Since February 2023 I am an Assistant Professor in ‘Ethics, Law, and Policy of New Data Technologies’ (‘universitair docent’) at TILT, Tilburg University.

Generally speaking, my research is concerned with questions located at the intersection of political theory, data/technology, and public/private interactions.

For my PhD project I did research on open data and open government policies and practices in the Netherlands. The thesis can be found here: https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/from-communicating-to-distributing-studying-open-government-and-o. It won the third place at the annual Tilburg University Dissertation award (https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/current/news/more-news/thesis-awards-presented). Next to my thesis, I (co)authored various publications on open data and open government of which I had the most fun writing a short philosophical reflection on open government research.

My postdoctoral research project focused on collective data governance, and data commons specifically. It resulted in various publications including a paper co-authored with Nadya Purtova in which we give an overview of recent data commons literatures, and a ‘glossary’ item for Internet Policy Review co-authored with Charlotte Ducuing and Tommaso Fia in which we broaden the scope of issues to be taken into consideration when researching collective data governance.

From 2025, I am in charge of a project provisionally titled ‘Mundane tech governance: algorithms, democracy, and academia in the Netherlands’. The project is being funded through a ‘starter grant’ (€ 255.567,-.) and consist of several smaller work packages focusing on the development and maintenance of algorithmic systems at Dutch local governments, public-private relationships within the context of the development of said algorithms, algorithmic governance & transparency, and algorithmic resistance (with Danny Lämmerhirt, Aviva de Groot, and Merel Noorman).

I’ve got a growing interest in questions about civil disobedience, academic freedom, Luddism and anarchism within the context of data & tech policy.

I recently became one of the two programme director of the Bachelor Data Science that is organized by Tilbug University and Eindhoven.

I recently joined the Tilburg Young Academy. More info here https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/research/tilburg-young-academy/members

Previous positions, fellowships, and education

• August – December 2022: Fellowship at Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin (GER). Supervisor: dr. Jörg Pohle.
• January – March 2021: Visiting scholar at the Centre of Interdisciplinary Methodologies of the University of Warwick (UK). Supervisor: prof. dr. Noortje Marres.
• September 2021 – September 2023: Postdoc at Faculty of Law, Economics, and Governance, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Supervisor: prof. dr. Nadya Purtova.

• November 2017 – March 2023: PhD researcher, Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance, Tilburg University. Thesis: From Communicating to Distributing: Open Government and open data in the Netherlands. Supervisors: Prof. dr. Meuwese and Prof. dr. Linnet Taylor.
• 2014 – 2017: MA (cum laude) ‘Philosophy of Political Science’, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Thesis: Taking Things Seriously: The Politics of New Materialism. Supervisor: dr. T. Fossen.

• 2014 – 2016: MA (cum laude) ‘History: Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence’, Leiden University. Thesis: Deliberative Democracy in the Netherlands: The G1000 Groningen put in Perspective. Supervisor: prof. dr. H. te Velde.

Journal articles

1. Fia, T., & van Maanen, G. (2025). Through thick and thin: data commons, community and the struggle for collective data governance. Technology and Regulation, 2025, 114-136. https://doi.org/10.71265/tk2x3d39  
2. Kempeneer, S., Wolswinkel, J., & van Maanen, G. (2025). Beyond the Portal: Increasing Citizen Understanding of OGD With Storytelling. Information Polity, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15701255241304651
3. Kolkman, D., & van Maanen, G. (2024). Algorithmic models through a representational lens. The Information Society, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2024.2398046
4. Aviva de Groot, George Fletcher, Gijs van Maanen, Akrati Saxena, Alexander Serebrenik, and Linnet Taylor, ‘A canon is a blunt force instrument.’ Chapter 9 of Bates & Jarke (eds.) Dialogues in Data Power Shifting Response-abilities in a Datafied World. Bristol University Press.
5. Gijs van Maanen, Shirley Kempeneer, and Johan Wolswinkel. “Van burgerparticipatie naar citizen science: open grondwaterdata in de praktijk.” Bestuurskunde 33, no. 1 (2024): 44–60. https://doi.org/10.5553/Bk/092733872024033001005.
6. Gijs van Maanen, Charlotte Ducuing, and Tommaso Fia. “Data Commons.” Internet Policy Review 13, no. 2 (April 4, 2024). https://policyreview.info/glossary/data-commons.
7. Purtova, N., & van Maanen, G. (2023). Data as an economic good, data as a commons, and data governance. Law, Innovation and Technology, 16(1), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/17579961.2023.2265270
8. Gijs van Maanen (2023). What if? A short commentary on the philosophical bedrock of open government discourse. Information Polity, 28(2), 301-305. https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-239005
9. Gijs van Maanen, (2023). ‘Studying open government data: Acknowledging practices and politics’. Data & Policy, 5, E3. doi:10.1017/dap.2022.40
10. Gijs van Maanen. 2022. ‘AI Ethics, Ethics Washing, and the Need to Politicize Data Ethics.” Digital Society 1 (2): 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-022-00013-3.
11. Gijs van Maanen, ‘Ethics washing: een introductie’, Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte, 112:4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5117/ANTW2020.4.020.VANM
12. Gijs van Maanen, and Annemarie Balvert, 'Open for whom? The role of intermediaries in data publication', Publicum, 5(2), 2019, 129-159. https://doi.org/10.12957/publicum.2019.47205
13. Gijs van Maanen, 'Drie decennia burgerparticipatie in Groningen: van Verkeerscirculatieplan tot G1000', Leidschrift, 32:3, 2017.

