Institute for Information Law Self-Assessment Report (2009–2015) ivir self-assessment report (2009–2015) Amsterdam, March 2016 Institute for Information Law (IViR) Vendelstraat 7 1012 XX Amsterdam The Netherlands Website: http://ivir.nl/ Phone: + 31 (0)20 525 3406 Email: [email protected] Layout: Suzanne Bakkum 2 ivir self-assessment report (2009–2015) Table of Contents Section I Description of the research group and its research program 1 1.1 Organization 1 Title 1 General description 1 Composition 1 Organization 1 Financing 2 1.2 Overall strategy 2 Mission and vision 2 Paradigm and research methods 2 Research profile and strategy 3 1.3 Past and future targets 4 1.4 Applicable performance indicators 5 Research quality 6 Relevance to society 6 1.5 Results obtained 7 Societal relevance 11 1.6 Own assessment of quality, relevance and viability 14 Research quality 15 Relevance to society 15 Viability 15 Previous external assessments 15 1.7 Relevant environmental factors and developments 16 1.8 SWOT analysis and benchmark/positioning 17 Benchmarks 18 Section II Appendices 19 2.1 Table describing the composition of the research unit 19 2.2 Table reflecting the publications output 20 2.3 Table indicating the research unit’s financing structure 21 2.4 Five most important scientific publications 21 2.5 Five most important societal publications 22 2.6 Previous external assessment reports 23 2.7 Awards and individual research grants 31 Prizes, honors and awards 31 Individual research grants 32 2.8 Publications output 33 2.9 Reports and studies of societal relevance 173 2.10 IViR events (2009-2015) 177 IViR Speaker Series 177 Honorary Doctorate 180 Inaugurals 180 PhD Defenses 180 Conferences, symposia, (expert)workshops 181 Public debate – Spui 25 183 Organisation of workshops for stakeholders, policy makers, etc 184 ivir self-assessment report (2009–2015) 4 ivir self-assessment report (2009–2015) Section I Description of the research group and its research program 1.1 Organization Title Institute for Information Law, IViR Influx InfluxInformation General description InfluxInformation The Institute for Information Law (IViR), operational since 1986 and officially estab- InfluxInformationFrom 2-4 July 2014 IViR celebrated its lished in 1989 by decree of the University of InfluxInformation25th birthday with a major three-day Amsterdam (UvA) Executive Board, is the InfluxInformationinternational conference on current oldest research institute within the Faculty InfluxInformationand future issues in information law of Law. The institute’s mission is to further InfluxInformationand policy, Information Influx, with the development of information law into a Informationopening keynotes by ec Vice-President balanced framework that accommodates the InfluxN. Kroes and Y. Benkler (Harvard U.), needs and interests of the information society. Informationand keynotes and panel contributions by Information law is a normative concept that leading scholars in the field of informa- integrates the law relating to the production, tion law worldwide. Approximately 250 marketing, distribution and use of informa- information law scholars, practitioners, tion. The institute is one the largest research lawyers, professionals, and students from centres in the field of information law in the all over the world attended the anniver- world. IViR has a strong presence in European sary conference. and international academic networks through a broad array of activities, regularly engages in national and international research collaborations, and collaborates with non-legal disci- plines such as economics, communications science, computer science, philosophy, digital humanities and the arts. Composition IViR has a staff of currently about 40 full- and part-time researchers (21 fte) from legal studies, but also economics, social sciences and philosophy. (cf. Appendices 2.1). The institute has been steadily growing from the start of the reporting period (2009), when its staff counted approximately 25 members (15 fte). Today, the composition of staff is fairly balanced with four Professors, two Associate Professors (part-time), seven Assistant Professors (five part- time), the equivalent of seven postdoc- toral researchers and six PhD candidates. The institute’s operations and administra- Advisory Board Executive Board tion are supported by three administrative staff. Documentation Organization Secreteriat Centre IViR’s organization is structured so as to optimally stimulate and coordinate the Management institute’s research and output as well as Team to ensure research quality and valoriza- tion. The management of the institute lies in the hands of the four professors: Researchers Nico A.N.M. van Eijk (director), P. Bernt Hugenholtz (institute director until 2014, currently research director), Mireille 1 ivir self-assessment report (2009–2015) M.M. van Eechoud and Natali Helberger. Together they form the Board of Directors, which convenes every two weeks and is tasked with general scientific, financial and human resource management. Prospective and ongoing research projects are discussed and monitored at regular meetings of the institute’s senior research staff. Every research project is assigned to a principle investigator (pi) who is either one of the directors or a senior staff member, and oversees the implementation and reports to the senior staff meeting. The institute’s research staff are encouraged to initiate and develop new research projects that fit within the confines of the research program, and to acquire funding, subject to approval of the Board of Directors. The institute’s advisory board, which is composed of leading academics, business leaders and other experts, annually convenes with the Board and senior staff to discuss past performance and future research. Financing Information law is one of the Research Priority Areas (rpa’s) of the University of Amsterdam and of the Faculty of Law, and as such the institute’s research program is publicly financed (eerste geldstroom). IViR also participates in various research projects specifically financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (nwo) and the European Union (tweede geldstroom). A third source of financing is commissioned research derde( geld- stroom), usually for governmental organizations, such as the Dutch government, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and Commission, the oecd, wipo, etc. Occasionally, research is commissioned by non-governmental organisations or private actors. In all cases, IViR research is carried out subject to rigid rules of academic independence and transparency. With university funding under increasing pressure, IViR constantly faces the challenge of maintaining a balance between these sources of financing (cf. Appendices 2.3). 1.2 Overall strategy Two new professors of information law were inaugurated at UvA. On May 23, 2014, Mireille van Eechoud held her inau- gural lecture on ‘The lure of open data’. On September 19, 2014, Natali Helberger held her inaugural lecture on ‘Media, users and algorithms: towards a new balance’. JEROEN OERLEMANS Mission and vision The institute’s mission is to further the development of information law into a balanced framework that accommodates the needs and interests of the information society while respecting fundamental rights and freedoms. Information law is a normative concept that integrates the law relating to the production, marketing, distribution and use of information. The essence of the information law paradigm is that formerly distinct issues and sectors, which are intrinsically connected or converging, are treated within a single and coherent normative framework. The institute has played a pioneering role in this approach, which has been followed at home and abroad. Paradigm and research methods As the Association of universities in the Netherlands (vsnu) recognized in previous evalu- ations, the institute’s early choice to focus on information (law) rather than on information technology (law) distinguishes its research program from comparable programs, in the 2 ivir self-assessment report (2009–2015) Netherlands and abroad (cf. Section 1.6). The focus on the normative principles underpinning intellectual property law, freedom of expression, media regulation, consumer protection, privacy and data protection, among others, has led to valuable new insights. IViR brings together all the disciplines necessary to study the normative, legal and regu- latory frameworks that define, govern and condition information. The field of information law cuts across traditional legal boundaries and draws from research in other disciplines, such as economics and the social sciences. Research methods applied depend on the type and goals of a specific research project, using either descriptive, comparative, and norma- tive/argumentative legal methodology, or (more often) a combination of these – mixed – methods. IViR research projects increasingly comprise empirical research components that require appropriate (e.g. statistical or qualitative) methods. In addition, IViR regularly carries out collaborative research projects with research institutes from other disciplines, such as communications science or cultural studies, incorporating non-legal methods. Research profile and strategy Information law is one of the rpas expressly designated by UvA’s Executive Board to “repre- sent the very best the UvA has to offer in terms of research and are also areas in which the UvA is a worldwide leader”. IViR has played an IViR has