressed by the high quality of the scientific output of the group and the explicit strategy on societal relevance, based upon (among others) knowledge valorisation and applying design approaches to use PA research in a more solution-oriented way. The committee also valued the recent efforts to anticipate the retirement of several internationally recognised scholars from the group, while also praising the focus on methodological innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of the group.
Research director prof. dr. Arwin van Buuren states that the Public Administration group is pleased with the Committee’s assessment: “This result is a recognition of Public Administration researchers’ continuous efforts to produce top notch research.” Van Buuren stresses the Public Administration groups future aspirations and challenges: “We are working on initiatives to reward multiple talents and enable diversified career paths for members of staff. Furthermore, we are now developing a more inclusive system for evaluating staff performance. In doing so, we aspire to continue setting the agenda for achieving research excellence in the global Public Administration community, while continuing our strong commitment to societal impact”.
“As a School, we are proud of the way in which Public Administration combines top-quality research with a highly prolific societal impact strategy”, vice-dean of research prof. dr. Semiha Denktaş reacts. “The assessment committee recognizes our efforts to increase the diversity of the research group, to promote open science and to safeguard research integrity. We will continue on that path”.
Download the full review report here
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