Governments are experimenting with the development and deployment of blockchain applications to improve their services. This might lead to complexity and uncertainty about government responsibilities and the optimal design of rules. The interdisciplinary project ‘Blockchain in the network society’ investigates how distributed technology (blockchain) combined with rule-based algorithms (smart contracts) affect rule of law values. More specifically, the CHAIN research team investigates through literature review and two case studies how transparency and accountability are operationalized in practice. Ultimately, CHAIN studies how these blockchain applications can be designed in a transparent and legitimate way, so that citizens can trust the government.

Peatlands are essential for climate mitigation and host unique biodiversity. Peat moss builds the peat and shapes its habitat through traits that emerge only when mosses grow together. Accelerated global peatland degradation makes restoration urgent. I will examine patch-sizes in rewetted bogs with drones to contrast this with experiments, test the drought resistance and resilience of differing moss clusters and species in a greenhouse experiment, and investigate how peat moss spatial configuration affects establishment and expansion in a rewetted bog with a field experiment. This research builds the foundation for innovative restoration designs for these vital ecosystems.

The recently booming "sharing economy" seems to have achieved something that appears unlikely according to both common intuition and sociological wisdom: to create trust between strangers. Via websites such as Airbnb, Snappcar or Peerby, participants routinely share commodities such as spare rooms, cars, tools, and even food with fellow participants, apparently without worrying about opportunistic behavior by their interaction partners. Through such exchanges, proponents of the sharing economy claim important gains in efficiency, sustainability and social cohesion as compared to the conventional economy. The proposed project studies the social and institutional conditions under which this remarkable level of trust can emerge alongside the further social implications of these exchanges. In particular, two claims are studied: 1) that sharing economy platforms are capable of creating trust between strangers, regardless of their respective social backgrounds, and 2) that participation in the sharing economy increases generalized trust and social cohesion, also beyond these specific exchanges. In studying these issues the project contributions to our theoretical understanding of trust, social exchange systems, and institutional design. Empirically, the project relies on an innovative combination of research methods: laboratory experiments, online experiments, digital user-generated data and survey data. The results of the project will provide new insights on the emergence of trust in an increasingly digitized society which, beyond their scientific value, have the potential to contribute to a more sustainable and cohesive society. More directly, the results will be used to assist local governments looking for ways to replace a retreating welfare state with increased civil participation.

The Dutch government introduced the Integration Act 2021 to ostensibly facilitate immigrant participation. This policy requires immigrants to pass language and civic integration exams in the initial years of settlement, yet how immigrants are navigating these requirements, and whether they are effective, remains unclear. This project addresses these issues, drawing on administrative data from Statistics Netherlands. It (i) creates a new longitudinal dataset linking socio-demographic characteristics of immigrants to indicators of progress in passing the required exams, (ii) articulates and tests theories explaining those patterns, and (iii) uses quasi-experimental methodologies to identify whether the policy facilitates labor market participation.

This project “data visualization and data privacy” will help research teams at Utrecht University to visualize (large) datasets. This allows them to gain insight into the data collected or generated during their research. Visualizations may also help with communication and dissemination of research. There is a need for support in creating visualizations. At the same time, we have noticed that visualizations are largely custom-made. That is why we will focus on advising, guiding and providing researchers with hands-on support. Datasets may contain privacy-sensitive data. That is why we will consider data visualization and data privacy together.