Meike Bokhorst appointed Professor of Legitimate Governance in (Semi) Public Sectors

As of 1 July 2026, Meike Bokhorst has been appointed as a professor at the chair of Legitimate Governance in (Semi) Public Sectors. This new one-day chair is based at the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) and is supported by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). Meike Bokhorst: By working on shared norm development and responsive oversight, governments and semi-public organisations can strengthen the legitimacy of norm-setting and counteract the juridification of the social domain and the living environment.

Incidents such as in youth care, abuses such as childcare allowance and crisis such as nitrogen put pressure on the legitimacy of governance in (semi) public sectors. With regulation and oversight, administrators try to prevent administrative failure from leading to decay, but rules often have unintended consequences and new types of incidents are constantly emerging. The research and education within the chair focuses on the question of how (semi-)public sectors, such as in the social domain and the living environment, can strengthen the legitimacy of regulation. 

By thinking through these questions together with professionals, the chair can contribute to insight into legitimate governance. The chair has a transdisciplinary character and actively connects with administrative practice at various levels of government with research and education aimed at social impact. 

The Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) supports this chair to contribute to knowledge valorisation and to the fruitful exchange and strengthening of academic and practical knowledge of (semi)public administration. 

Shared standards development and responsive regulation

We are seeing a shift in responsibilities from the central government to independent organisations and local authorities, says Meike Bokhorst. This creates major differences in expectations and implementation practices. But in the event of incidents or abuses, there is strong social pressure and political tendency towards central standard-setting and enforcement. 

Developing shared regulatory strategies and reflective oversight practices can help to get a grip on this. And when governments and semi-public organisations work out standards too strictly or too minimalistically or enforce them too strictly or too narrowly, civil society organisations and citizens' cooperatives often fill that gap by carrying out tasks themselves or protecting public interests themselves. 

Increasingly, citizens or civil society organisations are enforcing better and fairer standards through the courts. Think of the shopping affair in the municipality Wijdemeren, the nitrogen rulings at the Council of State and the 'Pigs in need' judgment of the European Court of Justice. By working on shared standard development and responsive oversight, governments and semi-public organisations can strengthen the legitimacy of standard-setting and counteract the juridification of the social domain and the living environment.

Meike Bokhorst

Meike Bokhorst works at the WRR as a senior scientific staff member at the interface of science and policy advice. She is project coordinator 'Retraining and development' and is therefore involved in projects such as expert government, migration diversity, internal and external oversight. Commissioned by the European University Institute in Florence, she investigated how 'social investment cities' develop their own social policy and fill the gap left by the national government. She also worked on secondment as secretary for the Social Minimum Committee and as a poverty project leader at the National Ombudsman. 

Since 2016, she has been working one day a week as a senior researcher at USG on research and consultancy in the field of oversight and governance. She is currently working on knowledge synthesis and utilisation of the Dutch Research Agenda for Oversight, in collaboration with various universities and inspectorates. 

Meike Bokhorst obtained her PhD at Tilburg University with a thesis entitled 'Sources of legitimacy. On the legislator's search between voice and authority'. 

Reactions to the appointment

The chair is part of the Public Governance research group of the Utrecht University School of Governance.

Thomas Schillemans, Professor of Public Governance: Meike Bokhorst's new chair focuses on one of the most important issues of our time: the legitimacy of governance in the public and semi-public sector. Trust in public institutions and in government is under pressure this century. This is partly due to major incidents, for example at large housing corporations and educational institutions, but also the Toeslagenaffaire and gas extraction in Groningen. As a professor, Bokhorst will give direction to research with social impact that focuses on restoring and improving the legitimacy of governance in concrete domains of the semi-public sector. She previously wrote about supervision of childcare, expertise of the government and administrative decay among "sun kings" in the semi-public sector.

Judith van Erp, Professor of Regulatory Governance: Meike Bokhorst has been working part-time at USG as a senior researcher for many years. The combination of its network in The Hague, knowledge of administrative processes and substantive knowledge offers unique opportunities to make scientific knowledge relevant to practice and to transfer it to policymakers and implementing organisations. Her research appeals to both lawyers and public administration experts and involves government professionals in research. In recent years, Bokhorst has made important contributions to the NWA research programme Renewal of Oversight. 

Mirko Noordegraaf, head of department at USG on the appointment of Meike Bokhorst: For many years, USG has had a strong relationship with the WRR, which is given shape, colour and content partly through people. Meike is now one of those new people. Although 'new' - it has of course been active for some time via USG. But as a professor, she can consolidate that relationship with even more weight, and above all enrich and strengthen it. We wish her success with this newly acquired capacity!