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10 Dissertations iGov Research Institute: Summer School on digital government For more information see: www.dissertaties.tbm.tudelft.nl MARCEL MARCHAND Modelling coastal vulnerability: design and evaluation of a vulnerability model for tropical storms and floods 10 November 2009 ELLEN VAN BuEREN Greening governance: An evolutionary approach to policy making for a sustainable built environment. 3 December 2009 JORIS DE ROOIJ Leadership for distributed teams 16 December 2009 MARTIJN GROENLEER The Autonomy of European Union Agencies: A Comparative Study of Institutional Development. 17 December 2009 MARK DE REuVER Organiseren van mobiele dienstinnovatie in co-evoluerende waardenetwerken. 17 December 2009 FRANK GuLDENMuND Understanding and exploring safety culture 12 January 2010 international, interdisciplinary and innovative. these three words aptly describe the igov Research institute: a week-long summer school for phd students on the impact of information and communication technology on government organisations and public administration. this year tpm will host the summer school from 18 to 25 July. in previous years, the venue has been in Seattle, manchester and new york. The programme is an initiative of the State university of New York's Center for Technology in Government (CTG), explains Senior Fellow Sharon Dawes, responsible for organising the programme along with Meghan Cook and Jana Hrdinová. In mid- February this year, the team spent three days as the guests of Anne Fleur van Veenstra (PhD student in the ICT research group) and Marijn Janssen (associate professor in the ICT research group). “iGov Research Institute is funded by the uS National Science Foundation and aims to create international research communities on the issue of e-government.” According to the organisers, Delft was chosen to host the programme for several reasons. “TPM has excellent contacts with relevant organisations and an extensive research group. The faculty is also a technical institute that embraces social sciences - a unique combination. This means that the infrastructure, knowledge and contacts needed are already available. The Netherlands is a trailblazer in e-government and The Hague is both the seat of parliament and the international city of justice. Finally, Delft provides a beautiful historic backdrop.” Blend of theory and practice The iGov Research Institute offers a balanced blend of academic sessions and practical applications. This year's programme features a day-long session on politics in The Hague and even a visit to the port of Rotterdam. There will be room for twenty PhD students from across the world, preferably from a range of disciplines including anthropology, law and political sciences. Last year the group included as many as sixteen different nationalities. One of these was Anne Fleur, who this year will be mentoring a group of participants. “The workshop is very high-powered and inspirational, almost like a pressure cooker. It was great to be able to take part and the group quickly bonded. I still keep in contact with people I met there. That's why I am so pleased to be involved in the organisation this time and can't wait to welcome our summer school guests.” Dr Marijn Janssen, associate professor in the ICT section, has been hailed as Europe's leading researcher on e-government. According to an international league table published by Jochen Scholl, lecturer in Information Management at Washington university, Janssen ranks fourth worldwide and first in Europe. As a field of research, e-government has been in the ascendancy since 2006. Increasing numbers of researchers are turning to the topic with the number of papers published on the subject growing from zero in 2000 to over 600 in 2009. “Scholl has mapped out current worldwide research in the field of e-government. He based this on publications in leading journals and on conferences. Scholl presents his findings in his paper Profiling the EG Research Community and its Core, submitted in September last year during the eighth international EGOV congress in Linz. “I was in the auditorium when he announced his ranking”, explains Janssen. “It was quite a pleasant surprise and a significant acknowledgement of all the efforts I have made in recent years. Of course, it was a deliberate policy on my part to attend specific conferences and I have published a great deal, but it was never my objective to achieve a high ranking like this. My aim is to be a successful researcher, who delves deeply into his subject. To be valued in this way is a superb recognition of my work.” “But”, he is keen to stress, “I certainly didn't achieve this on my own. The honour goes to the entire e-government group, including PhD students Anne Fleur van Veenstra, Bram Klievink, Jeffrey Gortmaker, Yiwei Gong, Ralph Feenstra and Nitesh Bharosa.” The international league table is headed by Ramon Gil-Garcia. Janssen's American colleague Sharon Dawes (see above) was ranked fifth. Developments in the field of e-government continue to proceed at a rapid pace. What are currently the most important themes? “People are looking increasingly beyond their own national borders. Another important trend is that of open government, characterised by increased openness, interaction and cooperation. Finally there is transformational government: because the existing system has been automated in a major ICT initiative, the immediate environment also needs to change in order to enable the technology to be used effectively. In other words, there are plenty of research challenges ahead in the field of e-government.” Marijn Janssen, Europe's leading researcher in e-government From left to right: Nitesh Bharosa, Meghan Cook, Jana Hrdinová, Sharon Dawes, Bram Klievink, Yiwei Gong, Marijn Janssen, Anne Fleur van Veenstra

