The Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science allocated 8.6 million euros for the SSH Law Faculty Sector Plan (2019-2025). The plan, developed by the faculties themselves, aimed to strengthen strategic cooperation between law faculties and give a strong impulse to law research in the Netherlands. The faculties jointly identified 5 priority areas, and each faculty was going to cooperate nationally on 1 or 2 themes.

The Amsterdam Law School has focused on the research themes of Digital Legal Studies and The Transformative Effect of Globalisation in Law. In these areas, colleagues from various centres have collaborated within and outside the UvA. In addition, the Academic Excellence Trajectory (AcET) promoted the recruitment of young researchers and allocated part of the funding to support the advancement of women.

A strong sense of community 

Professor of International Law and Social Justice, Ingo Venzke, leads priority area The Transformative Effect of Globalisation in Law and is very pleased with the collaboration. ‘Without the Sector Plan, we would not have been able to establish a research community that allows us to collaborate and expand our capacity,’ he says. ‘This is especially important for young researchers. We have achieved a great deal in our research on the role of law in sustainable globalisation, but we are far from finished.'

On the Digital Legal Studies theme, the faculty cooperates with Tilburg University, Radboud University, and Maastricht University in the Digital Legal Lab — a multidisciplinary collective of over 50 researchers that is still growing. The Sector Plan committee is positive about the strategic choices for research priority areas (such as Digital Legal Studies), with several faculties constantly in the lead. According to the committee, the priority areas are as topical as ever.

Positive impact

The final report states that the relatively modest investment has yielded significant value in legal scholarship and the digital infrastructure for research in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). The Sector Plan committee notes that a culture of cooperation has emerged instead of competition and is 'impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of the contributors, both the priority area leaders and the deans'.

Funding

On 28 May, the Sector Plan committee presented the final report to outgoing Minister Bruins. On that occasion, Bruins indicated that it had proved a good investment. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is expected to send a letter to the House of Representatives at the end of June or the beginning of July, in which the minister will announce the decision on future funding allocations.