Louise D'Eer

Louise D'Eer (°1994) is a doctoral researcher at the End-of-Life Care Research Group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. She holds a Master's degree in criminology (2017) and a Master's degree in conflict & development (2018) from the University of Ghent. Louise conducted research on civic engagement at Odisee, before starting in 2019 as a doctoral researcher at the VUB.

Her research is about developing and evaluating 'compassionate neighbourhoods' in Flanders. These are neighbourhoods in which people support each other when they are confronted with illness, death, loss or bereavement. Louise works closely together with the neighbourhood stakeholders in co-creating these compassionate neighbourhoods. These stakeholders include formal care partners and organizations, but also informal key figures and associations in the neighbourhood. Which initiatives are developed in the neighbourhoods is unpredictable and depends entirely on the process of co-creation with the stakeholders. By mapping the entire process of neighbourhood development and measuring its impact, Louise hopes to inspire everyone who wants to start a compassionate neighbourhood or be actively involved in it.