Postdoc position in Innovation and Sustainability Transitions

at  KU SCIENCE IFRO

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: ada@ifro.ku.dk ).

Please refer the Job description for details