PhD Scholarship in Public Policy

at  Monash University

THE OPPORTUNITY

This PhD scholarship is funded as an important part of an ARC funded project on Advancing Anticipatory Policy Design, conducted by Professor Michael Mintrom, Associate Professor Shanti Sumartojo, and Professor Lisa Grocott.
The PhD project will focus on co-design in policymaking, with an emphasis on designing policies to anticipate future challenges. We expect the successful candidate will explore promising approaches to the use of co-design to support anticipatory policymaking. While we are open to the substantive policy focus, we require that at least a third of the PhD project considers matters relating to new technology adoption (such as applications of AI and robotics in the public space). Therefore, the PhD could, for example, consider co-design to improve population health outcomes, and include a component exploring how growing use of AI and robotics can facilitate improved outcomes. Likewise, the PhD could, for example, consider co-design to improve educational outcomes, and include a component exploring how growing use of AI and robotics can facilitate improved outcomes. The project will be grounded in a framework for comparative policy analysis but will have a particular focus on drawing lessons for the Australian policy context. We anticipate that the successful candidate will use in-depth qualitative research techniques. The project work will contribute to our broader effort to develop a feasible, flexible and replicable method to generate new knowledge that will advance policy design for adoption of new technology in public spaces in Australia and internationally. The successful applicant will join an established, highly productive research team and will contribute to the wider project while undertaking their own distinct PhD project. The details of the PhD project are open to negotiation, but it must focus on an social aspect of policy design and it must have a component dedicated to anticipating challenges associated with adoption of new technology.
Undertaking this PhD as part of a larger project has several advantages. First, the successful candidate will be integrated into an already successful research agenda that has been funded by the Australian Research Council, and will have access to funding to support fieldwork, transcription, travel, and conference attendance. Second, the candidate will benefit from expert supervision from research leaders in Public Policy and Design Thinking, and from entering a PhD with a pre-existing structure. Finally, the candidate will benefit from being part of outcomes from the research, which may include co-authored publications (where the candidate’s contributions will be recognised through co-authorship) and engagement in research workshops.
Monash University is the largest university in Australia and regularly ranks in the top 100 universities worldwide. Monash has six globally networked campuses and international alliances in Europe and Asia. The applicant will be based at the Clayton campus in Melbourne. Social Science at Monash is diverse and vibrant, including research expertise in public policy, politics and sociology. We have a strong and supportive research culture, led by internationally recognised scholars successful in attracting national and international competitive funding.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

The successful applicant will have an excellent academic track record in Social Science, preferably with demonstrated interests in Public Policy. Competence in qualitative research methods is essential.
In its assessment, the selection committee will prioritise applicants who hold an Australian (or equivalent international) Honour’s or Master’s degree (both in a relevant field), with a significant research component and with first-class honours/H1 awarded.
Details of eligibility requirements, including English-language proficiency skills, to undertake a PhD in the Faculty of Arts are available at https://arts.monash.edu/graduate-research/application-process/. Applicants should ensure they familiarise themselves with these requirements before deciding whether they should apply.
Scholarship holders must be enrolled full-time and on campus. Please note: applicants who already hold a PhD will not be considered.
The successful applicant will be expected to enrol by 1 June 2025. However, there may be some flexibility as to the date of commencement.

Please refer the Job description for details