A.    General NWO-MVI project 
The project of 4.5 years received funding (750.000 EUR) as part of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Innoveren (MVI) program ‘Responsible Innovation. Designing for public values in a digital world’, a cooperation between NWO, the municipality of The Hague and the Dutch ministries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security and Justice. Moreover, the project is co-financed by the active cooperation of seven private partners and five public partners. The establishment of this triple-helix consortium provides unique opportunities for the research to have societal impact and valorization deliverables. For more information on the project, consortium and valorization panel, see: https://www.nwo-mvi.nl/nl/project/blockchain-network-society-search-transparency-trust-and-legitimacy.

B.    Postdoctoral project 
The postdoctoral researcher based at Tilburg University will actively contribute to the NWO-MVI project planned scientific and valorization deliverables. The researcher will take an active role in managing the day-to-day operations of the project and will actively keep in touch with the other consortium members. 

This postdoc research project will investigate how values change due to blockchain applications mediating the relation of public actors and citizens and how this mediation shapes trust. This research will take an empirically-informed approach and focus on two case-studies (mentioned above). We plan to conduct semi-structured interviews for both case-studies. The assumption is that citizens develop normative ideas concerning the distributed technologies they interact with as well as about the public and private actors these technologies connect them with. These first-person perspectives do not necessarily align with the values and ideas initially put forth by the technology and involved actors. It is the hypothesis that value clashes might negatively impact trust building. 

In close collaboration with the legal (for which a PhD will be hired) and technical orientated sub-projects, the postdoc’s research is dedicated to informing the design of distributed technologies in order to translate and embed the rule of law values in a way that they consider the observed experiences, values, and interests of end-users. 

Further information A. and B., see below or https://www.tiu.nu/16685

Tilburg University believes that academic excellence is achieved through the combination of outstanding research and education in which social impact is made by sharing knowledge. In doing so, we recognize that excellence is not only achieved through individual performance, but mostly through team effort in which each team member acts as a leader connecting people. 

Applicants must:

• Hold a Ph.D. in philosophy, science and technology studies (STS), or a related field;
• Have experience in (interdisciplinary) research, which is apparent from publications in highly ranked academic journals, presentations at international scientific conferences, and other academic activities;
• Possess expertise relevant to the project (e.g., in postphenomenology/theory of mediation, impact assessment methodologies, responsible innovation);
• Possess expertise or at least show a (research) interest in and willingness to develop knowledge of distributed ledger technology (blockchain) and rule-based algorithms (smart contracts);
• Have knowledge and experience in conducting empirical research (e.g., conducting interviews, focus groups, ethnographic fieldwork, …) 
• Be able and willing to work in an interdisciplinary research team and triple helix consortium, and undertake teaching and project tasks in parallel to the research.
• Be proactive and accountable, able to prioritize across responsibilities, and manage varied commitments.
• Have strong management skills;
• Have excellent interpersonal, as well as strong and effective communication skills.
• Have excellent communication skills in Dutch, given the Dutch case studies, and English, both orally and in writing.
• Be available to start working in September 2020.
• Be committed to integrate in the environment provided by the Department LTMS and Tilburg Law School.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment. We believe flexibility, development, and good employee benefits are very important. We make clear agreements on career paths and offer all kinds of facilities and schemes to maintain an optimum balance between work and private life. Tilburg University also fosters diversity & inclusion; that is why we pursue an active policy for inclusive teams where diverse talents can flourish. 

The starting gross salary varies between €3,637 and €4,978 per month (full time) based on scale 11 of the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities. Tilburg University actively promotes equal and transparent salary between men and women by strictly applying predetermined parameters based on the candidate’s experience. Employees recruited from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax facility- this means that 30% of your salary will be paid as a tax-free reimbursement.

Tilburg University offers you an employment agreement for a fixed period of 4 years and 1.0 fte (40 hours per week). 

You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross yearly income. If you work 40 hours per week, you receive 41 days of paid recreational leave per year.

Please visit Working at Tilburg University for more information on our employment conditions.

Tilburg University

Under the motto of ‘Understanding society’, Tilburg University’s more than 1,500 employees develop knowledge, transfer it to others, and bring people from various disciplines and organizations together. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. Our focus areas are economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, the humanities and digital sciences, and theology. Tilburg University is internationally known for its high standards in education and scientific research, as well as its good support facilities. The Tilburg University campus offers both quietness and connectivity as it is located in a wooded park, ten minutes away from the city center, main highways, and railways. A mid-sized city of 200,000 inhabitants in the South of the Netherlands, and in proximity to cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and London, Tilburg is situated at the very heart of Western Europe. 

Tilburg Law School

Tilburg Law School offers highly-ranked national and international education and research in law and public administration. Currently, 3,000 students are enrolled at Tilburg Law School. Students can choose from five Bachelor's programs, one of which is taught in English (Bachelor Global Law) and ten Master's programs, eight of which are taught in English. The international orientation of Tilburg Law School is reflected in these Bachelor's and Master's programs. The research conducted within Tilburg Law School is aimed at social relevance and provides students with the tools and skills to study and deal with current issues at an academic level.

The LTMS department is a leading European research-orientated institute with ± 60 multidisciplinary researchers in the area of technology regulation and data protection. On a weekly-basis, there are meetings and presentations organized to discuss work in progress, host international speakers, and brainstorm on new projects. It is an inspiring and inclusive environment with a lot of support to reach academic goals.