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Dialogic researchers Bram Kaashoek and Guido Ongena, together with Joerg Raab from Tilburg University, have published a paper on network analysis. They explain why and how network analysis can be used as a tool to evaluate policies. Their paper has been published in the Dutch journal of Public Administration.
Increasingly, governments use policy instruments to promote network formation among actors, with the ultimate goal of achieving (societal) effects. In this article, the researchers from Dialogic argue that these ultimate effects (second-order) sometimes take a long time to materialise or are difficult to attribute to the intervention. Measuring network formation, as an initial indicator of success, can be done at an early stage. Network analysis, as a relatively new tool in policy evaluation, is suitable for providing insights at this early stage.
In their paper, Kaashoek, Ongena, and Raab use the case of the Universum Programme (Platform Bèta Techniek) as an example. This programme brings secondary schools together in a network. By promoting knowledge exchange within the network, the aim is to improve and make technical education more attractive, resulting in a higher influx of students into further technical education. This case is further elaborated in Platform Pocket no. 5: Networking Analysis of the Universum Programme.
For more information about the publication, please contact Bram Kaashoek (030-2150598). You can also reach out to him for questions regarding the methodology.