11 Professor profile NAME Prof. Yao-Hua Tan POSITION professor of information and communication technology and head of the ict section at tu delft. his field of research includes the role of the ict in the development of new services, for example in international trade and regulation, focusing on such areas as customs and excise, taxation and e-government. yao-hua tan is also part-time professor of electronic Business in Vu university amsterdam's faculty of economics and Business administration. Tell us about your personal life “It's a tale of two cities since I was born (1958) and bred in Amsterdam but now live in Rotterdam. I am married with three children, two daughters aged 14 and 12 and a son aged nine. In my free time, I try to play squash regularly. I play with my neighbour who is professor of architecture in the Architecture faculty. I also love travelling. My family and I alternate between beach holidays and trips farther afield to visit cities and museums.” What is your favourite hobby? “My biggest hobby is talking about philosophy. I studied philosophy, information science and psychology and am involved in research in this area, but I also like to discuss these things with my old friends from university. We still meet up every month to debate philosophical issues.” What was the highlight of your career? “I've spent my whole career forging links between completely different areas. My research covers both technical and policy fields and I try to identify overlaps between the two. Innovation is generally 20% technology and 80% politics: with a good understanding of politics, you can ensure a better reception for new ICT concepts. I adopt this approach in practice on a large number of international research projects, some of which also relate to trade. Some of my work is more technical ICT research, some of it purely political/administrative studies in such arenas as the European Commission and the united Nations in Geneva. I work on both fronts at all times and it is this process of joining up the two that I find most enjoyable.” Your greatest challenge at the moment? “Working to further establish the link I just mentioned. But I also face the challenge of strengthening the Netherlands' position in international trade. This is crucial for our economy and our society as a whole. It could have something to do with the fact that my ancestors were involved in trade. I would also like to contribute towards further strengthening Tu Delft's leading role here in the Netherlands.” What do you enjoy most about your work? “It is especially inspiring combining knowledge from both the technical and administrative domains, to ensure that technical innovations are successful in society and in Dutch businesses and organisations. Collaboration with colleagues, both within TPM and between the faculties, and with students makes this all the more exciting.” Why Delft? “At TPM, Technology, Policy and Management are all found under the same roof, and each is pursued to a certain level of depth, so it is the ideal backdrop for my research work. Besides, I already knew Tu Delft through my predecessor, the late René Wagenaar, and I was particularly impressed by him and the research group. I am already starting to see evidence of the multidisciplinary approach I found so enticing. Although I have only been working here since September, discussions are already underway on joint research with different research groups and other faculties. There are a lot of like-minded people here so it is easy to forge links. The students here also have the same attitude. They too have a willingness to create links.” Your best characteristic? “If I may be a little immodest, I would say that I was a bridge-builder. People around me say that I'm good at linking together widely differing visions and domains – both in terms of specific issues and people. Inspired by an underlying fascination for the people and things around me, I always try to find the areas of overlap. I have yet to meet a person who does not interest me. Everyone has their own tale to tell, if you are willing to look and listen carefully. That's the secret of it.” Your worst characteristic? “This is a flipside of my strength, the fact that I sometimes create too many connections or links. I see so many fascinating things that I sometimes allow myself to be dragged along and cannot set boundaries, always focusing on my work. Fortunately, my family helps to curb my worst excesses.” What subject do you think should be high on the political agenda? “It strikes me that during the last ten years, the Netherlands has turned in on itself, both socially and economically. Our powers of innovation are losing their momentum. Sadly, this is completely at odds with the Netherlands' true strength: its openness, both towards other cultures and innovation. We have the potential, but if we really want to ensure that the Netherlands regains its power, there is some hard work to be done. The universities in particular have a key role to play in this debate. Often, administrators are far too concerned with internal issues to focus on innovation. But openness and innovation are not an added luxury, they form the basis of Dutch society!” Your source of inspiration? “First and foremost, Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. It helped me to understand the extent to which language determines our world, both for individuals and for organisations. Secondly, the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I must have read it a good six times and find it fascinating. Its message is that people think that they can control life and processes. But in fact, the development of society is the sum of all sorts of coincidences, some of which have startling results. Life is not all about grand plans and strategies. This is something that often springs to mind when I consider the decision-making that happens in the European Commission or the uN, for example. It involves highly complex processes, with everyone doing somersaults over each other, the result of all kinds of different forces. This is something you need to learn to recognise.” Your life philosophy? “Know yourself. Only if you know where you are coming from and what your strengths and weaknesses are, is it possible to proceed. understanding yourself is the key to truly understanding other people and organisations.” c olofon TPM-Quarterly is a publication of the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management at TU Delft. Text & editing - De Taalfax, Francissen Communicatie, Haverkamp & Bergers, Marketing & Communicatie TBM Design & lay-out - Heike Slingerland BNO, Vlaardingen Photography - Jacqueline de Haas, Daniëlle van der Schans, Victor Giotis, Leen Vlasblom Printing - Schefferdrukkerij B.V., Dordrecht Translations - Taalcentrum VU, Amsterdam Print run - Dutch version 2500 Contributors - Minke van der Kleij, Henk Zandvoort Please contact news-tbm@tudelft.nl if you have ideas for articles for TPM Quarterly. Deze krant is ook verkrijgbaar in het Nederlands. Een los exemplaar kunt u telefonisch of via e-mail bestellen bij de faculteit Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management Delft University of Technology P.O. Box 5015 2600 GA Delft T +31 (0)15 - 278 71 00 F +31 (0)15 - 278 48 11 E news-tbm@tudelft.nl I www.tbm.tudelft.nl

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