Afbeelding
Achievements
Since taking office as director in 2021, Beate Völker has consolidated and further expanded the NSCR's position as the leading criminological institute in the Netherlands. In 2023, under her leadership the NWO institute was awarded an excellent assessment from an international evaluation committee during the SEP-evaluation (Strategy Evaluation Protocol).
During her tenure as director, Völker initiated two new research lines: strengthening data infrastructure in the field of crime and related areas and green criminology. Thanks to program funding, these lines of research will continue to flourish in the coming years. She also invested in talent development within the institute and actively promoted the acquisition of external research funding, resulting in the successful award of several prestigious individual fellowships and other competitive research grants during her directorship.
Beate Völker played a key role in fostering collaboration between the NSCR and universities, criminology departments and other scientific organizations. Among her achievements were the establishment of a national network for PhD candidates in criminology, the organization of the international Summer School Research and Perspectives in Contemporary Criminology for PhD candidates and the initiation of several endowed professorships.
She also placed considerable emphasis on internal and external communication and on increasing the visibility of the NSCR. Among other things, she launched the science podcast ‘Het Criminologiecollege’.
In addition to her work at the Institute, Völker played an active governance role within NWO-I, of which NSCR is a part. She was committed to important cross-institutional themes such as open science and scientific integrity.
Own research
Meanwhile, Beate Völker’s academic work continued unabated. This is evident, among other things, from her numerous publications in international journals and being awarded the prestigious Simmel Award from the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) in 2025.
A New Chapter
In September 2026, Völker will join the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She will take up the position of professor of Social Networks, Cooperation and Conflict, contemporary theories and empirical research, in the Department of Sociology.
NWO-I and the NSCR are very grateful to Beate Völker for her contributions to the institute and the organization and wish her continued success in this new venture. Beate Völker will continue to be involved in supervising several NSCR PhD candidates and in other collaborative projects with NSCR staff members.
Succession
The recruitment of a new director for the NSCR has now commenced. Until a new director is appointed, Peter van der Laan will remain affiliated with the NSCR as interim director. n als interim-directeur verbonden aan het NSCR.