DC7 – Reconfiguring organisational structures for delivering platformised public value

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has championed freedom, equality, and connectedness — values deeply embedded in campus life for both students and staff. At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities, and, above all, people who are 100% their authentic selves.

With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels — an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. Add to this our principle of free research — in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central — and you have a university that is groundbreaking in education and research. The VUB is also a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

SMIT (Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology) is a research centre within the Faculty of Social Sciences & Solvay Business School at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and a core research group of imec, Flanders’ leading institute for nano-technology and ICT innovation. For over three decades, SMIT has conducted cutting-edge social scientific research on media and ICT, with a strong focus on innovation, policy, and socio-economic developments.

The candidate will be based within the Media Economics and Policy (MEP) unit of SMIT, which examines how digitalisation, internationalisation, and platformisation reshape media markets, business models, and creative ecosystems. Its researchers explore how traditional and emerging media actors innovate, compete, and collaborate, as well as how public policy can strengthen diverse cultural and creative sectors, including publishing, heritage, broadcasting, film, gaming, music, and documentary production.

The PhD project is titled: Reconfiguring organisational structures for delivering platformised public value.

The changed media ecosystem requires a change in organisational structures. However, Public Interest Media cannot just imitate big-tech managerial approaches as they reflect other sets of values and another mode of operation. Moreover, they are public sector players with different sets of regulation, a specific historical development path and extensive public as well as political scrutiny. In preparing Public Interest Media for a media ecosystem where technological agency plays a central role, corporate structure, staff/skills portfolios and change management strategies must be developed for delivering platformised public value. Auditing and benchmarking these aspects between existing Public Interest Media, successful digital platforms and other proxy sectors, will help assess which structures, staff and skills are needed.

This project pursues a change management strategy for Public Service Media that builds on public interest, history and the ‘DNA’ of public media to make the ‘platform-logic’ compatible with public service values.

The project investigates how Public Interest Media can reconfigure their organisational structures to operate effectively in a platformised media ecosystem, while safeguarding their public values and mandates. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Assessment of existing organisational structures within public media institutions, including workflows, governance models, and internal decision-making processes
• Comparative analysis of management and operational logics between Public Interest Media organisations and digital-native platforms, identifying both transferable and non-transferable practices
• Skills, staff, and role transformations required to integrate data-driven, automated, and platform-supported production and distribution processes
• Benchmarking exercises across Public Interest Media organisations, successful digital platforms, and relevant proxy sectors (e.g., cultural institutions, civic tech, public data infrastructures)
• Values-driven organisational design, examining how public service values, editorial independence, inclusivity, accessibility, and accountability can be embedded into platform-ready operational models
• Scenario-building and strategy development for organisational change, outlining future-oriented, scalable pathways for delivering platformised public value.

The project applies a mixed-methods, interdisciplinary approach combining organisational research, strategic management studies, and media innovation analysis. Methods may include:

• Organisational audits and benchmarking across Public Interest Media institutions, digital platforms, and proxy sectors
• Semi-structured interviews with executives, managers, strategists, and technical staff within Public Interest Media and platform organisations
• Ethnographic fieldwork or short-term embedded observations within selected Public Service Media institutions to map workflows, practices, and internal communication structures
• Document and policy analysis, including internal strategy papers, organisational charts, governance documents, and mission/value frameworks
• Competence and skills ecosystem mapping, analysing emerging roles related to data, product, platform governance, and audience engagement
• Comparative case studies of organisational change initiatives in media or adjacent sectors
• Scenario-building workshops with internal and external stakeholders to co-design future organisational models aligned with public service values.

The position requires relocation to Belgium as the candidate will be enrolled in the Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s PhD programme in Communication Sciences. The project is conducted under the supervision of Karen Donders, Associate Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Director of Public Value, Talent & Organisation at the Flemish public broadcaster VRT, Catalina Iordache, Senior researcher and Guest Professor at VUB, and Michał Głowacki, Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland. It will involve close collaboration with other Doctoral Candidates in the RePIM doctoral Network Project, and an academic secondment of approximately 2 months at the University of Warsaw. The candidate will also carry out 3-month internship at the Dutch public broadcaster NPO, located in Hilversum, the Netherlands.

The PhD position is part of RePIM – Revisioning Public Interest Media, a four-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Doctoral Network dedicated to reimagining the role and future of Public Interest Media in a data-driven, platform-dominated environment. RePIM brings together leading European universities, industry partners, and 12 Doctoral Candidates in an interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral training and research programme. The network investigates how public interest media can remain relevant, sustainable, and impactful by transforming how content is produced, packaged, distributed, and supported organisationally and technologically. Through its focus on strategic innovation, organisational change, and media management, RePIM equips its doctoral researchers with advanced analytical and managerial skills to help reshape Public Interest Media across diverse European contexts.

MSCA eligibility requirements

• At the time of recruitment, candidates must not already hold a doctoral degree.
• Applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply. However, researchers must not have lived or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host country (in this case: Belgium) for more than 12 months within the 36 months immediately preceding their recruitment date. Candidates must be willing to move to Belgium for the duration of the PhD research.

Project-specific profile requirements

• Master’s degree in media and communication studies or a related social sciences discipline (political sciences, international studies, economics, management, sociology, urban studies)
• Excellent knowledge of social sciences research methods (qualitative analysis, interviews, document analysis, quantitative analysis); experience with fieldwork and/or digital research methods is an asset
• Strong academic track record, with particular emphasis on research, analytical, and writing skills
• Demonstrated knowledge of, or strong interest in, media research, media economics, and European audiovisual markets
• Strong team orientation, a reliable work ethic, excellent time-management skills, and the ability to take initiative and work independently
• Proficiency in written and spoken English; knowledge of Dutch is a notable advantage
• Willingness to engage in international mobility in line with the MSCA-DN framework (meetings, training sessions, research stays, industry stays, etc.).

In this role, you will work with researchers at two prominent European institutions in media and communication research. You will collaborate closely with other researchers in a European consortium of leading studies institutes in the field, as well as conduct an international secondment with a relevant organisation in your field of research.

The planned starting date is 1 May 2026.

We offer an attractive compensation and benefits package, including the following:

• A full-time PhD scholarship for 48 months.
• An attractive salary in accordance with the MSCA Call 2025 regulations for Doctoral Researchers, including a monthly living allowance, a mobility allowance, and a family allowance of €660 (only if applicable). The salary is in line with salary scales for PhD fellows available here, and calculated based on factors such as years of experience, nationality, and indexation.
• Excellent holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave, closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days.
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance.
• Other VUB employment conditions and benefits.
• International mobility for academic secondment at University of Warsaw (Poland) and industry internship at NPO (the Netherlands).
• A wide range of training possibilities and participation in international conferences.
• Support and guidance by an experienced team of academic supervisors and senior researchers.
• A dynamic and stimulating work environment with enterprising young scientists and experienced senior research staff in an international setting.

Applications are now closed.

Application process:

• Step 1: initial selection based on application file
• Step 2: first round of interviews with long-listed candidates (est. February–March 2026)
• Step 3: second round of interviews with short-listed candidates (March 2026)
• Starting date: est. 1 May 2026.