Public Administration and Policy Group
The mission of the Public Administration and Policy group is to study the governance of wicked problems in the interrelated domains of water and climate, food and agriculture, and energy and circular economy, and to use the generated insights to develop governance arrangements. By doing so the group aims to contribute to scientific progress, to societal debates, and to policy practice.
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Our research
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Dynamics and directions of change in governance
This research line conceptualises and analyses continuity and change in policies, polity, and politics and how they enable and constrain the dynamics and directions of societal change. Because of the wicked nature of the challenges facing governance actors in the domains of climate and water and food and agriculture, it is very important that policy systems respond to new insights, and do not become locked into old problem definitions and understandings.
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Between fragmentation and connectivity
Governance systems are typically organised along specialised units, distinct competences, and specific time frames. Sustainability transformations require cutting across these boundaries between temporal, spatial and jurisdictional scales, between public and private spheres, and between science, policy and society.
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Conflict and contestations
This research line develops an understanding of the role and contestation of values in the design, process and outcome of policy making and governance around transformations. It analyses what is seen as “good” governance of transformations in terms of, for example, effectiveness, legitimacy, accountability, sovereignty, or justice - both in a normative sense and empirically across various institutional contexts and stakeholders.
Education
Public Administration and Policy offers a wide range of courses, thesis topics and internship opportunities. On this page you will find the information you need for your MSc thesis, BSc thesis, internships and research practice.
Recent publications
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Unpacking the theory-practice gap in climate adaptation
Climate Risk Management (2023), Volume: 42 - ISSN 2212-0963 -
Social learning as a catalyst for building resilience among smallholder farmers: Exploring its role in promoting transformations
NJAS: Impact in Agricultural and Life Sciences (2023), Volume: 95, Issue: 1 - ISSN 2768-5241 -
In the Netherlands , pitchforks fly for an empire of cows