PhD Position on Assessing Private Climate Change Adaptation Effectiveness and Limits

Join our TU Delft team to contribute to policy-relevant research on climate change adaptation in a vibrant European-wide team.

Job description

Background

Globally, adaptation to climate change remains both critical and urgent. The momentum to act is rising and empirical evidence is growing. Yet, we still lack systematic ex-ante and ex-post quantitative assessments of adaptation effectiveness and limits across various scales (temporal, spatial, decision) and contexts (exposure to different hazards, or institutional and cultural factors). This limited knowledge hinders a full understanding of societal progress on adaptation worldwide, and in Europe in particular.

Since adaptation effectiveness is highly location- and context-specific, we need a systematic comparison across cases. This PhD position is part of the European project ADELE, which aims to make progress in assessing adaptation effectiveness and limits.

As part of a team of 20 institutions, TU Delft will contribute to ADELE by:

1. collecting primary quantitative data on household autonomous adaptation to climate-induced hazard, providing new evidence of soft and hard limits, and undertaking ex-ante and ex-post assessments of adaptation effectiveness;
2. advancing analytical methods—including structured household surveys and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM)—for the quantification of adaptation effectiveness and limits.

The overall outcomes of the ADELE project will contribute to ongoing EU Commission and European Environmental Agency efforts on climate adaptation, including EUCREA2, the European Climate Adaptation Plan, the integrated framework for European climate resilience and risk management, as well as IPCC.

Role overview

Over the 4-year trajectory, the successful candidate will conduct impact-focused research bridging empirical survey data with advanced computational modeling. Your main responsibilities will be shared between two main research activities (approximately 70%-30%):

1. Large-Scale Survey Development & Data Analysis for Ex-Post Assessment: Develop and deploy a structured household survey to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of past and ongoing private adaptation across 3 European countries. Depending on the case, the focus will be on adaptation to key climate-induced hazards: heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods, and sea level rise. Relying on the existing expertise in the team and state-of-the-art surveys, the PhD student will lead the development of the household survey and analyze data to assess the conditions for soft limits (behavioral, economic, social, institutional) that hinder private adaptation. The goal is to elicit empirical evidence on adaptation constraints such as income differentials, risk awareness, self-efficacy, social norms, and self-perceived vulnerability. There is also an opportunity to collaborate closely with a sister institution in Italy that is developing parallel surveys for firms.
2. Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) & Ex-Ante Assessment: Translate the empirical evidence from the surveys into modular ABM components to study adaptation effectiveness over time and explore when household adaptation limits are reached. The PhD student will leverage existing in-house ABMs at TU Delft (e.g. EMERGO, CRAB, FAST) that can be applied at different spatial scales (urban to national) to project the uptake of private adaptation measures under multiple hazards and constraints. ABM permits comparative analyses of adaptation effectiveness, avoided economic losses and damages, and distributional impacts across society. By applying household survey data from different European cases, the project advances the development of a private household adaptation module as a standardized, interoperable building block. This effort will contribute to open science by sharing empirically verified software modules via agentblocks.org, allowing the broader international climate modeling community to integrate these ready-made components.

Job requirements

We are looking for a motivated and collaborative researcher. The ideal candidate possesses:

• A Master’s degree in Environmental Economics, Psychology, Complex Systems, Engineering & Policy Analysis, or a related field;
• Experience with data analysis and statistical methods;
• A strong interest in developing, conducting, and analyzing surveys;
• Experience with Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) or at least programming skills in a scientific language (Python, Julia, etc.);
• Domain interest in climate change impacts, climate adaptation, or in general in coupled social–environmental systems is an advantage;
• Teamwork and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively in an international, multidisciplinary research project;
• Fluent written and spoken English.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Working at TU Delft means contributing to solutions that really make a difference.

At TU Delft, people make the difference. With their knowledge and curiosity, staff provide high-quality education and conduct pioneering research that extends beyond the campus. You will have the opportunity to take the initiative, work with others, and grow as a professional. Working at TU Delft means joining an international community of professionals and students.

Faculty Technology, Policy & Management

The Faculty of TPM contributes to solving complex technical-social issues such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management, and (cyber) security. It does this through education and research at the intersection of technology, society, and policy. The faculty combines insights from engineering, social sciences, and the humanities, and is internationally oriented with an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations, and governments.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5-year contract includes an official go/no-go progress assessment within 15 months, followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years, assuming performance requirements are met.

As a PhD candidate, you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff, and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing transferable, discipline-related, and research skills.

TU Delft also offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to making your move as smooth as possible. The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information to help you prepare your relocation and organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands and expand your social network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available to support an accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

Additional information

This is an EU funded project named ADELE within the Horizon program.

As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel to help prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by candidates, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest.