We are seeking a driven, motivated and outstanding PhD researcher interested in sustainability, sustainability transitions and the circular economy with a passion in linking scientific understanding and insights to policy. The doctoral researcher will be part of a fast-track doctoral stream (3-years) connected to an international research project on accelerating the transition to a circular economy at the food-energy-water nexus (FEW).
The Research Project

The research will consider the processes and strategies to accelerate a transition towards a circular economy on a regional scale. The international research project aims at mapping and substantially reducing resource inefficiencies at the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus in city-regions across three continents: Europe, Africa and South America. In order to test new circular economy models and to learn about their potential uptake, the project builds on four Urban Living Labs (ULL) made up of key stakeholders who together will undertake collaborative research to map resource flows; identify critical dysfunctional pathways at the FEW nexus; assess the socio-environmental and economic impacts of alternative closed-loop (circular) models, and develop strategies to govern the further diffusion of these circular alternatives most appropriate to the local and regional context (e.g. policy interventions, evolving actor networks).

The focal aim of this doctoral research position is to develop and test a new methodological framework for mapping the acceleration potential of circularity within a region. With your research, a relevant gap within transition studies will be addressed. Local niche experimentation (for example in ULL) and regional sustainability governance often remain disconnected. This gap impedes the further uptake and diffusion of promising sustainability solutions. The research will be guided by the following overarching research questions: How do systemic analyses of resource flows, actor networks, co-creative envisioning and backcasting play out in a structured procedure to identify the acceleration potential and diffusion pathways of closed loop commodity models for a region? How do actors (i.e. transition initiatives, business, and policy actors) navigate through these pathways when being confronted with trade-offs between the socio-environmental and economic impacts of alternative closed loop models at the food-energy-water nexus? What is the particular role of the ULL setting as a site for learning, co-creation and governance for circular niche models?

The successful applicants will have an excellent academic track record, a completed Master of Science degree, and demonstrated capacity for interdisciplinary science research. We encourage candidates with a multi-disciplinary background in Innovation studies, Policy Studies, Urban Planning, Geography, Industrial ecology, Science and Technology Studies, Environmental science, Sociology, Environmental Sociology or Governance studies to apply.
An affinity with sustainability transitions, the concept of the circular economy, and/or innovation and governance studies is highly desirable. Ideally, the candidate has first-hand experiences with theories of innovation diffusion and/or assessment methods for circularity (e.g. MFA, LCA), Scenario & backcasting techniques, as well as transdisciplinary research approaches. The project requires intense collaborations with international practice partners. Candidates should be proficient in English (both writing and speaking), willing to collaborate and travel internationally, . 
The Supervisory Team
The research will be supervised by an experienced and collaborative team comprising:
• Senior Researcher Dr. Timo von Wirth (DRIFT, Erasmus University Rotterdam), 
• Assoc. Professor Dr. Niki Frantzeskaki (DRIFT, Erasmus University Rotterdam),
• Professor Dr. Derk Loorbach (DRIFT, Erasmus University Rotterdam).

In accordance with our employment policies, you will be offered a temporary contract for one year (starting June 1st 2018), with conditions for extension to two further years depending on performance. You will be employed by the ESSB faculty of Erasmus University and placed on secondment to the DRIFT institute.
Salary is subject to salary grades P0 to P2 (€ 2.083 to € 2.542 brutto amounts). On inception of the employment contract, you will be placed in salary grade P0 (€ 2.083) for a period of 12 months. Salary grades correspond to the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch universities (CAO), a 40 hour-workweek, with generous amount of leave days. In addition to the monthly salary, an end-of-year payment of 8,3% and a holiday allowance of 8% will be paid. We offer a dynamic and challenging environment and good working conditions as well as a flexible pension plan and various collective insurances. Employees can use the sport accommodation and the university library. The initial period is one year. At the end of the first year, performance will be evaluated, and if progress towards a PhD is satisfactory, the employment will be prolonged for another two years.

Erasmus University Rotterdam

The expertise of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is concentrated in the fields of  Business Administration,  Economics, Medicine and Health Sciences, Law, Social Sciences, History, Culture and Communication, and Philosophy. In addition to the initial degree programmes and scientific research, the University offers specific postgraduate study programmes and courses. Erasmus University has around 25,000 students and some 2,700 staff members.

http://www.eur.nl/

The Dutch Research Institute for Transitions is an action research institute located at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Founded in 2004, Drift evolved from a Dutch based research institute to an internationally oriented institute with worldwide networks, projects and contributions in the field of sustainability transitions. We are a young, ambitious and interdisciplinary group of researchers, trainers and consultants that combine academia with reflexive activism. Our backgrounds range from innovation studies and environmental science, to sociology, political science, policy analysis, geography, anthropology, engineering, history, as well as economics and philosophy. Drift aims to understand, facilitate and accelerate sustainability transitions, by putting scientific theory into practice and by implementing and developing innovative governance approaches, such as Transition Management. Next to (action) research, Drift advises governments and companies within the Netherlands, Europe and non-European countries. Furthermore, Drift is actively involved in education through multiple courses, coaching trajectories, workshops, in-company trainings and creative educational experiments.