PhD position Governing transitions towards sustainable greenhouse

Your function

The Athena Institute of VU Amsterdam together with the Copernicus Institute of Utrecht University are looking for a motivated PhD candidate on the Greenhouse in Transition project. In this position, you will focus on the governance of sustainability transitions and mission‑oriented innovation in the greenhouse sector.

This joint USA‑NL project supports the transition to sustainable and circular CEA without fossil energy, reducing waste, and improving resource efficiency. Current greenhouses rely heavily on fossil fuels, chemicals, and labour. The project connects technology, growers, and policymakers to create greenhouses that are smarter, more affordable, and better for people and planet. In the project many different scientific disciplines and stakeholders from both countries collaborate to design the future of the greenhouse sectors.

In this position, you will work in a social science research team, and you are being supervised by a collaborative promotion team of both VU Amsterdam (Dr. Kok, Dr. Loeber) and Utrecht University (Dr. Wojtynia, Prof. Negro).

Our research team will critically examine the current state of greenhouse production systems, highlight the primary sustainability issues they face, and investigate historical factors that have perpetuated these challenges. We will also identify the systemic barriers impeding innovation and transformative change towards sustainability, community engagement, and resource circularity.

Questions that you can focus on are:
How can we understand complex transition processes? How does the innovation system around greenhouses look like in the Netherlands and the United States? How can we support the greenhouse sector in a transition?

Your tasks

As a team, we will work on understanding the social, political and economic dimensions of innovations and sustainability transitions in the greenhouse sector. During your PhD you will be conducting social science studies into (1) innovation systems and the factors that help contribute to diffusion and adoption of sustainable innovations and (2) policy instruments and governance at different levels (local, national) in the Netherlands and the United States.

Data collection strategies can include conducting interviews, document analysis and organizing workshops with stakeholders, such as policymakers, growers and businesses. Together with the promotion team, in the first year you will make a research proposal where you outline your own ideas and interests for the PhD research.

Concretely, your tasks are:

• Conducting research and collaboratively writing scientific articles that will form the basis of your PhD thesis.
• Contributing to policy advice based on the research outcomes.
• Contributing to the project by organizing workshops and other activities within the broader project, such as at consortium meetings.
• Presenting your work at conferences.
• Following courses to develop your research skills (formal PhD training).
• Teaching working groups in the education programmes of the Athena Institute (max 0.2 fte).

After the first year, there will also be a postdoctoral researcher who will be working with you on the project. Note that there is budget to conduct field work in the United States. We will explore the feasibility of this together.

• A completed Masters degree in transition studies, sustainable development, innovation studies, policy sciences, agricultural policy or another relevant (interdisciplinary) social science field.
• Proven experience in qualitative research methodologies, such as interviews, ethnography, document analysis and/or focus groups.
• Interest in inter- and transdisciplinary research approaches in the collaboration between science, policy, practice and society.
• The ability to work independently as well as in a team, in a flexible, adaptive and pro‑active way.
• Excellent organizational, communicative and collaborative skills.
• Experience in research, writing and presenting.
• Excellent command of English and B2 command of Dutch are required.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves…