The Research group Philosophy & Ethics of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences (IE &IS) seeks a postdoctoral fellow for an appointment of 2,5 years full time (or 3 years 0,8 FTE). The Department engages in research and teaching in the areas of industrial engineering, management science, and innovation science. The mission of the department is closely tied to its pioneering work in developing an engineering perspective on business processes, as well as its interdisciplinary research on transitions in societies in relation to technical changes. Eindhoven University of Technology is a leading research university in science and technology with a diverse, international faculty.

Description of the overall project

The offered position is part of the Horizon 2020 Science with and for Society project 'SCALINGS - Scaling up Co-creation: Avenues and Limits for Integrating Society in Science and Innovation'. This is a joint program of the Philosophy and Ethics group at TU/e, together with 8 other universities across Europe as Technical University Munich, Technical University Denmark, Mines Paris Tech, ESADE Spain and University College London.

Co-creation practice - and co-creation research - are at a crossroads: More than ever, initiatives to boost innovation through collaboration among diverse actors are flourishing across Europe. Yet, this mainstreaming poses new challenges to better understand 'co-creation processes and outcomes under various cultural, societal and regulatory backgrounds to allow better-targeted policy support' (SwafS-13-17). To date, no systematic studies exist that detail how co-creation instruments operate under different socio-cultural conditions, i.e. if 'best practices' will be effective elsewhere or if the resulting products and services are compatible with new markets.

SCALINGS addresses the challenge of mainstreaming co-creation across a diverse Europe head-on: In the first ever rigorous comparative study, we will investigate the implementation, uptake, and outcomes of three co-creation instruments (public procurement of innovation, co-creation facilities, and living labs) in two technical domains (robotics and urban energy) across 10 countries. Using comparative case studies and coordinated cross-country experiments, we explore if and how these instruments can be generalized, transferred, or scaled up to new socio-cultural, economic, or institutional conditions to unleash their innovative power.

Based on this unique data set, we will develop two new transformative frameworks - 'situated co-creation' and 'socially robust scaling' - to guide the wider dissemination of co-creation. We will synthesize our findings into an 'EU Policy Roadmap' to support ongoing EU innovation policy efforts. Empirically, SCALINGS is closely integrated with over two dozen European co-creation initiatives that deal with cross-cultural transferability on a daily basis. Together with these partners, we will co-create enhanced practices that feed directly back into their work and strategy. Finally, we will launch a training program (boot camp) on co-creation in diverse settings for other EU consortia.

A more detailed description of the TU/e's part in the research program is available upon request.

Specification of the Philosophy and Ethics postdoc project

In the postdoc project Value Sensitive Design in Co-creation methods in the Energy and Robotics domains:

You will elaborate with other scholars in the project a theoretical framework on upscaling of co-creation methods. Your focus will be on the contribution of value sensitive design in the model.

You will work in close cooperation with PhD's and use the empirical data and conceptual frameworks of their research into the overall model.

You will design engineering education based on the results of your research.

You will coordinate the contacts with the partners in the project.

You will management the dissemination part of the project containing practitioners and policy workshops and a website. You manage a UK partner that provides practical support and knowhow.

Content-wise, you will focus, among other things, on the following questions:

How can co-creation be understood in the light of Value Sensitive Design?

How should typical challenges of value sensitive design (different roles of stakeholders, universality of values, ethical commitments of methodology, measurement of values …) be treated in a project on co-creation and responsible research and innovation?

Which socio-economic conditions are supportive for energy and robotics co-creation methods?

How can the local co-creation methods be generalized, transferred, or scaled up to new socio-cultural, economic, or institutional conditions?

There will be with a joint supervisory team from the Philosophy & Ethicsgroup at TU Eindhoven but you will work in close collaboration with researchers from other universities involved in the project.

We are looking for candidates that really want to make a difference and like to work on things that have a high practical relevance while having the ambition to compete at an international scientific level (i.e., present at top conferences and in top journals).

You are expected to have:

a relevant PhD;

experience with: research on innovation and participation, descriptive and normative methods, qualitative and quantitative methods;

respect for and able to interact with clients, set up collaboration, manage projects … ;

good English skills and a willingness to learn Dutch. If you happen to speak or understand one of the languages of the project partners (Danish, Polish, German, Spanish), this will be considered as an added value.

We offer:

a challenging job in a dynamic and ambitious group and department;

a full-time appointment for 2,5 years (or 0,8fte for 3 years), starting May 1 (or soon thereafter), 2018

a gross monthly salary between € 3.111,- and € 4.084,-, based on a full-time appointment and depending on experience and knowledge;

a yearly holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary;

a yearly end year allowance of 8.3% of the yearly salary; and

a broad package of fringe benefits (including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, savings schemes, and excellent sports facilities).