Two Research Fellowships for a PhD and/or Master Degree are open at the FCiências.ID – Associação para a Investigação e o Desenvolvimento de Ciências, within Project PROSEU - PROSumers for the Energy Union: mainstreaming active participation of citizens in the energy transition, Grant Agreement 764056, financed by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Program, under the following conditions:

1. Scientific Area: Anthropology, Communication Sciences, Economics, Political Science or other Social Science degree, and/or a post-graduate degree in a Sustainability and Society domain (e.g. Ecology, Sustainable Development, Governance for Sustainability)

2. Requirements for admission: holding a Master degree or a PhD degree in a Social Sciences domain (Anthropology, Communication Sciences, and Economics, Political Science or other) and/or a post-graduate degree related to Sustainability Science. Knowledge and experience in both qualitative and quantitative methods. Excellent domain of the English Language. Good communication and writing skills. 

3. Factors preferred: (these are preferred factors, apply anyway if some requisites are missing) Good project management capabilities; previous research experience related to sustainability studies and/or energy and society studies; experience with participatory research, including design and facilitation of workshops; participatory techniques; experience with data management tools, quantitative methods (i.e. survey and statistical analysis), and ethnographic methods applied to case study research; experience with comparative case study analysis. Previous experience working with European projects. 

4. Work plan: 

PROSEU project aims to enable the mainstreaming of the prosumer phenomenon into the European Energy Union. Prosumers are active energy users who both consume and produce renewable energy (RE). The growth of prosumerism all over Europe challenges current energy market structures and institutions. PROSEU research will look into new business models, market regulations, infrastructural integration, technology scenarios and energy policies. PROSEU’s interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team will closely work together with RE Prosumer Initiatives (15 Living Labs), policymakers and other stakeholders from eight countries, following a quasi-experimental approach to learn how prosumer communities, start-ups and businesses are dealing with their own challenges, and to determine what incentive structures will enable the mainstreaming of RE Prosumerism, while safeguarding citizen participation, inclusiveness and transparency. Moving beyond a case by case and fragmented body of research on prosumers, PROSEU will build an integrated knowledge framework for a socio-political, socioeconomic, business and financial, technological, socio-technical and sociocultural understanding of RE prosumerism and coalesce in a comprehensive identification and assessment of incentive structures to enable the process of mainstreaming RE prosumers in the context of the energy transition. 

The Project’s international Consortium of 11 partners is coordinated by FCiências.ID. The two PhD and Master researchers will integrate the FCiências.ID team leading this project, and contribute to implement the coordination support tasks and research tasks described ahead. 

Coordination support tasks (working together with the Project’s Coordinator): devise a detailed quality control strategy and criteria for each PROSEU deliverable; set up and maintain an efficient coordination structure based on online tools for supporting task development and optimum dialogue between all partners; when needed, schedule and organize online and in-person meetings of the Project Steering Committee and General Assembly; organize the deliverable review process in order to ensure their accordance with the Description of Work; monitor and promote innovations and experimentation throughout the project; and collaborate with the coordinator in all coordination deliverables and periodic reporting to the European Commission. 

Research tasks: FCiências.ID research tasks are mainly related to three PROSEU Work Packages, namely: WP2: Baseline Analysis and Characterization of Renewable Energy Prosumers; WP6: Participatory Integrated Assessment of Incentive Structures and WP7: Living Labs: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Mainstreaming the Participation of Citizens in the Energy Union. In the context of these three work packages, the research team will need to: apply semi-structured interviews and questionnaires (in Portuguese and English) to survey renewable energy prosumer initiatives across Europe; apply participatory and ethnographic research methods working directly with ‘Living Labs’ in Portugal; attend up to four two-day international workshops and meetings (during the 3 years of the project); develop a structure for implementing a comparative case study analysis and extract key lessons learned and recommendations for prosumers, and collaborate in WP2, WP6 and WP7 deliverables. Lastly, the two researchers are expected to contribute to/fully author research papers presenting the project’s results. 

5. Legislation framework: Statute of the Scientific Research Fellowship, in accordance with Law 40/2004, of 18 August, as amended and republished by Decree-Law No. 202/2012 of 27 August, and as amended by Decree-Law No. 233/2012 of 29 October and by Law No. 12/2013, of January 29, and Decree-Law No. 89/2013 of 9 July; And also by the FCT, I.P. Fellowships Regulation, in force (http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT2015.pdf) and FCiências.ID Fellowship Regulation, as approved on 23rd February 2017. 

6. Place of work: The work will be developed at CCIAM Research Group from the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, under the scientific guidance of Dr. Inês Campos. 

7. Fellowship duration: This position is initially opened for 3 months and will begin on February /March 2018, depending on the beginning of the project. The fellowship contract may be renewed for another 6 months, or eventually until the end date of the project (expected to be in January 2021), in accordance with the provisions of Regulation of Research Fellowships from the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. 

8. Monthly allowance: The fellowship amounts to € 980 (Master Degree) or 1495 (PhD),according to table values of the fellowships awarded directly by the FCT, IP. (http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores). 

The fellowship holder will have a personal accident insurance and, if not covered by any social protection scheme can ensure the right to social security through adherence to the voluntary social insurance scheme, pursuant to Código dos Regimes Contributivos do Sistema Previdencial de Segurança Social. 

The fellowship will be paid monthly by bank transfer. 

9. Selection method: Candidates will be assessed in two stages. The first stage selection will be based on the quality of the CV (80%) (i.e. relevance in relation to the tasks described, experience in research, publications) and Motivation Letter (20%). Successful top 3 first stage candidates will be invited for an interview (100%) (preferably in person, yet also possible via skype). 

10. Selection Committee: The selection will be done by three Jury members: Inês Campos (President), Julia Bentz (Effective Member) and João Pedro Nunes (Effective Member); alternate members of the jury are Gil Penha-Lopes and Tiago Capela Lourenço. 

11. Publication/notification of results: The final results of the evaluation will become public, through ordered list final grade obtained which will be posted at the entrance hall of the FCiências.ID, located at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, C1 bdg – 3rd floor, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, and the selected candidate will be notified by e-mail. 

12. Deadlines: This call for applications is open from 1 to 20 January 2018. 

13. Application: Applications may be sent via e-mail to iscampos@fc.ul.pt and amantunes@fc.ul.pt, by attaching the following documents: Curriculum vitae, Motivation Letter and Graduate Certificates. Please indicate the following subject PROSEU.