Are you a talented and ambitious postdoc thinking about your next career move? The GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence (University of Antwerp, Belgium) invites expressions of interest from researchers interested in submitting a high-quality Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship proposal in the area of ‘trust and distrust in multi-level governance’ with GOVTRUST as a host.
Who are we?
The University of Antwerp is a university in Belgium with about 20.000 students and 6.200 staff members in 9 faculties. The university is a strong research university with more than 3.650 scientific papers per year and ranks fifth in the ranking of young universities (Times Higher Education Millennials). In 2021, Public Administration research at the University of Antwerp was ranked 20th (1st in Belgium) on the Global Shanghai Ranking of Academic Subjects.
The GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence is an interdisciplinary research consortium focusing on “Trust and Distrust in Multi-level Governance”. GOVTRUST combines high-level scientific expertise of three faculties (Law, Social Sciences and Economics) and five disciplines (political science, communication science, law, behavioural economics and public administration) to jointly conduct frontline interdisciplinary research on the dynamics, causes and effects of trust and distrust in multi-level governance systems. In particular, GOVTRUST studies the trust relations between political, administrative, regulatory, and judicial actors as well as trust in and of citizens and society. GOVTRUST aims to maximize scientific impact combined with a substantial societal impact.
Since the start of GOVTRUST in Spring 2020, GOVTRUST has been very active in acquiring or participating in international and interuniversity research projects, including MSCA Fellowships and several other EU grants (e.g. TiGRE on ‘Trust in Governance and Regulation in Europe’, ROBUST on ‘Robust Crisis Governance in Turbulent Times’, LEGITIMULT on ‘Legitimate Crisis Management and Multi-level Governance’ ERA-NET CONTRA on ‘Conflict in Transformations’, @ntidote on ‘Cyberviolence permissibility and accountability’, PLATO ITN on ‘The Post-Crisis Legitimacy of the EU’, TROPICO on ‘Transforming into Open, Innovative and Collaborative Governments’ and MSCA fellowships REGTRUST on ‘How nature of regulation and levels of trust affect each other over time’ and ENVIMP on ‘Environmental resolution mechanisms beyond the nation state’). We also have a rich experience in other collaborative research projects and proposal writing, development of innovative methodologies, as well as establishing strong links between research outcomes and the ongoing policy discourse.
Please check our website for further information about the GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence and its members. An overview of potential supervisors at GOVTRUST can be found here (professors).
Our offer
We invite expressions of interest for proposals to undertake postdoctoral research in the broad area of ‘trust and distrust in multi-level governance’ or related subjects in line with the expertise of the GOVTRUST members (see annex below). The interdisciplinary setting of GOVTRUST offers a variety of research opportunities in the fields of political science, communication science, law, behavioural economics and public administration. Please check our website and the overview of GOVTRUST’s supervisory capacity here for our specific expertise.
We will provide support and guidance to develop those proposals that we judge to be promising. In developing your proposal, you will be able to rely on your supervisor and a dedicated research manager for the necessary support. The Grants Office provides administrative support, an MSCA starter pack and a dedicated training on ‘Preparing for an Horizon Europe MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship’.
About the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme and your profile
An MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship implies that a researcher travels to an institution in another country (host), where he/she works with a supervisor to deliver a specific research project with a duration between 12 and 24 months. The salary consists of a combined living, mobility and family allowance. The deadline for full proposals is 11 September 2022.
We expect candidates to be promising, innovative researchers with an excellent track record appropriate to career stage, as evidenced by academic publications and other scientific output.
Only expressions of interest that meet the following MSCA eligibility criteria will be considered:
- You must have a completed PhD at the time of the call deadline (11 September 2022).
- You can only apply up to eight years after the completion of your PhD (excluding experience outside research and career breaks (e.g. due to parental leave)).
- You must not have resided or worked in Belgium for more than 12 months during the three years up to the call deadline.
Please ensure that you consult the MSCA website and the European Commission’s Online Portal for further details on the call.
Apply
To be considered to apply with GOVTRUST (University of Antwerp) as host institution, send an email with the following information:
- A brief project idea (± 250 words)
- The name of the GOVTRUST supervisor you envision for the project proposal
- An academic CV, including your full name, contact details, current position and institution, highest degree obtained and date of award, name of the institution conferring the degree, publication list, etc.
- Name and contact details of 2 references (who can testify about your academic skills)
Send in your application at the latest by 31 May 2024 to sophie.opdebeeck@uantwerpen.be.
Expressions of interest will be assessed by the envisioned supervisor, in consultation with other GOVTRUST members. The most promising applicant(s) based on the strength of CVs and proposals in relation to the MSCA award criteria will be provided with further guidance and support for the purposes of submitting a full MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship application with GOVTRUST (University of Antwerp) as host. You will be notified of our decision as soon as possible after the deadline.
Contact
For further enquiries, contact Sophie Op de Beeck (sophie.opdebeeck@uantwerpen.be, GOVTRUST research manager) or one of the professors of GOVTRUST.