Position: Research Fellow
Topic: Local institutions and adaptation to climate change within Swedish forestry
Duration: 2 years, with possibility of renewal or development of permanent position
Start date: Fall 2012 – exact date is negotiable but early fall preferred
Duty station: Stockholm, Sweden
Application deadline: Tuesday 19 June, 2012
The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
SEI is an independent, international research institute founded in 1989. Its mission is to support decision-making and induce change towards sustainable development around the world by providing integrative knowledge that bridges science and policy in the field of environment and development. In January 2012, SEI was ranked number eight out of the world's top environment think tanks in the 2011 Global Go To Think Tank Report, compiled by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.
With about 180 staff members working at research centres in six countries around the world, SEI has organised its work around four overarching themes. The theme Reducing Climate Risk supports the design, development and implementation of effective and equitable strategies for adaptation and mitigation in developing and developed countries and the Transforming Governance theme works to advance new insights into good governance for sustainable development in the face of social and ecological change. The research position advertised here will contribute to both of these themes.
Profile
SEI is hiring a Research Fellow to take a leading role in our work within Mistra-SWECIA, a programme that since its inception in 2008 has generated advanced research across the fields of climate science, economics, ecosystem sciences and social sciences. The part of the programme related to this recruitment and our methodological approach is explained in more detail at the bottom of this ad.
We are looking for an individual who holds extensive research competence in the fields of environment-related participatory research and the institutional dimension of environmental change and governance (including informal aspects e.g. learning , leadership, trust, as well as formal aspects of institutions ). The researcher should also have experience from working with or studying forestry issues in Nordic settings. The research approach is interdisciplinary in nature.
Mistra-SWECIA has a clear Swedish focus. SEI is however a global research organisation and we expect our new colleague to increasingly be involved in other relevant SEI projects and have an interest in forestry, climate change adaptation and the management and governance of natural resource based systems well beyond the Swedish context. We are seeking an independent and highly self-managing candidate capable of developing our research further intellectually as well as in terms of leading proposal writing and securing external funding.
As the bulk of the Mistra-SWECIA field work is conducted in Swedish, fluency in written and spoken Swedish is an absolute requirement for this position.
Key Qualifications
Ph.D. in relevant field (e.g. sociology, political science, geography, forestry, agronomy or economy)
Demonstrated ability to conduct qualitative participatory research, facilitate stakeholder meetings, use different participatory techniques
Demonstrated ability to analyse the institutional dimension of sustainable development and ability to draw policy and implementation relevant conclusions from such work
Familiarity with Swedish or Nordic forestry sectors and management practices
Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
Demonstrated ability to develop and apply interdisciplinary methods
Willingness to travel
Fluency in written and spoken Swedish and English
Desirable* Qualifications
Familiarity with the dominant climate change adaptation research agendas and related streams of research
Experience in policy relevant research and policy analysis
Familiarity with participatory modelling in the context of natural resource management
Demonstrated ability to work in an international environment
* Note that it is not expected that the candidate would possess all of these qualifications or necessarily have experience in all the mentioned areas of analysis/research.
Applications
Applications should be submitted in PDF format and should consist of a CV and a cover letter that includes the names and contact details of three referees. Applications should be written in English and arrive at SEI as soon as possible but no later than June 19, 2012. They should be sent by email to vacancies@sei-international.org . Use as the subject line in the email: ‘Mistra-Swecia researcher position – participatory methods - [Applicant’s Last Name] - [Applicant’s First Name]’.
Inquiries concerning the content of the position can be directed to Dr. Åsa Swartling, Senior Research Fellow and SEI Theme leader: asa.swartling@sei-international.org . The Academic Union at SEI Stockholm is represented in this recruitment process by Björn Nykvist, bjorn.nykvist@sei-international.org
Background: Mistra’s SWEdish research programme on Climate, Impacts and Adaptation – Mistra-SWECIA (www.mistra-swecia.se)
Mistra-SWECIA aims to provide high quality and salient scientific support for informing climate change adaptation, working with Swedish stakeholders at a range of scales. The programme combines this with the ambition of providing scientific information to supplement and enrich existing stakeholder knowledge. During its second phase (2012-2015), Mistra-SWECIA is organised under the following thematic Working Areas:
Regional climate change adaptation: 1.1. Research on adaptation processes, 1.2. Regional impact modelling and risk analysis; 1.3. Analysis of indirect effect of climate change
Global drivers (climate–economy modelling; Global climate projections, Land use narratives)
Science-Policy Interface (Partner-driven studies and synthesis)
The researcher will primarily be engaged in Research on adaptation processes and work closely together in the SEI Mistra-Swecia research team (approx. five people) under the leadership of the SEI Project Manager, and also in collaboration with other SEI researchers and partners in the programme.
Research field and approach
Working Area 1 in its entirety encompasses the empirical research on the process of adaptation to climate change in the Swedish forestry sector. Both existing and emerging/potential adaptation processes will be studied. More specifically the recruited Research Fellow will carry out a mapping and analysis of the institutional landscape, including formal and informal (e.g. policy and regulations, resources, perceptions, learning, leadership, engagement, trust) characteristics of, and enabling processes for, adaptation action within the Swedish forestry sector. The empirical research includes the design, implementation and analysis of a series of group meetings, participant observations and in depth interviews with Swedish forest stakeholders in selected areas of Sweden. The participatory processes will be carried out in close cooperation with Lund University (responsible for working area 1.2) who is developing an agent-based model (ABM) that will be used as one tool to explore, visualize and discuss the possible implications of decision-making related to forestry under climate- and global socio-economic change with stakeholders. A project assistant is available to support the SEI project manager and the research team with the project logistics as well as data management (including transcription of audio tapes) relating to the case study research.
A key outcome of Working Area 1 is the development of a methodology combining climate impacts analysis and participatory research methods in the forestry sector, with lessons learned for a wider (e.g. multi-sectorial or regional) context.
