Applications are welcome on the topic of the ‘local’ in knowledge infrastructures.

In the past two decades, major societal challenges such as climate change, land degradation or loss of biodiversity have been formulated through large-scale and centralized systems for global data. But recent calls for disaggregation and localisation of data point to the need to produce, handle and use data differently. This call for the local to be considered is fueled by greater use of techniques such as remote sensing, geo-location and visualisations, as well as by the need to engage local actors (concerned citizens, indigenous groups, coalitions, local decision-makers), and to pursue knowledge differently (open science practices including Free and Open source software, crisis of trust in science). Yet, STS has shown the persistence of the local and the importance of context in even the most abstracted data. How can these calls for the local be reconciled with decades of scholarship that insists that data have always been local? This project will explore this tension empirically, using an STS approach to examine the creation of knowledge, drawing on the tradition of infrastructure studies and critical data studies. Ethnographic research, in combination with other methods, will be especially relevant for this project.

The PhD project will focus on this topic, addressing questions such as:

• How does the local become articulated in knowledge infrastructure, and how does it relate to dominant digital epistemologies such as the global or the universal when it comes to data?
• Which epistemic practices and structures shift as knowledge infrastructures also embrace the local? And how does the local level actively shape global-level data?
• How can KI contribute to recent calls for de-aggregation of data from the level of populations to the level of groups, and for localization of data (to city, to region)? How is the implementation of disaggregation and localisation increasingly important in the context of climate mitigation or of different types of preparedness?
• Given the strength of global and national-level institutions in the production of data, which new capacities, designs and interfaces are needed in order for the local to be produced as an actionable object? How are the SDGs and their indicators shaping usable data at the local scale?
• Which advantages and which risks arise through increased attention to the local?
• Does ‘the local’ invoke different trust mechanisms in relation to knowledge infrastructures?
• How can evidence of local influences and local effects be incorporated in models that have traditionally been oriented to more global scales? How can these contribute to more local predictions? How can we ensure interoperability across scales?

The PhD project will be part of the Department Knowledge Infrastructures. Collaboration with the Department Global and Local Governance can be developed. PhD candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School Campus Fryslân (GSCF) and in WTMC, the Netherlands Graduate Research School of Science, Technology and Modern Culture, and can benefit from affiliation with other faculties at the University of Groningen. Depending on profile and interest, the candidate can play a role in the development of the new bachelor programme Data Science and Society.

The candidate should have the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Science and Technology Studies, Anthropology/Sociology of Science, or similar field
• very good record of undergraduate and graduate studies
• willingness to engage with an interdisciplinary academic department that spans the natural and social science
• highly developed conceptual capacity and analytical skills
• very good command of spoken and written English
• very good collaborative working skills
• presentation skills
• planning and organizing skills
• strong motivation to complete a PhD dissertation in four years
• research experience, affinity with ethnographic methods and knowledge of Dutch are assets.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

The PhD Scholarship student will be enrolled in the PhD Scholarship Programme and receives a scholarship of € 2,249 per month (gross) from the University of Groningen. For more information on the RUG PhD scholarship programme and its benefits please check the website at https://www.rug.nl/education/phd-programmes/phd-scholarship-programme/conditions-application/.

The PhD Scholarship contract is offered for four years. Prolongation of the contract after year 1 is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the contract period is to be expected.

A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of the Faculty. As part of the programme, the PhD student will take part in the Career Perspectives Series, which provides a thorough preparation on the career after the PhD, inside or outside academia. During the course of the doctorate, the PhD candidate will develop research and teaching competencies as well as leadership skills through a tailor-made programme from the GSCF.

The intended starting date is 1 February 2022. An earlier start is possible by mutual consent.

Campus Fryslân

Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institution of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Flexible study programmes and academic career opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 36,000 students and researchers alike to develop their own individual talents. As one of the best research universities in Europe, the University of Groningen has joined forces with other top universities and networks worldwide to become a truly global centre of knowledge.

Campus Fryslân is the ambitious eleventh and newest faculty of the University of Groningen, located in Leeuwarden. Campus Fryslân is an interdisciplinary faculty that works closely together with regional, national and international partners on worldwide (sustainability) challenges and local solutions. The sustainable development goals of the United Nations thus serve as an important guideline.

We offer challenging bachelor, masters and PhD degree programmes. The research institute covers six research domains: Governance & Innovation, Global and Local Governance, Sustainable Entrepreneurship in a Circular Economy, Knowledge Infrastructures, Language, Technology & Culture and Sustainable Heath. In the summer of 2019, Campus Fryslân has moved to the new faculty building De Beurs: the first all-electric, monumental educational building in the Netherlands.