PhD defence M.J. (Jose) Nederhand

This dissertation focuses on the governance of self-organization – a topic that has increasingly received political and societal attention for its important role in upholding affordable and effective community services. Although the importance of community-based collectives, as a form of self-organization, has been widely acknowledged by governments, research has shown that many collectives in reality function with difficulty. To date, there has been a lack of systematic insight into preferred and effective governance strategies of municipalities to support community-based collectives. This lack of knowledge is problematic as governance efforts are essential to safeguard the development and performance of community-based collectives in today’s highly institutionalized and regularized society. In response to this gap, this dissertation uses a mixed-methods design to investigate the dynamics surrounding the governance of self-organization in the Dutch welfare sector by combining governance and institutional theory with detailed empirical analysis. The conclusions of this dissertation point to a new form of public governance where the government not only gives space, but also actively facilitates the self-governing capacities of community-based collectives. This dissertation demonstrates that despite dominant academic and practitioner’s preferences, the governance of self-organization not only involves ‘soft’ processual strategies, but also requires ‘hard’ institutional governance strategies to safeguard the performance of community-based collectives. As such, this dissertation opens the way for a better understanding of the governance of self-organization, by demonstrating the importance of hierarchy, power, and politics.

The public defence will take place at the Senatehall, 1st floor of the Erasmus Building, Campus Woudestein. The ceremony will begin exactly at 13.30 hrs. In light of the solemn nature of the ceremony, we recommend that you do not take children under the age of 6 to the first part of the ceremony.