PhD Cross-sector collaboration for older people care

Would you like to conduct research that directly improves support for older adults? And pursue a PhD in a data-driven project that predicts care use, evaluates collaboration, and strengthens policy decisions? Then we invite you to apply.

PhD position in long-term care policy and health economics

Population ageing is rapidly increasing the demand for long-term care (LTC) while labor supply is shrinking, and public expenditure is under growing pressure from pay-as-you-go pension payments. This applies across most high- and middle-income countries over the next two decades, and possibly beyond, given declining birth rates and societal reluctance to increase immigration from low-income countries.

In response, OECD countries have introduced a range of governance and financing arrangements to address barriers such as the wrong-pocket problem. These arrangements rely on horizontal coordination, meaning collaboration across sectors and stakeholders, and vertical coordination, meaning alignment across levels of government and financing arrangements. Together, these policy options aim to reduce barriers to collaboration across organizational and financial boundaries.

In the Netherlands, cross-domain collaboration in LTC was structurally embedded in legislation in 2026, opening up new opportunities to refine existing approaches and address long-standing barriers around governance complexity and cost-shifting. Building on this, more than 50 neighborhood initiatives have been launched, in which municipalities, health insurers, and care providers jointly organize and finance support for frail older adults.

The DOS PROJECT examines these initiatives along two lines. First, it develops a set of time-series models that provide timely insight into neighborhood-level future trends in care use and costs, enabling earlier responses to emerging developments. Second, it evaluates the impact of the DOS initiatives at both the neighborhood and aggregate level. The PhD candidate will dive into rich, nationwide administrative data and run advanced level causal analyses to find out how DOS initiatives actually shape people's care behavior and health outcomes. To identify broader trends and patterns at higher levels of aggregation, the project will apply hierarchical regression models with shrinkage.

Your duties

The DOS research project is conducted by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and is funded by Zorgverzekeraars Nederland. The PhD candidate will be employed at the Department of Ethics, Governance & Society of the School of Business and Economics and supervised by prof. dr. X. Koolman in collaboration with dr. F. R. Portrait, dr. N. Stadhouders and dr. Y. Krabbe, the project leader.

Your duties include:

• Conduct high-quality doctoral research leading to scientific journal articles and a PhD dissertation.
• Develop nowcasting models, matching models, and hierarchical regression models to evaluate the DOS initiatives.
• Present your work at scientific conferences and workshops with academic partners and stakeholders such as Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, care offices, municipalities and care providers.
• Contribute to the teaching activities of the department, including lectures, tutorials, exams and grading.

Your profile

• A research master’s degree in Economics, Health Sciences, PPE or a closely related field
• Interest in health care and health care-related policy subjects
• Programming skills in R
• Strong analytical writing skills and the ability to present research results to policymakers
• Excellent command of English in both speaking and writing
• Dutch language skills (spoken and written) are an advantage

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world.

• An employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 3 years.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• Solid pension scheme (ABP)
• Contribution to commuting expenses
• A wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

About the team

The health care economics group of the Department Ethics, Governance and Society

focuses on analyzing the efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability of the Dutch health care system. Key topics include the impact of competition among health insurers on care quality and costs, the role of government regulation in balancing market incentives with public interests, and the economic challenges of long-term care financing. Research is conducted in close collaboration with policymakers, regulatory agencies, and health care professionals to ensure social relevance. The cluster aims to generate evidence-based insights that inform policy decisions, contribute to academic discourse, and support education at various levels.

School of Business and Economics

You will work in a stimulating, dynamic and international environment with motivated colleagues dedicated to helping society make informed choices.