Rik van Berkel (1959) studied Psychology at Utrecht University. In 1991, he finished his PhD thesis on "Social Security Claimants and the Trade Unions. On the Modernisation of the Work Society" (in Dutch). After finishing his thesis, he worked at the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science of Utrecht University. He started working at USBO in September 2007. His research takes place on the interface of:

• Research of welfare state and social policy transformations, particularly the domains of social policy and activation;
• Research of new models of the provision of social services, such as decentralization, quasi-markets for providing social services, as well as the integration of services in the areas of income protection and labour-market reintegration;
• Research of the impact of welfare state and governance reforms on the agencies responsible for policy implementation, for example with respect to policy priorities, the design of work processes and organization of work, the roles and tasks of frontline workers and managers, the role of clients, inter-agency cooperation.

Rik van Berkel's research is partly internationally comparative, partly focusing on administrative agencies and the impact of the developments mentioned above on these organizations and their clients. Research projects in which he is currently involved, include:

• Research of new modes of governance – i.e., new models for the provision of social services – of income protection and activation policies in the EU;
• Research of processes of change within municipal social services organizations against the background of social policy and governance reforms in the Netherlands;
• Research of reintegration opportunities of, and adequate activation services for, people who are long-term dependent on benefits and social assistance. This research is part of an externally funded research project focusing on the improvement of reintegration interventions.

Rik van Berkel is coordinator of the researchers' network Active Social Policies European Network (ASPEN). He is participating in various international networks, such as the Network of Excellence (funded by the European Commission in the context of the 6th Framework) Reconciling Work and Welfare (RECWOWE), the Network for European Social Policy Analysis (ESPAnet) and the research strand ‘Activation and new Governance Structures’ of the Nordic Centre of Excellence Reassessing the Nordic Welfare State (REASSESS).