Welcome to the webpage of the Public Administration group at the University of Twente. We like to think of ourselves as a vibrant department with a rich history and a bright future. Our academic staff members are passionate teachers and creative researchers, who are strongly engaged in distinguished educational programmes and societally relevant research projects. These cover a range of topics in the fields of public governance, policy studies and public management. We often connect those fields to contemporary developments in the intricate relationship between modern technologies and society.
Our past, present and future
The roots of our department go back around fifty years, when in 1976 our university lauched the Bestuurskunde degree programme. It is the oldest programme of its kind in the Netherlands, being the first full-time degree in Public Administration. It was also the first non-technical degree programme at our university, then still known as the Technische Hogeschool Twenthe. Over the years, much has changed, but one thing has remained the same: a strong commitment to combining rigorous empirical research with high-quality education, serving both academia and society at large.
One area where a notable difference can be observed, is the diversity of our group. Although we are a small group, we currently have staff members with their roots in countries across five different continents: Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Serbia), North America (Canada, United States), South America (Argentina, Brazil), Africa (Egypt, Zimbabwe) and Asia (Singapore, Turkey, Vietnam).
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Ringo Ossewaarde delivers a speech at René Torenvlied’s 12.5-year work anniversary. (From left to right: Ringo, Rik, Su, Stefan, Tafadzwa, Jovana and René)
As you can imagine, we keep our fingers crossed that one day an Aussie and a Kiwi will join our group too. Although bright and kind scholars from anywhere in the Netherlands or the rest of the world remain equally welcome to join our department or seek collaboration.
This international character enriches our teaching and research and reflects the global nature of the complex problems that our societies face today. We aim to understand these challenges better and help address them by studying and advising about effective policy solutions and legitimate governance structures. Our present diversity seemed unimaginable fifty years ago. It makes us wonder how our group and society at large will look fifty years from now, as well as feel excited about our teaching and research in the years ahead.
Our mission
The University of Twente formulated its mission a couple of years ago under the name "Shaping 2030." Our department contributes to this mission by addressing social and technological challenges through teaching and research in the fields of public governance, public policy and public management. This contributes to shaping an equitable, sustainable, resilient and digital society in the face of multiple and conflicting stakeholder interests. Our research and teaching from a public administration perspective focuses on shaping connected communities, sustainable environments, better health care systems, governance for a resilient world and shaping a digital society. Our teaching and research are characterized by an emphasis on transforming political-administrative systems, embedding new technologies in the public domain and blending public administration with society and technologies. The department thus brings social and technological issues into the world of the political-administrative system.
Our institional memberships
- ECPR: European Consortium for Political Research
- EURA: European Urban Research Association (we are proud co-founders)
- NIG: Netherlands Institute of Governance
- VB: Vereniging Bestuurskunde
Journal Bestuurswetenschappen
About the Journal
Bestuurswetenschappen (Public Administration), founded in November 1946, is the oldest Dutch-language journal in the field of public administration. The journal is dedicated to advancing scholarly knowledge on local governance and strengthening the connection between academic research and administrative practice. In doing so, it aims to contribute to the quality of local governance.
The journal publishes rigorous analyses of local societal challenges, the strategies used to address them, and how these strategies evolve through interactions between citizens, civil society organizations, businesses, and government institutions.
Bestuurswetenschappen welcomes contributions from a wide range of disciplines. In addition to public administration, political science, and constitutional and administrative law, the journal also encourages perspectives from fields such as sociology and economics.