Reports

1. Linnet Taylor, Gijs van Maanen, Jeroen de Ridder, Behnam Taebi, Pieter Bruijnincx (2023). Space to think. An analysis of structural threats to academic freedom and integrity. Amsterdam, KNAW https://www.dejongeakademie.nl/publicaties/2495595.aspx

Dissertation

1. Maanen, G. van. (2023). From communicating to distributing: Studying open government and open data in the Netherlands. PhD Thesis Tilburg University. Winner of the third place at the annual Tilburg University Dissertation prize (https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/current/news/more-news/thesis-awards-presented).
   1. interview by iBestuur https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/leidt-een-open-overheid-tot-een-betere-overheid-niet-per-se/
   2. interview by Recht der Werkelijkheid https://www.boomportaal.nl/tijdschrift/RdW/RdW_1380-6424_2025_046_001_009#iss=https%3A%2F%2Faccount.boom.nl%2Fauth%2Frealms%2Fboom

Reviews

1. Gijs van Maanen, Charlotte Ducuing, and Tommaso Fia, Peer Review Report For: Co-creation of the Digital Democracy and Data Commons Manifesto: alternative sociotechnical visions of data Open Res Europe 2024, 4:45 (2024), doi.org/10.21956/openreseurope.18393.r39839.
2. Gijs van Maanen, ‘Over Het Belang van Een Politieke Data-Ethiek.’ [On the importance of a politicized data ethics] Krisis - Journal for Contemporary Philosophy 41, no. 1 (June 15, 2021): 196–201. 10.21827/krisis.41.1.37356
3. Gijs van Maanen, Review of Van Roermund, Law in the first person plural. Netherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy 50, Pre-publications (2021). https://doi.org/10.5553/NJLP/.000104.
4. Gijs van Maanen, ‘De menselijke strijd voor (en over) biodiversiteit’ [The human battle for (and about) biodiversity] , Bij Nader Inzien, February 6 2020. https://bijnaderinzien.com/2020/02/06/de-menselijke-strijd-voor-en-over-biodiversiteit/

Dormant projects

1. Gijs van Maanen and Bryce Newell, ‘Data commons in Amsterdam: from Marineterrein to a new data economy?’.
2. Gijs van Maanen, Review of Hasselbalch, Gry, Data Ethics of Power: A Human Approach in the Big Data and AI Era.
3. Gijs van Maanen, 'PSD2: An essay on privacy, identity, and the problem of indirect consent'. Work in progress.

Popular publications:

1. Lisa Herzog (Groningen), Marijn Hoijtink (Antwerp), Gijs van Maanen (Tilburg), Ann-Katrien Oimann (KU Leuven), and Linnet Taylor (Tilburg), When There’s no Fun in Funding: External Research Money, Ethics-Washing, and Positive Academic Freedom (guest post) https://dailynous.com/2026/06/16/when-theres-no-fun-in-funding-external-research-money-ethics-washing-and-positive-academic-freedom-guest-post/
2. G. van Maanen, Wat voor universiteit willen we zijn? June 9 2026 https://universonline.nl/nieuws/2026/06/09/wat-voor-universiteit-willen-we-zijn/ 
3. D. Kolkman and G. van Maanen, AI decision making doesn’t need to be explainable, but it should be responsive, LSE Impact Blog https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2025/01/06/ai-decision-making-doesnt-need-to-be-explainable-but-it-should-be-responsive/ 
4. Gijs van Maanen and Lisanne Stone, 'Over het belang van (en gebrek aan) een goed gesprek over Gaza op de universiteit', https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/over-het-belang-van-en-gebrek-aan-een-goed-gesprek-over-gaza-op-de-universiteit, February 8 2025.
5. Charlotte Ducuing, Tommaso Fia, and Gijs van Maanen, ‘Legislating on Data Commons: What It Should (Not) Be’, April 3 2024, at https://platform.coop/blog/legislating-on-data-commons-what-it-should-not-be/.

