Research

Research Objectives

• To map and analyze the deployment of digital job-matching platforms in public employment services.
• To understand how digital tools affect the discretionary power and daily routines of street-level bureaucrats.
• To evaluate the impact of digital welfare on social inclusion and user accessibility.

Methodology

The project employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative case studies, scoping reviews, and web scraping techniques to analyze the digital infrastructure of Public Employment Service in Italy, Quebec and The Netherlands.

The core research is structured around a 36-month postdoctoral fellowship, featuring a visiting phase at the École des sciences de la gestion (ESG) and the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (CIRST) at the Université du Québec à Montréal. This outgoing phase is specifically designed to integrate the theoretical background in street-level bureaucracy with Science and Technology Studies and computer design. The objective is also the one to develop innovative qualitative tools for digital research, specifically adapting the subsystem technique and the vignette method for internet-based research. This phase provides the crucial interdisciplinary skills necessary to translate sociological findings into practical guidelines for designing inclusive public job-matching platforms.

Work Packages

• WP1 - Exploring the Digitalisation of the Bureaucratic Encounter
• WP2 - Ethnography and Vignette for Internet-Based Research
• WP3 - Guidelines for an Inclusive Platform for the Public Sector
• WP4 - Training and Transfer of Knowledge
• WP5 - Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication