Postdoc position in Innovation and Sustainability Transitions

Department of Food and Resource Economics invites applicants for a 2 year Postdoc position with possibilities for extension rooted in the academic field of Innovation and Sustainability Transition Studies. The position is funded by the research project Legitimacy and acceleration of Green Energy Initiatives and Transitions (LEGIT) which is funded by NordForsk.

Start date is (expected to be) 1 February 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Across the Nordic countries the need for an accelerated green transition is increasingly conflicting with other environmental and social challenges, including the unequal distribution of burdens, nature degradation, and the violation of the rights and interests of local people. Such tensions lead to social backlash, decreasing legitimacy, and, ultimately, delay or cancellation of projects. While civic participation traditionally the primary strategy for ensuring legitimacy, it is evident that current participatory practices are insufficient in and challenged by an acceleration context characterised by growing scale (more and bigger projects), scope (involving more and more sectors e.g., via PtX, grid development, and CCUS) and speed (urgency and ambitious policy goals) of the green transition. LEGIT brings together insights from, on the one hand, legitimacy and participation research with, on the other hand, recent theorizing on acceleration within Sustainability Transitions research to interrogate topics as ‘responsible acceleration’ and ‘sociotechnical tipping points’ in the search for answers to acceleration challenges.

The Postdoc will focus the Danish context for these issues with attention to the changing strategies of actors (e.g., local and national policymakers, businesses, energy-users, and civil society actors) for coping with new legitimacy challenges, and how institutional and policy contexts shape participatory practices related to the diffusion of green innovations. The postdoc will work in a Nordic team of interdisciplinary researchers across the partners including Syke (Finland), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), NIFU (Norway) and Linköping University (Sweden).

In addition to the specific project, the Postdoc’s duties will include some teaching as well as participation in other related projects. The position may also include performance of other duties (e.g. supervision of BSc and MSc students).

The successful candidate should have:

• A PhD degree in a social science discipline, with relevance for the area of innovation and transition studies (including innovation studies; sustainability transitions studies; management science; sociology, economics, human geography, etc.).
• High-level proficiency in written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of a Scandinavian language is a strong advantage.
• Demonstrated experience with relevant theories and methods for studies of innovation and sustainability transitions, and innovation policy in particular, is an advantage.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Danish and/or Nordic context in relation to green transitions is an advantage
• The ability to perform research work, demonstrated by previous publications is meritorious

Further information on the Department is linked at http://www.science.ku.dk/english/about-the-faculty/organisation/. Inquiries about the position can be made to Associate Professor Allan Dahl Andersen (email: [email protected]).

Our group and research

The Postdoc will be located in the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Sustainability Transitions (EIST) Group, which carries out research on multiple analytical levels: from work on innovation and entrepreneurship processes at the (inter- and intra-) organizational level, to research on innovation systems and sustainability transitions in the sociotechnical systems. Group members engage in qualitative and quantitative research, aiming to contribute to theory development within innovation studies, organization and management studies, and sustainability transitions. The group is expanding activities in Sustainability transition studies with multiple positions including this Postdoc position.

The group is a part of Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. IFRO is a highly diverse social science department addressing critical questions related to the challenges society face with respect to protecting our planet, its climate, environment and life, ensuring human wellbeing, sustainable development and the sustainable transformation of global natural resource-based sectors like the agro-food, energy, fishery, and forestry. IFRO is located in the centre of Copenhagen and offers creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

Principal mentor is Associate Professor, Allan Dahl Andersen, who is workpackage leader in the project.

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Diplomas (Master and PhD degree or equivalent)
4. Research plan (descripe ideas and goals for the postdoc within project topic; max 2 pages)
5. Complete publication list
6. Separate reprints of up to 3 particularly relevant papers

Terms of employment
Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is 8 November 2024, 23:59 GMT +1.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Start date is (expected to be) February 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The further proces

After deadline, a number of applicants will e selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, wheter you will be shortlisted for assessment.

An assessment committee will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements, and to identify the most qualified applicants that will be invited for an interview.

The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held December 2024.