This position offers the exciting opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher to join two EU Horizon 2020 research projects in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI).

The first project, Responsible Research and Innovation Networked Globally (RRING) is a research and innovation project which aims to connect the European RRI approach with similar efforts to strengthen the societal embedding of research and technology in a global context, via collaboration and mutual learning. The overall aim is to ensure that societal actors (researchers, citizens, policy makers, business, non-governmental organisations, etc.) work together during the research and innovation process in order to better align process and outcomes with the values, needs, concerns and expectations of society. This will be achieved by the formation of a global RRING community network and by the development and mobilisation of a global Open Access RRI knowledge base. Also, RRING aims to align RRI to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global common denominator.

The second project, Grounding Responsible Research and Innovation practices in Research Performing Organisations (GRRIP) is a Coordination & support action project which aims to embed sustainable RRI practices in five research performing and funding organisations through Action Plans (AP) for institutional and cultural change. The focus will be to monitor and evaluate organisational change using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative social scientific methods (including focus groups, survey analysis).

Building on the preliminary results of other Work-packages within both projects, the key objective of this position is to:

• Conduct a comparative analysis of best practices in RRI based on existing project data (quantified results from interview and survey research in various global regions) in four RRI domains (bio-economy, waste management, ICT and energy);
• Design and perform a comparative rating of RRI efforts in these global regions;
• Refine best practice criteria to evaluate RRI efforts and identify drivers and barriers in various global contexts;
• Design and refine indicators for monitoring institutional change in research performing organisations;
• Conduct and analyse mutual learning workshops

These analyses will serve as input for subsequent work-packages of the projects.

• PhD in social science or humanities;
• Experience with interdisciplinary teamwork;
• Experience at PhD level with quantitative and qualitative data analysis (preferably multivariate analysis of large datasets, e.g. Excel, SPSS, GLMM, SEM) and qualitative tools (such as ATLAS);
• Ambition to publishing results in peer-reviewed journals;
• Interest in bridging the science and society gap.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

The position is fulltime, starting date: as soon as possible

The initial contract will be initially running for a term of one year. A part-time appointment (0,8 fte) is negotiable.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU) with a minimum of € 3.637,- and a maximum of € 4.978,- gross per month (scale 11), based on a full-time working week of 38 hours per week. Erasmus University Rotterdam offers an attractive benefits package, with additional holiday and end-of-year bonuses. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. Erasmus University Rotterdam is an equal opportunity employer.

Following a positive evaluation and depending on the availability of funding, this temporary contract can be extended’

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its teaching and research. Our scientists and students work on solving global, social challenges, inspired by the always cosmopolitan and dynamic Rotterdam. Our academic education is intensive, active and pragmatic. Our research increasingly takes place in multidisciplinary teams, which are strongly interwoven with international networks. With our research impact and educational quality, the EUR can measure up to the top of European universities. Important values for Erasmus University Rotterdam are daring, curiosity, social involvement, a focus on pushing boundaries.

Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil)

Erasmus School of Philosophy of the Erasmus University Rotterdam is a leading research and teaching institution in the Netherlands. The faculty has a broad international orientation, with many international students and staff members and strong connections with universities abroad. The research programmes of the academic staff members (roughly 20 in total) are leading in their field.

Diversity

We value diversity and believe that a diversity of talents contributes to our vision and strategy to excel as a university on research and education. ESPhil is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from candidates of all genders, ethnicities and nationalities. Given the current composition of the ESPhil academic staff and priorities relating to staff diversity, the School especially encourages candidates from an ethnic minority, candidates with an international background and female candidates to apply.