I am Vivian Visser, an assistant professor at the Department of Public Administration and Sociology of Erasmus University Rotterdam, with a background in philosophy, urban and cultural sociology, and public administration. My research focuses on how governments ‘govern’ in various social transitions, how this is perceived by different groups of citizens and civil servants, and how this informs their actions and responses to these transitions. In doing so, I focus on citizen participation and community self-organization, and the (social) inequalities that are (re)produced within these transitions. I am committed to collaborating with external stakeholders, because I believe that their first-hand experiences and perspectives make science better and that their involvement improves the societal impact of research. Therefore, I, amongst others, coordinate the Kenniswerkplaats Leefbare Wijken, that connects researchers, policy makers and practitioners around the themes of neighbourhoods, liveability, safety and citizen participation to co-create knowledge.
Project Title
Tailoring citizen participation approaches to different groups of citizens
Behavioral change(s) addressed
The project aims to develop tools for public professionals to tailor participation approaches to different groups of citizens, therewith contributing to the legitimacy of public-decision-making and reducing social inequalities in participation.
Theoretical approach
My research is positioned at the intersection of public administration and sociology. As such, I draw on a variety of theoretical notions, such as administrative and cultural capital, social stereotypes, social construction of target populations, discretionary space and boundary spanning.
Empirical research strategies
In my research I combine both qualitative and quantitative methods like vignette survey experiments, document analyses, participant observations and in-depth interviews. In my current research project I predominantly deploy design-oriented, action research methods.
Possibilities for inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration
The project offers many possibilities for inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration. For example, I expect that the project would benefit from an organizational science perspective, to study what organizational contexts foster or hinder the inclusion of different groups of citizens in policy making and implementation. Additionally, insights from social psychology would be very valuable. For instance, to better understand the role of feelings of misrecognition and ownership in citizens’ willingness to participate or, using implication-association tests, to gain insights on the part played by implicit stereotypes among citizens and civil servants.
Social transition(s) addressed
My project(s) do(es) not focus on one particular social transition, but rather concentrates on how governments can ‘govern’ in various transitions in such a way that citizens are adequately included and social support for transitions is increased. I currently study how social status differences between citizens play a role in neighbourhood participation, for example in activities to foster biodiversity in neighbourhoods.