Dr Nienke Boesveldt is Research Associate in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, leading a National Scientific Agenda study on the unhoused. This research focuses on shifting from temporary shelters to permanent housing solutions.
She is also prinicipal researcher on Longitudinal Research Projects on Deinstitutionalisation and Decentralisation of Homelessness and Mental Health, mostly in the Netherlands, and also in Canada and Finland. She is involved in the Etnografic Impact Lab.
Dr. Boesveldt’s research interests include vulnerable groups, homelessness, governance, public (mental) health, interventions, social policy, social innovation, social economy and comparative studies. Before her PhD at VU, she has worked for municipalities for 15 years on processes for social relief, day care and protected and living policies.
This dual background of researcher and policymaker is currently of great value for this research and this position contributes to the social value of the scientific work. Dr Boesveldt understands the circumstances (and the pressure) that policymakers encounter in their daily work. She organizes regularly, and for different target groups, workshops, lectures and seminars on studies on the governance of homelessness and attaches great importance to building a bridge between scientific knowledge and policy practice.
