Making an Impact at the EGPA Conference in Zagreb

Among more than 500 participants, our research group members Dr. Rosa Groen and Gijs Giesen made a significant impact at the 45th annual conference of the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA) in Zagreb, Croatia, where the theme for the 2023 conference was “Steering European Union through Poly-Crises Storms: The Role of Public Administration”. During the EGPA conference, both Rosa and Gijs highlighted two innovative papers based on student-driven research. 

The first paper, presented by Rosa at the panel on ethics and values, focuses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #16 Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions and the European Green Deal and compares and contrasts the viewpoints of youth in The Hague to those of policy makers. SDG #16 is especially pertinent to The Hague, which is known as the international city of peace and justice. For this research, students from The Hague University of Applied Sciences learned how to conduct the Q-methodology, a research method used to assess the viewpoints of participants. 

Does this topic interest you? Check out this conference paper by Dr. Rosa Groen, Dr. Vasileios Karakasis, and Gijs Giesen that was shared during the EGPA conference!

The second paper, presented by Gijs at the panel on collaborative governance and social innovation, explored challenges regarding EU mobile citizens (i.e. intra-EU labor migrants) in small to medium-sized towns (SMSTs) within the EU, particularly in regards to housing and registration. For the Facing Europe’s Challenges course, students from the European Studies program at The Hague University of Applied Sciences conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from a select group of SMSTs. The research revealed that many of these SMSTs faced common obstacles and challenges regarding housing and registration for EU mobile citizens.

Furthermore, Gijs also discussed an Interreg Europe proposal (currently in the works) where the findings from the research can help improve the situation of EU mobile citizens across the EU. Interreg Europe projects are projects financed by the European Regional Development Fund that focus on fostering interregional cooperation.

Curious and want to read more about EU mobile citizens? Check out Dr. Rosa Groen, Dr. Karijn Nijhoff, and Gijs Giesen’s paper EU Mobile Citizens: Challenges and successes. How small to medium-sized towns and businesses deal with EU Mobile Citizens.