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CECAN/Warwick Studentship (3 years)

Interfacing Scientific Data And Complex Policy

3 year PhD studentship with Fees at the Home Rate and Maintenance at the current RCUK level.
Deadline for Applications: 1 September 2016 (12 noon GMT)

This is a PhD studentship in Interdisciplinary Studies for students seeking to make interdisciplinarity and methodological innovation central elements of their doctoral research. The studentship is linked to the UK’s Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN), a new multi-disciplinary research centre funded by the ESRC and NERC in collaboration with Defra, DECC, the Environment Agency and the Food Standards Agency. CECAN aims to enable more effective policy-making through enhancing the development and application of policy evaluation approaches that can address complexity across the Energy Environment Food nexus; and the capacity of policy-makers, evaluation practitioners and researchers to understand and use these methods.

The studentship will contribute to CECAN objectives by exploring the use of data, statistics and visualisation in communicating complex policy. The research will investigate how quantitative outputs are positioned and developed within policy debates in relation to the methodological underpinnings of that evidence. For instance, how are outliers dealt with in scientific analyses and policy reports/communications? Or how is evidence refined and translated from initial data collection to policy implementation?

You should have an excellent first degree in a field relevant to complexity science, ecology or environmental science, science communication, visualisation, computational analysis, graphic design, computer science, and a master’s degree which has taken you towards developing a reflective/critical approach on quantitative methods and their impact on knowledge systems such as science and policy. Experience in water, energy, environment and/or food sectors is desirable, as is knowledge of these sectors particularly in the effects of policy planning and evaluation. Skills in data analysis, and image retrieval and critique will make you an ideal candidate.

You will join a group of academics and students at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies and Warwick's Centre for Complexity Science. You will also be linked to one or more of Warwick's Global Research Priorities. You will be registered the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM), and co-supervised by Dr Emma Uprichard and Dr Greg McInerny who are also in CIM, with assistance from Prof. Robert MacKay at the Warwick Mathematics Institute and Centre for Complexity Science.

To apply, please see: https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/cim/study/how-to-apply.

All information below must be included or uploaded with your application to study the degree programme, available via the above link.

The following information will help us to process your application:

  1. Select CIM Interdisciplinary Studies as the PhD programme;
  2. Insert CECAN into the funding option as 'scholarship';
  3. Attach to your degree programme application, a covering letter and CV. The covering letter must quote reference: CECAN;
  4. Attach to your degree programme application, a 1,000 word research proposal; projects will be shaped collaboratively between the student and supervisors, but it would be helpful to explore your own ideas for what you might like to work on too;
  5. Attach to your degree programme application, degree transcripts and certificates;
  6. Arrange two academic references as part of your degree programme application.

Interviews will take place on Monday 12 September 2016. If you have not heard by then, you can assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Should you have any queries please contact Dr Emma Uprichard E.Uprichard@warwick.ac.uk (or the Centre Administrator, Mrs Tracy Horton: T.Horton@warwick.ac.uk).