PhD The Organization of Innovation for Sustainability Transition

This PhD position is part of an interdisciplinary team of three PhD researchers, one postdoc, and two senior researchers in the project ‘EXTRA’: From EXperiment to sustainable change: TRAnsformative methodologies for innovation and learning. EXTRA is a collaboration between multiple universities and public and private partners to research and advance physical and experimental environments as enabling methodologies for learning and innovation, also known as living labs.

Living labs are applied by various change-makers, including governmental actors, industry partners, NGOs, researchers, and citizens, to co-create innovations. However, while much experimentation and innovation occur, achieving long-term systemic change remains difficult. Therefore, the main purpose of EXTRA is to amplify the transformative power of living labs with novel insights, instruments, and human capacities, thus enabling change-makers to make sustainable changes and societal impacts.

In the consortium this PhD research will focus on the organization of innovation to accelerate sustainability transition. More specifically, by gathering knowledge and analyses across different fields and cases, this research will identify and validate (inter)organizational approaches, interventions, and business models to overcome barriers and enable the public-private collaboration needed for embedding, translating, and scaling innovations.

For more information about the project, please visit: https://www.nwo.nl/nieuws/financiering-voor-onderzoeksproject-over-fysieke-experimentele-omgevingen ; https://www.tudelft.nl/2024/bk/nwo-financiering-voor-innovatief-onderzoek-naar-fysieke-experimentele-omgevingen.

Your duties:

• Working in an interdisciplinary field with various researchers, team members, and public and private organizations
• Data collection through qualitative methods, i.e., literature review, desk study, interviews, observation, and participation
• Data analysis with an emphasis on qualitative analysis methods
• Writing and publishing scientific articles
• Presenting research findings at (inter)national conferences
• Sharing research findings with the organizations and partners involved in the consortium
• Applying research findings in practice through action research in real-time experiments and interventions in the field

Requirements:

• A completed (research) master's degree in social or organizational sciences (e.g., organization studies, business and innovation studies, anthropology, sociology).
• Demonstrable experience and affinity with scientific research and engaged scholarship
• Demonstrable experience and affinity with qualitative research methods, ethnography, and action research
• Good organizational and communication skills and a proactive attitude
• Motivation and capacity to contribute to theory and practice
• Full fluency of the Dutch and English languages in speech and writing (C1 level)

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognizing that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity, in all its complexity, is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research, and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset. We realize that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise, and mindset. Therefore, we are happy to invite anyone who recognizes themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

Salary Benefits:

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• A salary of € 2.901,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.707,00 (PhD) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment
• An employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.
• All PhD candidates of the Faculty of Social Sciences will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Social Sciences (VU-GSSS) and admission to the VU-GSSS is part of the hiring procedure. More details can be found on their website and are available upon request.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• Possibility to save holiday hours, for sabbatical leave
• Solid pension scheme (ABP)
• Contribution to commuting expenses

De Boelelaan 1105