GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence

Trust, control and motivation in public organisations

GOVTRUST Webinar #5 - with Tina Øllgaard Bentzen, Frédérique Six, and Sophie Op de Beeck

Monday, 23 February 2026, 13:00-14:00 CET

Join us for a deep dive into Trust, control and motivation in public organisations, a chapter by Tina Øllgaard Bentzen, Frédérique Six, and Sophie Op de Beeck in the Handbook on Trust in Public Governance (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025).

In this webinar, Tina Øllgaard Bentzen, Frédérique Six, and Sophie Op de Beeck will present key insights from their chapter “Trust, control and motivation in public organisations” in the Handbook on Trust in Public Governance. They uncover how trust-based public governance can be strengthened when organisational controls support professionals’ core psychological needs. By fostering intrinsic motivation, this alignment improves well-being and performance and creates a virtuous cycle of mutual trust between leaders and professionals. Their model presents a comprehensive perspective on how trust, control, and intrinsic motivation intersect, propelling optimal performance, cultivating mutual trust, and reinforcing the well-being of professionals in public governance.

Webinar programme

  • 13:00 | Welcome and introduction
  • 13:10 | Takeaways from the chapter "Trust, control and motivation in public organisations" by Tina Øllgaard Bentzen (Roskilde University), Frédérique Six (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam & University of Antwerp), and Sophie Op de Beeck (University of Antwerp)
  • 13:40 | Q&A

Speaker bios

  • ​Tina Øllgaard Bentzen is an Associate Professor at Roskilde University (Denmark) within the Roskilde School of Governance. Her research focuses on the interplay between trust and control within governance and often draws on comparative cross-country studies. Participatory processes in the public sector, as well as trust-based governance and leadership practices, are often at the centre of Tina’s research, which draws on theories of collaboration, co-creation, implementation, and institutional change. Her research also covers trust approached as a magical, organisational concept, which is diffused and translated across local as well as national public sector reforms. Tina has published in top journals like Public Administration, Public Management Review, and Administration and Society.
  • ​Frédérique Six is an Associate Professor in public governance at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and a Visiting Professor at the GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her research interests revolve around trust-based public governance, researching trust, distrust, different forms of control (regulation, managerial control within organisations, and public accountability), and their relationships. She has published in top journals such as Journal of Management Studies, Public Management Review, and Regulation & Governance, and has co-edited several volumes on trust, such as the Handbook on Trust in Public Governance (2025) and Trust in Regulatory Regimes (2017).
  • ​Sophie Op de Beeck is the Research Manager of the GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). In 2016, she obtained her PhD in Social Sciences (KU Leuven, Belgium). Throughout her career as a researcher (2009–2018), she was involved in various fundamental and practice/policy-orientated research projects in the field of public (personnel) administration at the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute. Since 2018, she has continued her career in the area of research management and research funding advice. In 2020, she joined the University of Antwerp as the GOVTRUST Research Manager, facilitating interdisciplinary research collaborations focusing on 'Trust and Distrust in Multi-level Governance of Societal Transitions'.

Practical information