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Postdoctoral researcher - Creative practices for sustainability transformations

Posted 23 Mar 2024
Work experience
1 to 3 years
Full-time / part-time
Full-time
Job function
Degree level
Required language
English (Fluent)

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Functie

The Environmental Governance group at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University is advertising a postdoctoral position (0.8 FTE) for two-and-a-half years on a European research project, H2020 CREATURES, on creative practices for transformations to sustainability. How do we urgently and radically change cultures towards sustainability? And how do we know our practices are having an impact? Come and work on a three-year EU project, running from January 2020 to December 2022, that explores creative practices to make and evaluate transformational cultural change. It will be a collaboration between four universities (Aalto, Sussex, RMIT Europe and Utrecht) and 10 other partners (including Furtherfield and Superflux in the UK).

Creative practices are underused, even overlooked, in the urgent task of changing cultures towards sustainability. The project promotes action for social and ecological sustainability by identifying those aspects of practice that contribute most effectively to socio-cultural transformation. It will produce an open-access framework to support practitioners and policy-makers in guiding positive change.

The CREATURES project draws on pilot research that shows that collaboration, reflection and direct engagement are key to changing the publics’ orientation to ecological issues. It identifies and evaluates the design of significant aspects (and the impact of different contexts) through three interrelated components:

  • an observatory, identifying and mapping existing, fragmented and often hidden transformational creative practices;
  • a laboratory, supporting new experimentation and direct engagement with diverse stakeholders, including members of the public, by mounting several different scales and types of arts production, and;
  • an evaluation phase, testing new and existing creative practices in a systematic and concerted way for their impact.

The resulting framework will demonstrate some paths to achieving sustainability, social cohesion and peaceful co-existence at a time of rapid change, offering a strategic research agenda for key stakeholders, a set of innovations addressing the cultures and conditions for delivering greater sustainability, and policy recommendations to focus and optimize work in mobilizing the arts for transformational futures.

The position

In the context of this project, we are advertising a postdoctoral position (0.8 FTE, 2.5 years). They will work closely with Dr Joost Vervoort, assistant professor of Foresight and Anticipatory Governance at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, as well as with colleagues in Helsinki, Barcelona, and Sussex/Brighton and a range of arts organisations and NGOs. They will be a member of the DIPSlab (Design for Inclusion, Participation and Sustainability) and the Creative Technology Group.

For this position, the emphasis will be on the design and execution of the evaluation of the creative practices in the project, in terms of their links to potential transformation processes.

Profiel

We are looking for a candidate:

  • with experience in mixed methods-based qualitative research. A specific background in the design and execution of evaluation processes/research applied to creative practices/other non-standard public and governance engagements is highly valued;
  • a specific background in the study of societal transformations and transitions is a strong plus.
  • the successful candidate has a working experience with arts organisations and turning research insights into impact;
  • with the ability and willingness to work across social science disciplines;
  • with the ability to work independently as well as under supervision;
  • who is able to work under time pressure;
  • who is a good team player;
  • strong affinity with working in an interdisciplinary and international research environment;
  • with an excellent English language proficiency. We require a qualification English at C1 level (CEFR or comparable to level 3 of the Lecturer Assessment Grid) or the candidate must be prepared to obtain this level by training.

Aanbod

We offer a position (0.8 FTE) for the duration of two-and-a-half years. The gross salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - ranges between €2,709 and €3,637 (scale 10 according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.

We work on a better future. In order to do that, we join forces with academics, students, alumni, social partners, the government and the corporate world. Together, we look for sustainable solutions to the big challenges of today and tomorrow.

Education
Utrecht
7,000 employees