What are you going to do

The PhD candidate will collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data on social and economic wellbeing in multiple neighbourhoods in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, through a co-creation process, in-depth interviews and survey research with local community groups, and compare the results with similar data collected in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost. The comparative analysis will focus on the neighbourhood specific Wellbeing Dashboards and their sets of indicators, to derive patterns in indicators, priority rankings and predicted economic behaviour. Furthermore, the bottom-up collected data will be compared and contrasted with existing databases. Quantitative techniques for data analysis that will be used include principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Excellent field research and communicative skills are a pre-requisite, as well as the ability and motivation to work with social-economically and culturally highly diverse citizens and , and formal and informal urban policy stakeholders. For more information on the project see:

You will/your tasks

Literature review;

Data collection through co-creation workshops, in-depth interviews & survey research;

Advanced quantitative data analysis of Wellbeing Dashboards, including their economic and non-economic indicators; database integration; database comparison with existing databases;

Communicate results to science, policy and practice (in an accessible manner).;

Support to maintain the project’s (growing) database.

Publish 4 academic articles.

Present at national and international conferences.

Engage in project team discussions and knowledge exchange.

Supervise Master student thesis research upon request and interest.

What do you have to offer

You are a socially engaged scholar who is interested in urgent societal issues and debates, e.g. on inequality, sustainability, inclusivity and participation. You work well in diverse teams and can manoeuvre easily between the ‘systems’ world of Municipal Governance and the ‘life world’ of citizens. You are communicative and resilient when dealing with a dynamic research environment.

Your experience and profile

Research Master in Economics or in Social Sciences;

Quantitative data collection and analysis skills;

Proven knowledge of alternative economics ;

Experience with working in an international team (research or practice);

Excellent writing skills (shown by academic papers or essay assignments);

Proficiency in Dutch and English (C2)

Knowledge of Amsterdam City and its’ varied neighbourhoods;

Skills working with secondary databases

What can we offer you

The position concerns temporary employment of 38 hours per week for a maximum term of 3,5 years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 30 months, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also be tasked with teaching appropriate to interest and availability. For this position the University Job Classification profile PR applies. 

Your salary will be €2.,- gross per month in the first year and will increase to €,- in the final year, based on full-time employment and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

a position in which initiative and input are highly valued.

an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues.

an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.