Working together to ensure that government aid really reaches people

It was recently announced that Lars Tummers can start his research project 'Welfare Walls' thanks to a VICI grant from NWO. 'I want to understand why so many people do not make use of government support. For example, more than 600,000 Dutch people miss out on health care benefits. By listening to citizens and developing solutions together, I want to ensure that government aid really reaches people,' says Tummers. A team of researchers will start this (international comparative) study from September 2026.

I wanted to investigate something that is really important, in which we can hopefully change something for people living in poverty, says Professor of Public Administration Lars Tummers. In addition, as a researcher, I wanted to work on a problem that is outside my own bubble, but that I can really do something with. I have been researching the relationship between citizens and the government for years, for example into aggression against public service providers or how they deal with stress and what that means for how they deal with clients. 

I am especially interested in people's behaviour. I am fascinated by this very concrete, very human aspect. I'm also quite an applied scientist, I think. 

In this project, it is about how citizens actually receive the scheme to which they are entitled (rent allowance, care allowance or, for example, social assistance). And why that is not possible for a very large group of people at the moment.

The VICI grant from NWO was awarded to Lars Tummers for the project 'Welfare walls. Why people do not use welfare and how to change that.'

Fear and stigmatization

Tummers distinguishes three levels in the 'welfare walls', levels on which possible explanations can be found for this ‘non-use’ and levels that are also interrelated.
 

• At the individual level, applying for support can be complicated, for example because people cannot find help with their application, or because they have problems with reading and writing.
   
• At the so-called programme level, it is about the design of the applications. How complicated are the requirements? Does an applicant need to take action every month or year? The question of whether the administrative burden outweighs what you get in return also determines whether you apply for support.
   
• Thirdly, there is the social level. How do politicians and the media speak about it; what images are shared about those involved? For example, if you think of the unemployment law, is it about ‘welfare queens’ or about 'people who have been unlucky'? 

'Politicians sometimes speak of ‘welfare queens’ instead of about people who are entitled to something because they have been unlucky. That promotes stigmatization and shame.

Politicians sometimes bring negative stereotypes into the world about people who make use of government support, says Lars Tummers. They speak of ‘welfare queens’ for instance, instead of people who are entitled to something because they have been unlucky. That encourages stigmatization and shame, and also the fear of fines – as we have seen as a consequence of the childcare benefits scandal (Toeslagenschandaal) in the Netherlands.

International comparative research

Tummers will collaborate with a team of PhD students, supervisors from the Netherlands and with researchers from Brazil and the United States for this research. In those countries, people think differently than in the Netherlands, which is why we are also going to study the differences, for example in the way governments have set up their system in the field of welfare, and at how practical access to it is organised. 

Seriously studying what we can learn from other countries

Moreover, we also want to look beyond the classic WEIRD countries (Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democracies – ed.), Tummers emphasizes. Because it doesn't have to be the case that what we do here can be generalized to many other countries. We want to take a serious look at what we can learn from other countries.

Working together to lower the walls

In addition to the (international) cooperation in the scientific field, Tummers also explicitly seeks to connect with social partners such as the Municipality of Utrecht, the Ombudsman, food banks, the UWV and others. And: with the citizens involved themselves. The researchers will also explicitly look at the 'walls' with them.

I want to understand it and lower the walls for large groups. In the final phase of the project, we want to develop interventions together with the citizens that ensure that the welfare walls are lowered. I want to change something – and not on a small scale.

Contact

If you would like to know more about this research project, please contact Prof.  Lars Tummers: via L.G.Tummers@uu.nl.