PhD position Connecting Policy and Practice in Sustainability Transitions

Interlinked societal crises have sparked many local initiatives of people who seek to accelerate transitions in different societal domains towards a more sustainable future. These unfold currently without adequate connections to and alignment with policy efforts accelerate sustainability transitions. Combining the implementation of ‘top-down’ mission-oriented policy strategies with ‘bottom-up’ efforts at instigating social, technical and policy innovations (as well as ‘innovations’) is urgent. Linking up bottom-up and top-down dynamics is challenging, however, as there are large gaps between “policy” and “practice”.

In addition to difficulties in bridging the gap between policy and practice, local initiatives often are confronted with limiting boundaries between institutionalised (policy) “sectors” (e.g., the “domain of” energy, agriculture, or health). Various policies in those demarcated policy domains hit the ground in one and the same place, and hence are entangled in practice. There is a need to focus on how place-based sustainability policies and initiatives operate across “domain” boundaries and play out in practice. Examples include care-farming, combining agricultural production and social care, and neighbourhood energy initiatives that combine a focus on energy justice with community engagement in the built environment.

Such cross-sectoral initiatives deserve proper attention in scientific literature and policy making to accelerate sustainability transitions. This PhD positions offers the opportunity to study the dynamics between “policy” and “practice”, with a specific focus on unravelling the role of, and engaging with, local, cross-sectoral sustainability initiatives. We view such initiatives as “boundary experiments”, that facilitate collective rethinking and restructuring of various societal systems in transition, such as healthcare, energy, food, and urban mobility, while considering the unique social, ecological, and cultural aspects of each context.

Your duties
You will conduct research aimed at understanding and facilitating local, cross-sectoral sustainability experiments, and assess and strengthen their relation with policy making that seeks to foster transitions. Together with your supervisors, you will select several (for instance 2-3) empirical case studies that you can (comparatively) study over a longer period of time. You will investigate the different barriers and opportunities that (cross-sectoral and local) sustainability initiatives face in engaging with policy makers and in accelerating transitions (for instance by scaling up their activities). In addition, you will study how we can better connect mission-oriented policies and boundary experiments, and how policies ‘hit the ground’ in local contexts. Furthermore, through action-oriented and transdisciplinary research, you will support increasing the transformative capacity that actors involved in boundary experiments have, as well as that of policy makers, by setting up and facilitating learning workshops and reflexive co-creation sessions to further advance the double objective of the study (understanding and accelerating transition dynamics).

You will conduct this research in collaboration with a team of assistant and associate professors, and build on the strong links in place with research of other PhD candidates and postdocs at the Athena Institute. Furthermore, you work with several different sustainability initiatives, and you have the freedom to focus on initiatives that have your interest. There is a possibility to do a part of the research outside the Netherlands, but we foresee that most research is in the Netherlands. The project entails travels to different sustainability initiatives that are located across the Netherlands.

Next to your research, resulting in a PhD thesis, you will be a coaching lecturer in courses taught by the Athena Institute (15% of your time). The teaching will mostly be in Bachelor and Master courses related to Policy Analysis, Innovation and Sustainability. Your work will be supported with committed supervision and additional research training.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, curious and ambitious candidate with:

• A university masters’ degree in transition studies, sustainability science, sociology, political sciences, policy sciences, or another relevant field, e.g. science and technology studies (STS), innovation studies, organisation studies or environmental studies etc.
• A keen and proven interest in sustainability transitions, in fields such as energy, agri-food, health, nature, built environment or mobility.
• A keen interest in the role of sustainability initiatives, such as local experiments, Living Labs, grass roots movements or community initiatives.
• Enthusiasm to engage with local sustainability initiatives and policy makers in action-oriented research, and potentially to work with these initiatives for a longer period of time.
• Proven experience within qualitative research methodologies, such as interviews or focus groups.
• Preferably: experience with transdisciplinary and transformative research approaches, such as designing and facilitating reflexive workshops or co-creation sessions, and experience with (comparative) case study design.
• The ability to work independently and in a team.
• Excellent organisational, communicative and connective skills; you will collaborate with a wide variety of academic and societal actors.
• Excellent academic track record, and good research skills, writing skills and presentation skills.
• Excellent command of the Dutch and English language is imperative.

A challenging position in a socially involved organisation. The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and amounts €2,770 (PhD) per month during the first year and increases to €3,539 (PhD) per month during the fourth year, based on a full-time employment. The job profile: is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for at least 1 FTE.

The appointment is initially for 12 months with the possibility of extension with a possible extension conditional upon assessment of adequate functioning. The maximum duration of the appointment is 4 years.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment;
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• solid pension scheme (ABP);
• possibility to save holiday hours, for sabbatical leave;
• and child daycare facilities available on campus.

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 31,000 students. We employ over 5,000 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.

The Faculty of Science
Working at the Faculty of Science means working together with students, PhD candidates and scientists who are focused on their discipline, yet also have a broad view of the world. We are proud of the collegial working environment within the faculty, which is characterised by an ambitious and pragmatic attitude with commitment to the bigger picture. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex social issues for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from genetics to pharmaceuticals and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research cover the full breadth of the natural sciences. Scientific teaching and research is highly experimental, technical, computational and interdisciplinary in nature. This is why we collaborate extensively with leading research institutes and industry. The faculty has over 11,000 students studying across 40 educational programmes and employs over 1,600 staff spread over 10 scientific departments, making us the largest science faculty in the Netherlands.
Athena Institute
The position is offered within the Athena Institute, Faculty of Sciences. The Athena Institute addresses complex societal issues, like poverty, health inequalities and climate change. We aim to bring all stakeholders involved in these challenges together, particularly those voices who often remain unheard. By learning from each other, we investigate how to instigate system transformation.
Athena believes that science should actively contribute to a better world. Therefore, we use science as a platform to support people at the margins of society and address complex societal problems. Our research intends to spark positive change, and contribute to more inclusivity, equality and sustainability.

For more information about the Athena Institute visit our website.