1. Gijs van Maanen and Anna Artyushina, ‘Whose data commons?’ April 19 2023. Part one: https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/whose-data-commons-part-one/; https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/whose-data-commons-part-two/
2. Gijs van Maanen, ‘Freedom versus/and responsibility in academia’, Amsterdam Science Magazine, issue 13, 2022. https://issuu.com/amsterdamscience/docs/scienceamsterdammagazine_2022_si5_def.
3. Gijs van Maanen, ‘Micha’s Muur’, Hard//Hoofd, July 29 2020. https://hardhoofd.com/michas-muur/
4. Annemarie Balvert and Gijs van Maanen, 'Openbaarheid in de juridische praktijk', iBestuur, October 31 2019. See: (https://ibestuur.nl/podium/openbaarheid-in-de-juridische-praktijk).
5. Gijs van Maanen, 'Technologie als oplossing voor het klimaatprobleem (?)', Defusie, March 18 2019. See: (http://defusie.net/technologie-als-oplossing-klimaatprobleem/).
6. Annemarie Balvert and Gijs van Maanen, ‘Is (open) data een oplossing voor democratische problematiek?’, iBestuur, October 4 2018. See: (https://ibestuur.nl/podium/open-data-oplossing-voor-democratische-problematiek).
7. Gijs van Maanen, ‘Cambridge Analytica en het probleem van de publieke sfeer’, Defusie (2018). See: (http://defusie.net/cambridge-analytica-en-probleem-publieke-sfeer/).

1. Republished in Friesch Dagblad July 25 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20210422232032/http://defusie.net/cambridge-analytica-en-probleem-publieke-sfeer/

• Gijs van Maanen, ‘Mescaline en de lijntjes van je broek: een essay over aandacht, belevenissen en ervaringen’, Defusie (2018). See: (http://defusie.net/mescaline-en-de-lijntjes-van-je-broek-een-essay-over-aandacht-belevenissen-en-ervaringen/). One of the five essays nominated for an essay competition on abstinence. https://web.archive.org/web/20180621031506/http://defusie.net/mescaline-en-de-lijntjes-van-je-broek-een-essay-over-aandacht-belevenissen-en-ervaringen/
• Gijs van Maanen, ‘Nieuwe PSD2-wetgeving morrelt aan de privacy van je bankrekening’, Defusie (2018). See: (http://defusie.net/nieuwe-psd2-wetgeving-morrelt-aan-privacy- bankrekening/).

1. Republished at Waterstof (2018): (http://www.waterstof-ezine.nl/nieuwe-wetgeving-morrelt-aan-de-privacy-van-je-bankrekening/). https://web.archive.org/web/20230128122457/https://www.waterstof-ezine.nl/nieuwe-wetgeving-morrelt-aan-de-privacy-van-je-bankrekening/

• Charlie Groen and Gijs van Maanen, 'Praten met dieren: niet omdat het moet maar omdat het kan', Defusie (2016). See: (http://defusie.net/praten-met-dieren-niet-omdat-het-kan-maar-omdat-het-moet/). https://web.archive.org/web/20230329202632/https://defusie.net/praten-met-dieren-niet-omdat-het-kan-maar-omdat-het-moet/
• Gijs van Maanen, 'Boze burgers en democratische legitimiteit', Defusie (2015). See: (http://defusie.net/boze-burgers-en-democratische-legitimiteit/). https://web.archive.org/web/20221202055721/https://defusie.net/boze-burgers-en-democratische-legitimiteit/
• Gijs van Maanen, 'De Paradoxale aantrekkingskracht van de 'extreme film' II', Defusie (2015). See: (http://defusie.net/de-paradoxale-aantrekkingskracht-van-de-extreme-film-ii/). https://web.archive.org/web/20170316182319/http://defusie.net/de-paradoxale-aantrekkingskracht-van-de-extreme-film-ii/
• Gijs van Maanen, 'De Paradoxale aantrekkingskracht van de 'extreme film' I', Defusie (2015). See: (http://defusie.net/de-paradoxale-aantrekkingskracht-van-de-extreme-film/). https://web.archive.org/web/20170314052107/http://defusie.net/de-paradoxale-aantrekkingskracht-van-de-extreme-film/
• Gijs van Maanen, 'Burgerschap als startpunt van integratie', Defusie (2014). See: (http://defusie.net/burgerschap-als-startpunt-van-integratie/). https://web.archive.org/web/20220527034804/http://defusie.net/burgerschap-als-startpunt-van-integratie/

2020: Understanding the Information Society. BA Data Science course. (Co)coordinator.
2020: Data Challenge 3. BA Data Scence course. (Co)coordinator.
2019: Understanding the Information Society. BA Data Science course. (Co)coordinator.
2019: Data Challenge 3. BA Data Scence course. (Co)coordinator.
2019: AJD B. Pre-master Law course.
2018: Data Challenge 3. BA Data Science course. (Co)coordinator.
2018: Understanding the Information Society. BA Data Science course. (Co)coordinator.

Click here for my courses.