Mathieu Steijn receives Veni grant for research on equality of opportunity
Research fellow Mathieu Steijn (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) has been awarded a Veni research grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
In the awarded project 'The role of social infrastructure in social mobility,' Steijn studies how local meeting places, from the sports club to the community centre, shape the life chances of children from low-income families.
Inequality of opportunity is growing. Social connections are an important factor in improving the chances of upward social mobility of children from low-income households. To influence this, most research and policy focusses on the characteristics of demographic groups living together in neighbourhoods. However, social relations are about coming together rather than living together. Therefore, social infrastructure, places that foster social interaction, like sport clubs, are an interesting object of research. This research will map social infrastructure and its users to understand the social mobility of previous generations to come up with actionable insights to improve that of future generations.
On the website of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, you can find the full news item about the appointment. View all awarded Veni projects of round 2025.
About the Veni grant
The NWO Veni grant, worth up to 320,000 euros, is awarded to recently graduated researchers with an excellent research proposal. It gives them three years to develop their own ideas and encourages curiosity-driven, innovative research.