PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The world we live in is becoming increasingly digital. Also in healthcare, many digital innovations are developed, although it remains a challenge to implement them on a larger scale. In order to successfully develop and implement digital innovations within the healthcare system, it is paramount to reorganize traditional care processes, IT systems and payment structures. The work of sustainably embedding digital innovations is thus not only a technical issue, but simultaneously a social, organizational and governance issue.

This post-doc position – which is part of the highly prestigious Health & Technology Convergence (https://convergence.nl/health-technology/) between Erasmus MC (EMC), Delft University of Technology (TUD) and Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) – will position you at the forefront of the recently awarded Flagship ‘Consultation Room 2030: Continuity of Care from Hospital to Home’. This is one of the ten leading, long-term programs of the Convergence. In this Flagship, we lay the conceptual, methodological, legal, and practical groundwork for the sustainable embedding of digital health technologies. This project offers the unique opportunity to connect innovation to concrete health practices in an academic hospital setting of technological excellence.  

As a post-doc you will focus on transcending the various innovation projects currently developed within the Erasmus MC as part of the Flagship. You will conduct an overarching, formative evaluation of the program, based on qualitative action research methods and quantitative evaluation methods (e.g. survey research). You will closely collaborate with technical, medical, and health policy experts in order to facilitate a successful development and uptake of digital innovations in healthcare practice. Experience in evaluation research, especially formative or action research, is considered a big advantage. You are also expected to participate in the acquisition of external grants, to take the lead in organizing consortium meetings, and to collaborate closely with 7 PhDs from EUR, EMC and TUD also starting in the Flagship program. There are possibilities for PhD supervision.

All in all, this post-doc position offers a key position in a highly prestigious and innovative research program that connects the promises of technology to real life healthcare practice. You will be part of a multidisciplinary ecosystem which involves key stakeholders, ranging from top-medical professionals, designers, AI-experts, social scientists, technicians and patients to governance and regulatory bodies, health insurers, IT-support, and ethical and legal experts.

CONSULTATION ROOM 2030 FLAGSHIP PROGRAM:
The main goal of the Flagship program of which the post-doc is a key element, is to take leadership in the transition towards digital healthcare. We work on three levels. The first level entails the further development of existing digital innovations currently ongoing within the Erasmus MC in five domains of care: acute, chronic, complex, mental, and palliative care. Examples are relocating care from hospital to home and facilitating technologically mediated contacts with the hospital.

The second level aims at investigating the conditions for structural embedding of these innovations in the broader healthcare system.

As a post-doc, you will be working on the third level of the Flagship. You will conduct a formative evaluation of the development and use of technology in academic medical practice in this Flagship, identifying and sharing broader lessons and insights with participants and fellow-researchers at all levels. Crucially, this formative evaluation does not aim to evaluate the projects after they are finished but focuses on providing interim feedback to allow adjustments based on insights gained. Specifically, the post-doc will focus on emerging socio-technical issues and tradeoffs that emerge with the shift towards digital technologies. Methodologically, the main focus will lie on developing a new research and evaluation method that considers the dynamic nature of innovation and technological change in a highly expert-driven and politically tense environment. The output will serve as regular feedback of insights into the program. You will deliver various conference presentations, international academic publications, focused on emerging insights transcending the different pilot projects. There are also opportunities to supervise a PhD student.

We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate with a relevant PhD in the health sciences, sociology, anthropology, science & technology studies (STS), public administration, political science, empirical philosophy, or another relevant PhD degree. The position requires advanced qualitative expertise. Experience in evaluation research, especially formative or action research, is considered a big advantage. You possess excellent communication and writing skills in both English and preferably also in Dutch. You have a strong methodological and theoretical skills set and prefer to work in an interdisciplinary program. You are conceptually strong, while also enjoying hands-on work. Next to that, you are organized in your work and can keep deadlines.

Tasks consist of:

• Further developing and executing the formative evaluation of the initiatives developed in the ‘Consultation Room 2030’ consortium
• Close collaboration and alignment with PhD students and senior researchers in the Flagship Consortium, including options for formal PhD supervision
• Publishing international scientific papers and conference publications
• Participate in and actively contribute to Flagship consortium meetings
• Take a leading role in the acquisition of additional grants.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year with possibility of extension.

An internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with good working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities (cao NU).

The successful candidate will be offered an employment contract for 1 year with possibility of extension.
The post-doc will be appointed by the Erasmus University and will report to the Management Board of the Flagship, consisting of experts from EMC, TUD, and EUR.

The starting date will be determined together with the candidate but is preferably around January-February 2023.

In accordance with the conditions applied at Erasmus University Rotterdam as indicated in the Collective Labour Agreement (cao NU) of the Dutch universities, the salary is dependent on the candidate’s knowledge and experience and is set at a minimum of € 3.974,-  and a maximum of € 5.234,- (scale 11) gross per month, on a fulltime basis.

The EUR has attractive employment conditions, including 8% holiday pay, a year-end bonus of 8.3% and a very generous leave scheme. Furthermore, the EUR is affiliated with the ABP pension scheme and we offer partially paid parental leave. Employees can also make use of EUR facilities, such as the Erasmus sports center and the university library.

The EUR offers a Dual Career Program (DCP) to help partners of new scientific staff find work in the Netherlands. The program is offered in close cooperation with the nearby universities of Delft and Leiden.

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfill their full potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome. EUR provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, functional impairment, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes them unique. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Erasmus University Rotterdam is an internationally oriented university with a distinct social orientation in its education and research. Our scientists and students work in close collaboration with internal and external parties to solve global, social challenges, inspired by the always dynamic and cosmopolitan Rotterdam. Our mission is therefore 'Creating positive societal impact'. Our academic education is intensive, active and focused on practical relevance. Our research increasingly takes place in multidisciplinary teams, which are closely intertwined with international networks. With our research impact and thanks to the high quality of education, EUR can compete with the top of European universities. The Erasmian values act as our internal compass and make Erasmus University recognizable to the outside world: entrepreneurial, socially involved, global citizen, open-minded and connecting. www.eur.nl

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM)

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is leading in the Netherlands with its educational and research activities, focused on policy and management topics in health care. ESHPM provides a bachelor program, five master's programs, a pre-master program and postgraduate education.

At ESHPM, research and education are closely intertwined. Knowledge and experience from various scientific disciplines such as economics, law, social-medical sciences, organization science and public administration are brought together and applied in health care. This multidisciplinary approach to teaching and research is unique.

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) is housed in the Bayle (J) Building on the Woudestein campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam and has a strong connection with Erasmus MC. About 1600 students study and 200 employees work at ESHPM.

Health & Technology Convergence
The Health & Technology Convergence is an ambitious, innovative strategic program in which TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC join forces and integrate knowledge, expertise and methods. Through convergence, we create new frameworks that promote scientific discovery and technological innovation. The main driver of convergence is the recognition that current and future challenges in healthcare require a very different approach than we have adopted so far. Addressing these challenges requires the combination of disciplinary and institutional forces, knowledge and methods to realize a thriving ecosystem in which researchers, students, society, government, entrepreneurs and industry realize a stimulating and efficient cross-fertilization between their ideas, procedures, instruments and products to create the future of healthcare.