Call for applications – Energy SHIFTS Policy Fellowship

Start/Stop Date:
31 Oct 2019
Organiser:
Energy Social sciences & Humanities Innovation Forum Targeting the SET-Plan
Venue:
Focus Areas:
Energy policy
Type of Event:
Calls

Opportunity to apply for a policy fellowship as part of Energy-SHIFTS - Europe’s Innovation Forum for the energy-related Social Sciences & Humanities. The deadline is 31st October.

This policy fellowship scheme is designed to provide selected policymakers and civil society actors working on energy policy with direct access to researchers from across the social sciences and humanities (SSH*). The scheme responds to the growing recognition of the need to better include social dimensions in energy policy design, in order to meet challenging policy targets e.g. around sustainable and fair energy systems. From January 2020, the scheme will connect 20 fellows to cutting-edge research that will allow them to better tackle the strategic questions they are facing in their day-to-day work.

Professional development benefits of the scheme include:

  • Access to in-depth expertise of direct relevance to energy challenges you are working on, via a tailored programme of meetings with senior energy-SSH experts;
  • Being at the cutting edge of incorporating new streams of SSH knowledge into your energy policy work and able to better evaluate or demonstrate its social impact;
  • The opportunity to build your own personal network of relevant contacts in the social sciences and humanities;
  • Connection to a prestigious peer-group of fellows with shared interests in improved policy making in the field of energy policy; as well as
  • Access to Energy-SHIFTS events, masterclasses, conferences and citizen debates.

All applicants, whether selected or not, will also have direct impact via the key energy problems they identify for potential discussion feeding into advice to the European Commission’s Directorate for Research & Innovation. This reporting on critical energy policy problems being tackled across Europe will help inform their allocation of future resources.

Energy-SHIFTS are looking for highly-motivated energy-focused ‘policy workers’, i.e. individuals who are active in making, applying, understanding or influencing energy policy. This can include elected officials and individuals on their teams, civil servants, European Commission staff and civil society actors (think tanks, NGOs, trade associations and advocacy organisations). The call is open to different levels of seniority from senior to early-career policy professionals.

Applicants must be based in the EU or a Horizon 2020-eligible country.

The deadline for applications is Thursday 31st October (midnight CET). To apply applicants should send their CVs to Tessa de Geus (geus@drift.eur.nl) and fill out this application form. Any queries can also be directed to Tessa.

*A short explanation of SSH, for reference: The ‘energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities’ (energy-SSH) are disciplines which seek to better understand human and social components of the transition to a low-carbon energy system. Energy-SSH thus covers a wide range of disciplines that either study the social phenomena (e.g. norms, values, perceptions, institutions, practices, etc.) that shape how humans interact with the energy system or study fundamental issues of equity, fairness, duty, faith, ethics, attribution, etc. in the context of the energy system. Energy-related Social Sciences include Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, and Human Geography among others. Energy-related Humanities include Philosophy, Law, Theology, and History among others.