PhD Candidate: Adaptive Management for Healthcare Accessibility - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

1. Introduction

Radboud University is looking for a PhD candidate to help plan future mobility and healthcare in an integrated way. The fully funded PhD position is part of the NWO-funded TRIAS project. This position is one of three PhD projects on the mobility and accessibility impacts of local and digital healthcare provision as part of an NWO-funded programme on mobility in a sustainable future.

2. Job description

Transport and healthcare sectors are strongly connected, but researchers, planners and practitioners hardly work together. This needs to change. Transport needs to become more sustainable, with fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less dependence on cars to travel. The digitalisation of the healthcare sector provides opportunities to deliver more local and digital healthcare and increase healthcare quality and efficiency. This can also benefit the transport sector. The provision of local and digital healthcare can reduce the need to travel and improve access to healthcare. However, to make this happen, stakeholders within the mobility and healthcare sectors must work together, and research, knowledge and tools are needed. 

Decision-makers within the mobility and healthcare sectors are confronted with various uncertainties about future developments (e.g. future healthcare demand, transport options), future healthcare supply (e.g. personnel, centralisation/decentralisation of services, physical accessibility of healthcare services), outcomes of policies (e.g. adoption of e-healthcare, changes in healthcare funding), and future trade-offs among outcomes. Radboud University is looking for a PhD to work on a project on adaptive planning of future mobility and healthcare in an integrated way.

Our research project will involve collaboration between Radboud University, the University of Twente, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, and ten partners from the mobility and health domains. The research will be conducted in ‘field labs’ in the healthcare practice of the Connected Care Centre at Isala Hospital (Zwolle) and homecare organisation TWB (Roosendaal). In the field labs, integral mobility and healthcare capacity planning strategies will be tested, with the aim of delivering more local and digital healthcare for patient groups with varying characteristics and healthcare and mobility needs.

This fully-funded PhD project on Adaptive Management for Healthcare Accessibility focuses on decision-making in local and digital healthcare provision from a user perspective. It involves the development of a joint physical and digital healthcare accessibility decision support tool. It should give insight into the mobility, accessibility and well-being impacts of combinations of physical access to healthcare facilities (including hospital and local healthcare provision) and digital access (e.g. telemonitoring of patients at home, e-health services). Key aspects of healthcare accessibility to be examined include the needs of patients and healthcare staff, actual or perceived ease of reaching healthcare facilities, and the physical and digital possibilities of access to healthcare.

This PhD project will be conducted by the Methods Group, Department of Business Administration, Institute of Management Research, Radboud University. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the other TRIAS PhD projects on (a) physical and digital healthcare accessibility, and (b) integrated mobility and healthcare capacity planning.

3. Profile

• You should hold a Master's degree in (a) policy analysis, systems analysis, technology assessment/foresight, or systems engineering, or (b) transport, logistics, urban and regional studies, spatial planning, civil engineering, or (c) healthcare strategy and management, or a related field.
• You have a strong interest in complex problem-solving, visioning, and decision-making under uncertainty.
• You have demonstrable strong analytical and methodological skills, and the ability to conduct participatory and action-oriented research.
• You have knowledge and preferably  some research experience of facilitated group decision-making.
• You have an excellent command of written and spoken English and preferably also of Dutch (or a willingness to learn this language).
• You are able to work independently and in a team (i.e. a willingness to interact closely with your academic colleagues and societal partners).
• You have demonstrable experience and skills related to working with people in societal or transport planning and/or healthcare strategy and management.

4. We are

The Nijmegen School of Management enables students, institutions, companies, societal actors and governments to play their part in a transformation towards sustainable societies. In doing so, the faculty is committed to Radboud University's mission of contributing to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all.

In the context of our 'Responsible governance for sustainable societies' mission, we address scientific and societal challenges from a good governance perspective. Our work focuses on the topics Beyond Economy, Climate, Inclusivity, Safety, and Democracy. By building, questioning and extending the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), we acknowledge their interrelatedness and focus on a number of grand challenges within society. We contribute to innovation and sustainable growth on topics such as inequality, gender, decent work and poverty. Furthermore, we address environmental and climate challenges, seeking to contribute towards resolving them.

At the Nijmegen School of Management, academic research and teaching are carried out in challenging educational programmes. These programmes are offered in the areas of Business Administration; Economics and Business Economics; Geography, Planning and Environment; Political Science; and Public Administration. Academic research takes place within the Institute for Management Research (IMR). Research is carried out within the above-mentioned domains and in interdisciplinary research groups: the Hotspots. The Nijmegen School of Management currently has 400 FTE staff and around 5,000 students.

The intended thesis supervisors are Prof. V. Marchau and Dr S. Lenferink. The project is embedded within IMR in the context of other mobility and digital accessibility studies (On the Move, Triple Access Planning for Uncertain Futures). You will collaborate with the other academic and societal partners in the TRIAS consortium. You will become a member of the TRAIL Research School, and will be expected to attend relevant courses and activities.

You will become part of the Methods Group within the Department of Business Administration. This group of about 30 researchers focuses on developing and applying participatory decision support methods such as group model building, gaming, causal loop modelling, participatory scenario planning, and adaptive policymaking.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (0.8 FTE 5- year contract - 1.0 FTE 4- year contract) of 1,5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract) or 3.5 years (5-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €2,770 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,539 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. 
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Support Service. The Dual Career Programme assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands. Our Family Support Service helps you and your partner feel welcome and at home by providing customised assistance in navigating local facilities, schools, and amenities. Also take a look at our support for international staff page to discover all our services for international employees.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20. 

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Prof. Vincent Marchau In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews will take place on 5 July. Any second interview will take place on 23 August.  You will preferably start your employment on 1 September.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.