Junior Researcher Lived Experiences of Rural Accessibility

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences is looking to appoint a part-time junior researcher for the topic of “Perceptions and Lived Experiences of Accessibility in the Dutch countryside.” The research evaluates how people experience the accessibility of amenities, work, and social activities in rural areas. Would you like to conduct visual ethnographic research in the Northern Netherlands? Then this is your opportunity to contribute to an innovative research project at the Chair of Transport Geography at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences.

With this research project, we aim to gain insight into the lived experience of accessibility, complementing more quantitative research on perceived accessibility, in the hope that this will provide new insights for policy and spatial planning. The Chair of Transport Geography is funded by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and we therefore have close contacts with local, regional, and national policymakers. Through visual ethnographic fieldwork, we aim to investigate and visualize accessibility in rural areas. We are working towards a written academic paper, a Dutch-language report, and a short film or video series. This visual output allows us to directly articulate the voices of rural residents and visualize their experiences. We will present this to policymakers in The Hague in the spring of 2027.

This research is part of the chair of Transport Geography of Prof. Taede Tillema.

What are you going to do?

As a junior researcher, you will play a crucial role in collecting, documenting, and analyzing the experiences of people in rural Northern Netherlands. By specifically targeting people who don't drive, we hope to gain new insights into experiences of people with limited mobility. You will conduct visual ethnographic fieldwork, collaborating with participants and filming go-along interviews to capture their experiences of accessibility. The researcher can film, or the participant can film, and we will edit the final results. It's helpful if you speak Dutch and live in Friesland, Drenthe, or Groningen, as the fieldwork takes place there. Using video recordings, you will visualize the impact of changes on daily routines. We use design ethnography as a method to explore the present, the past, and possible futures. You will work closely with a team of researchers and be actively involved in both the scientific output and the societal dissemination of the research results.

Tasks include:

• Conducting visual ethnographic fieldwork in the Northern Netherlands (Friesland, Drenthe, and Groningen).
• Maintaining contact with participants and various other stakeholders.
• Collecting and analyze qualitative data, including video recordings of go-along interviews, audio recordings of kitchen-table conversations and in-depth interviews, photographs of public spaces, maps, and observation notes.
• Editing and production of a short film or series of videos.
• Contributing to scientific publications and an accessible Dutch publication (report/white paper).
• Co-organizing a final meeting where the research results will be presented and discussed.

Our ideal candidate has:

• A Master’s degree in a field of study relevant to the topic of the project (e.g. geography, anthropology or sociology) or a film-oriented master such as Visual Ethnography. Completed or to be completed in the near future.
• ·Experience with audiovisual ethnographic research and/or film.
• ·Skills in working with film editing software, ideally Atlas-ti.
• Good communicative skills in both academic and policy settings, and a proactive and independent work attitude.
• Strong conceptual thinking skills and a proactive and independent work attitude.
• Good writing skills and fluency in Dutch, since the fieldwork is in this language.

• 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
• End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
• Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.

At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences (FRW) is an interdisciplinary faculty that makes a significant impact on societal issues such as climate, broad prosperity, population decline, healthy ageing, and sustainable energy. With approximately 100 staff and over 100 PhD students, we engage daily in up-to-date and relevant teaching and research in the fields of planning, demography, and geography. Through our research programme TRACE (Transformations, Communities, and Environments), we are committed to internationally oriented, interdisciplinary research. With two Bachelor's and seven Master's programmes, the Faculty offers broad educational opportunities to about 1,100 students from around the world. The Faculty of Spatial Sciences plays a crucial role in understanding and shaping the living environment of the future. We work for and with society. Our motto is: we are making places better together. If you would like to learn more, visit rug.nl/frw. 

This position is hosted by the chair of Transport Geography in Faculty of Spatial Sciences (FSS), Department of Economic Geography, of the University of Groningen. FSS is a dynamic faculty with an open character.