Postdoctoral researcher

The Institutions for Collective Action (ICAs) research team does scientific research and engages in returning scientific knowledge to society in an accessible way. As a postdoctoral researcher with us, you'll also combine both activities: contributing to our scientific programme as well as to our public-oriented knowledge platform CollectieveKracht in which Dutch citizen collectives can assess their own organisations - their challenges and pitfalls - and exchange knowledge. It enables them to ask for information from civil servants, financiers and scientists. In our science laboratory, about 40 scientists from a range of disciplines (administration science, environmental science, history, sociology, psychology, medical science, engineering) make their knowledge available in short articles, infographics, videos and research tools.

The tasks of the postdoctoral researcher are:

1. Compiling a database of cooperatives and ICAs that emerged between 1850-2020 so we can assess their historical insights. The earliest date back to around 1000 - in the form of commons, irrigation communities, beguinages, waterboards, and guilds - although many were dissolved in the late 18th-early 19th centuries. They re-emerged between 1880-1920 in the form of cooperatives, labour unions and mutuals, and a third wave emerged in 2005. A database of cooperatives from the second and third waves enables us to develop longitudinal perspectives on the development of the cooperative movement across Europe that could greatly enhance our understanding of the functioning of ICAs - applied to various sectors - and of the growth potential of the current wave of ICAs. Historical insights are also needed to understand the impact of external factors - demographic, economic, environmental, and political - on the capacity of recently set-up ICAs to evolve as resilient organisations.
2. Helping to identify the needs of the citizen collectives and serving as the intermediary between collectives and scientists, assisting with the development of scientific tools.
3. Translating scientific knowledge to a broad audience. The insights of this research - and that of many other scientists in our network - can help present-day citizen collectives to build a resilient organisation and a sustainable future.

Your main tasks

• Compiling a database of cooperatives that emerged between 1850-2020.
• Contributing to the scientific development of the CollectieveKracht.eu knowledge platform.
• You'll be conducting independent research via online sources and using archives, but also liaising with other researchers remotely and in person in order to uncover and assess materials that could be useful for the platform.

• Completed PhD in social sciences or humanities.
• Experience in building and organising databases.

Your required competences

• Knowledge of and experience in archival research
• Capable of working independently and to plan tasks according to the needs of the team
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English. Dutch is the common language on the knowledge platform so a good command of the Dutch language is a huge advantage.
• Knowledge of, or demonstrable interest in institutions for collective action in general, and cooperatives in particular.

A lively work environment with 12 active team members from diverse disciplinary backgrounds working together on several projects.

This is a job in which high-quality academic research and societal impact created by research go hand-in-hand. You will be able to organise your own work in collaboration with other team members. Working from home will be possible, although you will be required to attend on-site meetings with external partners. In general, evening and weekend work is not required, but in exceptional cases the organisation of events may require this. The appointment is for 7 months, but can be extended.

The conditions of employment correspond with the collective labour agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU). https://www.universiteitenvannederland.nl/files/documenten/CAO/2021/CLA_Universities_Netherlands_2021_2022.pdf

Salary is subject to training and experience and may vary from a minimum of € 3,821 up to a maximum of € 5,230 gross per month (scale 11 CAO NU), based on a full-time contract of 38 hours.

Erasmus University has attractive employment conditions, which include a holiday allowance of 8 per cent, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3 per cent, and a considerate amount of vacation days. More information is available at https://www.eur.nl/en/working/our-employer-vision/employment-conditions

EUR offers all employees an annual personal career budget which can be used to advance your skills and competences. There are lots of training, development, and coaching opportunities at EUR too.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe's top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM's primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. Study information and activities for future students, executives and alumni are also organised from the RSM office in Chengdu, China. www.rsm.nl

RSM is a faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). EUR is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research. Our scientists and students work in close collaboration with internal and external parties to solve global, social challenges, inspired by the always dynamic and cosmopolitan Rotterdam. Our mission is therefore "Creating positive societal impact". Our academic education is intensive, active and application-oriented. Our research increasingly takes place in multidisciplinary teams, which are strongly intertwined with international networks. With our research impact and thanks to the high quality of education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. The Erasmian values function as our internal compass and make Erasmus University recognizable to the outside world: engaged with society, world citizen, connecting, entrepreneurial and open-minded. www.eur.nl

Established in 1998, the department of Business-Society Management (B-SM) at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University was the first of its kind within a European business school. The B-SM Department offers a social science-based perspective on managerial and organizational issues at the interface between business and society. The department members conduct world class research on how organizations can engage in shared value creation, and how, rather than contributing to society's problems, organizations can be part of the solution. Staff of the department are involved in teaching at the under- and post-graduate level, including bachelor programmes, the full-time MBA and specialized and executive master programmes. The department also delivers the school's flagship Master programme on Global Business and Sustainability. The Master programme is one of the longest running programmes in the world in the area of business and society management and continues to deliver graduates that are in high demand in today's business world.