"PhD student: Institutional Approaches to Managing Public Space"

Job Description

Are you fascinated by how public space is managed, maintained, coordinated and sustained over time? Do you wonder why municipalities, provinces, and water authorities so often struggle to organise an integrated, efficient, and coherent approach to public space management? And are you interested in institutional design, governance, coordination problems, and the transaction costs that shape how public tasks are organised? Then you may be the PhD candidate we are looking for at Wageningen University & Research.

We are seeking a motivated PhD researcher to investigate the institutional and organisational mechanisms behind the management of public space—a domain in which coordination failures, fragmented responsibilities, and high transaction costs frequently hinder effective outcomes. Whereas public debate often focuses on participation or spatial design, this project takes a step back and asks a more fundamental question: how can public organisations structure their tasks, information flows, and decision-making processes in ways that genuinely improve public-space performance?

This PhD project approaches public-space management through the lenses of transaction cost theory, rational-choice institutionalism, and organisational economics. You will explore questions such as:

• Why is integrated public-space management so challenging for governments, even when they explicitly strive for it?
• Does adding more actors, units, or officials improve coordination—or does it increase transaction costs and reduce effectiveness?
• When is integration a productive strategy, and when might more specialised or decentralised arrangements work better?
• Which institutional designs minimise coordination burdens, information asymmetries, and misaligned incentives?

Your research will combine theoretical analysis with empirical case studies. You will examine how different governance and organisational arrangements perform in practice; how they allocate responsibilities and risks; and how they handle uncertainty, interdependencies, and the growing complexity of public tasks. The project focuses on core institutional mechanisms such as hierarchy, contracting, intra- and inter-agency coordination, financial incentives, and organisational structure. Its aim is to identify transaction-cost-based institutional configurations that enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and adaptability of public-space management—and to deliver evidence-based insights into which governance models work, under which conditions, and why.

If you want to challenge prevailing assumptions, critically assess the value of “integration,” and contribute to a more rigorous understanding of how public organisations can organise themselves better, we would be excited to hear from you.

Requirements

You are someone who:

• Is excited about contributing to smart approaches to manage public space
• Seeks intellectual challenges and opportunities for growth
• Can work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Is self-motivated, curiosity-driven and takes initiative
• Has strong organizational skills and excellent communication skills

You also possess:

• A successfully completed (or about to be completed) MSc degree in Spatial Planning or a related field such as Public Administration, Political Science, Geography, Environmental Science or Social Science including good knowledge of institutional theories and governance.
• Demonstrated affinity with spatial development
• Experience with qualitative research related to planning processes, governance and instruments;
• Proficiency in Dutch (native speaker or level B2) to perform fieldwork.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language.

Conditions of Employment

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 3,059- per month rising to € 3,338.- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.