(FAPESP Fellowships linked to the Belmont Forum/JPI project “Understanding Innovative Initiatives for Governing Food, Water and Energy Nexus in Cities”, Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative)
Location: Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), São Paulo School of Management (FGV/EAESP), Department of Public Management, São Paulo, Brazil.
Supervisor: Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira
Application Deadline: 31 July 2018 or until the positions are filled
Starting Date: 01 September 2018 or thereafter (by 01 November 2018)
Summary
FAPESP postdoctoral positions are available at FGV/EAESP in the city of São Paulo (Brazil) to integrate the research team that will be working in the project “Understanding Innovative Initiatives for Governing Food, Water and Energy Nexus in Cities” supported by the Belmont Forum (https://belmontforum.org/) and JPI Urban Europe (jpi-urbaneurope.eu) as part of the Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative – SUGI (https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/calls/sugi/). The fellowship will be initially for 12 months with a possible extension of another 24 months (36 months in total) and will follow the norms of the São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP (www.fapesp.br/en/postdoc).
Organization and Location
The postdoctoral fellow will be based at FGV/EAESP – Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), São Paulo (Brazil), portal.fgv.br/en. Founded in 1944, FGV has extensive experience in academic and applied research in social sciences and has a long history in coordinating international projects. FGV is one of the most influential institutions in Latin America and beyond. It is ranked as the world’s best managed and among the top 10 think-tanks globally by the Global Go To Think Tank Ranking. FGV/EAESP is ranked among the top management schools in Latin America receiving the highest scores in its evaluation by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC and CAPES).
The Project IFWEN (Innovative Initiatives for Governing Food, Water and Energy Nexus in Cities)
Improved governance of the interactions between food, water and energy (FWE) in cities can provide significant benefits in addressing some of the most complex global problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as help achieve other developmental goals such as food security and health. This research will advance knowledge about urban governance at the different levels related to the FWE nexus (FWEN) using Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI), by developing new concepts and approaches to understand how to assess, govern and build GBI solutions and policies. The project will develop a framework and tools to assess changes in FWEN, their related trade-offs and the building of innovative capabilities in cities for developing innovative solutions to FWEN (IFWEN) and manage GBI at the urban level. The framework will be based on research and tested empirically in cities in different world regions. This is a three-year project involving partners from around the world and supported by the Belmont Forum (https://belmontforum.org/) and JPI Urban Europe (jpi-urbaneurope.eu) as part of the Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative – SUGI (https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/calls/sugi/).
The Fellowships
The postdoctoral FAPESP fellowships will be an opportunity to work with cutting edge research with some leading scholars in the field of sustainable urbanization. The postdoctoral fellows will support the development of the research project together with the project leader and research consortium. This project will advance our understanding of innovative FWEN solutions in cities, in both technical-scientific and institutional aspects, by focusing on Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI). The objective of the research is to analyze how key elements of food-water-energy interconnectivity have been improved by specific, previously implemented urban initiatives that changed FWEN, including the deployment of certain kinds of GBI. The main foci of the researcher in the project will be (1) understanding innovative governance mechanisms to manage the water-food-energy nexus (innovation for FWEN, or IFWEN) focusing on Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) in cities through analytical case studies and empirical research; (2) creating a framework to explain how cities develop institutions and gain the capabilities to innovate in FWEN based on GBI.
The postdoctoral fellows will interact with other researchers and practitioners involved in the proposal and should work with cities to conduct the studies, publish research results in peer-reviewed academic outlets (guaranteeing the scientific quality of the research), and disseminate the findings to decision makers in governments and civil society organizations (to increase the research impact in practice). They should also help the project leader in integrating the different research activities and safeguarding the good communication among partners and stakeholders. They will be responsible for the scientific part of the data management and will be working closely with the partners to make ensure wide dissemination of the research results among academics and practitioners. Occasional travel is necessary for conducting the research. Fellows can spend a few months abroad to interact with partners during the fellowship period.
Qualifications
The candidates should have the following qualifications;
– Ph.D. in management or related area of social or environmental sciences, preferably working in urban or ecological issues,
– Less than 7 years since the completion of the Ph.D.,
– Ability to comfortably use qualitative and quantitative methods of social sciences,
– Ability to use software of the Microsoft Office package. Knowledge of Geographic Information System (GIS) and webpage software (e.g., WordPress) is an asset,
– Fluent in written and spoken English (no need to speak Portuguese).
Application Process
Please send the following documents by email to jose.puppim@fgv.br with the subject as (“SUGI Postdoc”) by 31 July 2018 or until the positions are filled:
1- CV (maximum 4 pages) with names and contacts of three referees (no need of reference letters. We will contact you and the referees if needed)
2- Motivation Letter (1-2 pages)
3- Sample of two publications in English, preferably single authored (they can be chapters of your thesis).
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of the selection process (an interview).
