Partners & networks

  • ROA collaborates both nationally and internationally with other research organizations and programs that also focus on education and the labour market. In addition, ROA is part of several national and international (research) networks. By collaborating nationally and internationally and being part of various networks, ROA increases the exchange of research ideas and improves the quality of ROA research and the coherence between ROA research and related research conducted by partners.

     

    Collaborations

    IAB

    The IAB is the German Institute for Labour Market and Occupational Research (Institut für Arbeidsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, part of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)). The collaboration between ROA and IAB aims to formalize and expand previous informal collaborations in the fields of both education and research. The collaboration between ROA and IAB is multifaceted, including the exchange of researchers and PhD students, joint research projects, access to research data, internships and workshops, and guest lectures. Two examples of joint activities are:

    • ROA participates in the scientific advisory board of the Fachkräftemonitoring (monitoring of skilled labour) carried out by IAB (and also BIBB) for the German Ministry of Labour
    • ROA and IAB are jointly conducting a research project in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

    BIBB

    The BIBB (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung) is the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, based in Bonn, which conducts research on vocational education and training. The cooperation between ROA and IAB aims to formalize and expand previous informal collaborations in the field of research. The collaboration between ROA and BIBB encompasses numerous activities, such as staff exchanges, joint research projects, access to research data, and guest lectures. To further promote this collaboration, Prof. Dr. Harald Pfeifer, head of the Department of Economics of Vocational Education and Training (VET) at the BIBB, holds a chair at the ROA on the same subject.

    Examples of specific activities in which ROA and BIBB collaborate include:

    • ROA participates in the scientific advisory board of the Fachkräftemonitoring (monitoring of skilled labour) carried out by BIBB (and also IAB) for the German Ministry of Labour
    • Doctoral research jointly supervised by professors and senior researchers from ROA and BIBB
    • Many BIBB researchers are also part-time researchers or postdocs at ROA
    • Joint participation in research projects for scientific articles or policy reports

    OML

    The Limburg Education Monitor (OML) is a collaboration in which Limburg primary and secondary schools and Maastricht University have been working together for 15 years to build knowledge about good education. Within the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University, there is close cooperation between the OML and the National Cohort Study on Education (NCO) of the ROA. This collaboration consists of exchanging and supplementing knowledge and strengthening the university’s offering to schools in Limburg. It has been made possible in part by the fact that various researchers are working on both the NCO project and the OML.

    The OML’s working method is based on the quality cycle of goals-data-interpretation-action. Together, an analysis is made of a theme relevant to education in Limburg (e.g., language skills), after which it is determined where adjustments are needed and which approaches (or elements thereof) could be of value to schools in Limburg (e.g., revision of reading policy), and where these will be monitored and evaluated during implementation. These steps are repeated until the desired results are achieved. This leads to a step-by-step improvement in education at (regional) bottlenecks.

     

    Networks in which ROA is an active member

    EALE

    EALE is the European Association of Labour Economics. EALE aims to promote knowledge in the field of labour economics in Europe and elsewhere. Its activities include organizing annual international conferences and workshops, promoting research into and application of labour economics, forming international networks engaged in research and education, and supporting publications in the field of labour economics. The EALE secretariat is located at ROA.

    ITEM

    ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euregional Cross-Border Cooperation and Mobility) is a network that conducts interdisciplinary research on cross-border Euregional mobility and cooperation issues. Various ROA researchers are active members of the ITEM network. ITEM’s research focuses in particular on practical solutions. This starts from an interdisciplinary perspective, from which research is conducted in the legal, economic, cultural, and administrative fields. All this is done in collaboration with the various faculties within Maastricht University. Through both small-scale contract research and extensive annual reports, ITEM addresses the problems surrounding the internationalization of the world and the impact this has on border regions. ITEM’s research focuses on translating scientific knowledge into practical solutions.

    MACIMIDE

    MACIMIDE (Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development) is an interfaculty and interdisciplinary research network that brings together scholars working on migration from different disciplines, such as history, law, economics, sociology, anthropology, policy, and development. The network aims to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics and consequences of transnational migration and mobility in a European and global context, both for policy and academia. One of the main ways in which MACIMIDE does this is through interfaculty collaboration. Various researchers from ROA are involved in MACIMIDE.