The Wadden Sea and the Ems-Dollard and Western Scheldt estuaries have nationally important navigation channels and globally important ecosystems on tidal flats and coastal wetlands, which also protect the coast against storms. However, dredging costs are escalating, biodiversity is declining, and the sea level is rising. These three threats are magnified by a surplus or deficit of sand and mud, which requires sediment management. The knowledge and tools needed for this pose profound scientific challenges.
The aim of a research project is to develop urgently needed system understanding, data analysis tools, and forecasting models for science and expert users, and to co-create common ground among stakeholders for future-proof coastal management. One of the project outcomes is to explore and co-develop narratives and conceptual models that show the development of the basins and estuaries under sea level rise and human interference, with specific attention to the sediment budget and habitat development.
As a postdoctoral researcher, you will organize and facilitate the participatory process to co-develop these shared narratives and conceptual models for sustainable sediment management. This will be done for two specific estuaries and coastal areas. To facilitate knowledge exchange and the learning process, interactive workshops will be organized on location to enhance science-society interactions.
What you do
The primary responsibilities of the postdoctoral researcher are to engage with the project team members and the participating experts and stakeholders for both case studies to coordinate, facilitate, and monitor the co-creation process to develop shared narratives and conceptual models for sustainable sediment management. This will be achieved through:
- Designing and organizing a deliberative and participatory approach together with the project team members.
- Facilitating and monitoring the co-creation process with experts and stakeholders in the specific estuaries and coastal areas.
- Applying a research-for-policy cycle strategy to co-create new conceptual models with academic scholars, experts, stakeholders, and policymakers.
- Facilitating knowledge exchange between researchers, experts, stakeholders, and policymakers through stakeholder workshops.
- Disseminating best practices via communication strategies that target experts, policymakers, and the public.
Profile
We are searching for a candidate with the following qualifications:
- Fluency in Dutch and English.
- A PhD degree in social and environmental policy sciences or related disciplines.
- Expertise and experience working in facilitating deliberative and participatory processes in social-ecological systems.
- Affinity with the water management sector.
- Demonstrable skills in qualitative research and scientific writing.
- Strong communication skills and preferably expertise with learning design (for example, visual media production projects).
- Knowledge of mediated participation in a context of natural resource management transitions is an advantage.
- Cross-cultural sensitivity and a team player attitude, willing to be part of a large national team.
- A driving license might come in handy.
How to apply
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