The experiences of unemployed benefit recipients – new booklet publication by BOLD Cities researcher Margot Kersing

Margot Kersing is one of the PhD candidates affiliated with the Centre for BOLD Cities. Their PhD research is focused on the use of Big Data in the social domain. In the past months, Margot explored how unemployed benefit recipients experience the data-driven working of their municipality. The primary findings of this research have been published in a booklet.

Through multiple illustrations, made by Margriet Osinga, Margot shows the experiences of unemployed benefit recipients in their interactions with the municipality. They especially wanted to illustrate how the use of data by the municipality can sometimes create unease in the interaction between benefit recipients and civil servants.  

Conversation starter

The booklet is meant as a conversation starter for discussing how unemployed benefit recipients experience their interactions with the municipality, what role data-driven working of the municipality plays in these interactions and how to come up with possible solutions to these problems faced. Kersing concludes the publication with a range of recommendations for municipalities about data-driven working.

An illustration from the publication. Two people are pictured in front of an orange coloured wall. They are having a conversation. In between them are multiple documents pictured.
One of the illustrations from the booklet, made by Margriet Osinga

Re-integration in BOLD Cities II

The publication is part of the Re-Integration in BOLD Cities II project. This is a follow-up project to the Re-integration in BOLD Cities I project, that focused on the possibilities of using Big Data in the domain of Work & Income at the municipality of Rotterdam. In the second part of this project, the focus is put on replication and refinement of the findings of BOLD Cities I. 

The publication can be read online. Click here for a scrollable online version of the booklet in English, or click here for a scrollable online version of the booklet in Dutch. If you prefer a physical copy of the booklet, either in English or Dutch, you can order that through this link. We’ll be happy to send you a physical copy! 

More information
Reintegration in BOLD Cities I & II