In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

Dijstelbloem’s view on science and truth seems to support post-truth politics. The relativistic view on science is logically inconsistent and mostly irrelevant to practical science and its contribution to society. Post truth politics should be challenged by better science and better education.

In this feature authors review recently published books on subjects of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

Reflection and debate initiates academically inspired discussions on issues that are on the current policy agenda.

This paper will show how citizens’ summits in the Netherlands cope with diversity of participants and the impact of this on those initiatives. This provides insight in why diversity is hard to reach and what can be done to improve it. Presently, dissatisfaction about the Dutch democratic system is widespread. Solutions are being sought to strengthen Dutch participatory democracy. For this objective, citizens’ summits develop different kind of initiatives. However, citizens participating in these summits are a homogeneous group, namely mainly white, middle aged and highly educated. Mechanisms of exclusion, selection of candidates, homogeneous composition of the organization, and a dominating intellectual/rational way of debating are playing a role here. Citizens with different backgrounds need to be included in these initiatives to obtain a better representation of society’s voices. This notion has been strengthened by theory, which shows that diversity enables more creativity and innovation.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

In recent decades, the Dutch labour market has become more flexible. Flexible labour contracts enable firms to adjust employment to a changing market environment and to competitive pressures. Almost without exception, academic studies on the drivers behind the use of flexible labour contracts at the company level, are motivated by competitive pressures. However, companies may be susceptible to institutional pressures as well. Based on a survey among more than 650 managers in the Netherlands, we conclude that firms are vulnerable to institutional (mimetic) forces. This finding has several implications for policy-making and labour flexibility research.

Reflection and debate initiates academically inspired discussions on issues that are on the current policy agenda.

The most relevant part of a discussion is not what is discussed but what cannot be spoken of. The real taboos are those for which it is taboo to call them taboos. The status quo defines itself as non-ideological while denouncing any challenge to itself as radical. Therefore the column “De Blinde Vlek” frames the framers, politicizes the status quo and articulates what is not heard of.

In this feature authors review recently published books on subjects of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

Reflection and debate initiates academically inspired discussions on issues that are on the current policy agenda.

Transparency is said to be paramount for citizen’s trust in (semi-)governmental organizations, such as regulators and supervisory bodies, yet there is little empirical research in this area.
In an experiment we investigated the effect of different forms of transparency on citizen trust in a Dutch financial regulator. Our measure of trust consisted of three components: Competence, Benevolence and Integrity. Two types of transparency were used (rationale transparency and process transparency) in three different scenarios, one positive for the regulator and two negative.
Transparency, and especially when focused on the ‘why’ (rationale) led to slightly more trust by citizens. This effect was most pronounced in the Competence-component of our trust-measure. Interestingly, even being transparent about negative news – i.e. admitting that mistakes were made and focusing on the ‘why’ – does not necessarily decrease trust. In contrast, negative information that focused on the ‘how’ (process transparency) yielded a negative effect on trust.
We conclude that even when the message portrays negative information about the regulator, it pays to be transparent and communicate about it. Information should focus on explaining the rationale and underlying principles of a decision, and less on how the decision was taken.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.
According to many commentators, the system of science is in a crisis: it is characterized by perverse incentives, it is contested and misused, and it has lost its authority. In this essay, I suggest that the answer to this crisis lies in a broadening of the notion of scientific integritiy from the conduct of individual researchers to the wider context of the science-policy-society interface. Specifically, I argue for the need to foster what I call here ‘relations of integrity’. In these relations, science reflects on the role it plays and takes into account the context in which knowledge is produced and used. It has to maintain independence, while fully recognizing that value free knowledge does not exist and that multiple forms of independence are possible, and it needs to be accountable for the decisions it makes and for the consequences of those decisions.

In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.
Good work of any professional, including that of academics, consists of three elements: Ethics, Excellence and Engagement. Psychology professor Howard Gardner from Harvard developed a toolkit to identify the specifics of these three E’s for different professionals. Professor Gabriël van den Brink, Wout Scholten and Thijs Jansen unraveled how excellence, ethics and engagement are defined by Dutch academic scholars. They question the effects of an academic regime in which judgements about scientific quality are replaced by the counting of publications, the education of students is severely neglected and job satisfaction has been affected by bureaucratic obligations. Speaking about the human sciences more specifically, this essay advocates a better understanding of social complexity, a more convincing engagement with problems that influence many people and acknowledgement of the fact that the human sciences can only demonstrate their relevance in the long run.