Sociologist and public administration scholar Dr. Vivian Visser investigates how governments shape invitational governance and why citizens with a lower social status are less inclined to participate in citizens’ initiatives. On November 10, 2025, during the Dies Natalis, Visser received the Erasmus Research Prize 2025 for her impressive research achievements. According to the jury, her research at the intersection of Public Administration and Sociology is highly original and empirically rich, and she also demonstrates remarkable commitment to knowledge dissemination and public engagement.
Prize winner Vivian Visser: 'My research focuses on how governments invite citizens to participate in citizens’ initiatives. These are government-facilitated projects where citizens address societal issues themselves. This theme is becoming increasingly important because policymakers, professionals, and politicians have high expectations of these initiatives. The core question is: how do governments invite citizens, and why do some citizens respond to these invitations while others do not?'
To achieve this, she works closely with the Erasmus Initiative Vital Cities and Citizens and the Kenniswerkplaats Leefbare Wijken, where she serves as a coordinator, alongside the municipality of Rotterdam and other partners, to understand how citizen participation can be adapted to engage diverse groups of citizens.
'I see winning this prize as an appreciation for building good relationships with diverse groups in society'
Dr. Vivian Visser
Assistant professor Governance & Pluralism
Visser states: 'Collaboration with partners, if it is to have a meaningful impact, must be structural and accompanied by long-term commitment. Maintaining relationships requires a lot of time and attention. It does not automatically translate into output that is recognised and valued in the scientific world. As a scientist, you need space for this.'
'I am very pleased with this award, which I see as recognition for such ways of conducting research and appreciation for building good relationships with diverse groups in society', Visser adds. Visser: 'These relationships also make it possible to have a greater societal impact with research. It goes beyond science communication, where research results are made accessible to a broader audience. The various collaborations contribute to ensuring that the right people actually get to work with the results.'
Original and Rich Contribution
From the jury report: 'Visser's work offers a highly original and empirically rich contribution to important international academic debates at the intersection of public administration and sociology, while simultaneously clarifying relevant public debates about inequality and democracy. She uses a vibrant and diverse set of social science methods. Her findings provide practical recommendations on how governments can more effectively promote socially inclusive forms of citizen engagement—an urgent issue given growing inequality and the increasing need for participatory governance in many democracies.'
'Additionally, true to the Erasmian values, she shows remarkable commitment to knowledge dissemination and public engagement. Her writing is clear and accessible, making complex findings understandable to a broad audience. This is also evident from her excellent dissertation—awarded both the Best PhD Thesis Award from the multidisciplinary Erasmus Graduate School for Social Sciences and the Humanities and the prestigious Van Poelje Prize for the best dissertation in public administration in the Netherlands and Flanders.'
About the Research Prize
The Research Prize is awarded to a promising researcher who obtained her/his doctorate degree within the last three years, or a research group, at Erasmus University Rotterdam that has performed exceptional research at our university. The Research Prize is made possible by the Erasmus Trustfonds.
About Vivian Visser
Dr. Vivian Visser is an assistant professor of Governance & Pluralism at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences. She is also the coordinator of the Kenniswerkplaats Leefbare Wijken (a collaboration between EUR and the City of Rotterdam, where applied scientific research is conducted). Vivian studied Philosophy (bachelor), Urban Sociology (master, cum laude), and the research master Sociology of Culture, Media, and the Arts (cum laude) at Erasmus University. She also defended her dissertation at Erasmus University, in which she investigated how governments shape 'invitational governance' and how citizens perceive this. For her dissertation, she received the Best Thesis Award from the Graduate School for Social Sciences and the Humanities and the Van Poelje dissertation prize 2024 for the best public administration dissertation in the Netherlands and Flanders.
She is co-chair of the colloquium of the Netherlands Institute for Governance on "Street-level bureaucracy of the 21st century". Additionally, she develops and coordinates modules for post-academic education at the ESSB Academy, such as the Participation course.
Visser's research is positioned at the intersection of public administration and sociology. She focuses on how governments work on democratic innovations and how different groups of citizens relate to them. Visser works closely with various governments and translates insights from her research into practical advice.
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