Ph.D. in Innovation and Governance for Sustainable Development

CSTM offers three types of Ph.D. positions:

Research Positions (limited availability). When CSTM secures a national science-foundation grant for a specific project, we can offer incoming students a grant. Whenever a grant is obtained, we will advertise it on our website on this page as well as under the News section.

Open Ph.D. Programme – Internal. A full professor and usually an extra senior researcher offer full guidance to internal students. No tuition fees are charged for supervision, but CSTM would like to receive a cover of the costs for overhead expenses if you are based in the Netherlands. CSTM also supplies library facilities, access to Netherlands Institute of Government or CERES courses (in cooperation with other Dutch universities), or sometimes alternative courses and when possible desk space at the institute. CSTM cannot offer grants for living expenses. These candidates must secure other funds themselves.

Open Ph.D. programme – External /Sandwich. These candidates receive the same benefits as internal ones, except that candidates work and research a large proportion of their time in their home country. Guidance will be offered by e-mail, phone and/or skype and guided reading will replace the courses.

You can, if you wish, combine characteristics from the internal and external programme. Working internally, in fact, is highly recommended at the beginning of a project. Formulating a good research plan can be very difficult without direct communication with your supervisors and good library access. For this reason, you may wish to start your studies in Enschede for a few months. Then, you can return home to elaborate your plan and complete your field work, while you maintain contact with your supervisors by e-mail and telephone. You could then return for intermediate periods and at least for the final months of your project to finalize your thesis.

Scientific Focus of the Program

CSTM is the main contributor of the research program Innovation and Governance for Sustainable Development. We specialise in governance questions, emphasising sustainable development, environmental quality, and technological innovation - from both developed and developing country perspectives. You can find our research program briefly outlined on our website pages under 'Research'. All Ph.D. projects need to contribute to this research program.

This includes for example research into questions like:

Does institutional change and governance affect the development and implementation of policy strategies and instruments of sustainable development as well as their effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy?

In what way does participation in processes of environmentally oriented collective decision-making affect the quality of decision-making and its outcomes?

Does institutional change and governance affect the development and implementation of policy strategies and instruments of sustainable development as well as their effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy?

In what way does institutional change affect governance and industrial transformation?

How can the sustainability of household consumption patterns be improved?

How can we explain technological innovation and diffusion, and what is the impact of governance strategies on innovation and its diffusion?

In what way does institutional change affect governance and the innovation of energy supply and demand, especially with adopting sustainable energy resources?

How do institutional changes in the governance of water effect the sustainability and environmental quality of ecosystems?

Examples of Ph.D. Projects in the Department that are defended in recent years and show the typical range of subjects are:

Kwaramba, H.M. (2012). Everything is connected: An Interpretive study of local economic development in South Africa.

Kotzebue, J.R. (2012). Spatial misfits in multi-level governance: Impacts on the small island state of Malta.

Boer, Cheryl de (2012). Contextual Water Management. A Study of Governance and Implementation Processes in Local Stream Restoration Projects.

Balderas Torres, Arturo (2012). ‘Yes in my backyard’. Market based mechanisms for forest conservation and climate change mitigation in La Primavera, México.

Sinha, Shirish (2012). In Pursuit of a Light Bulb and a Smokeless Kitchen. Longitudinal Analysis of Role of Energy Sector Policies to Alleviate Rural Energy Poverty in India.

Vikolainen, Vera (2012). Nature at Work. The feasibility of Building with Nature projects in the context of EU Natura 2000 implementation.

Evers, Jaap G. (2011). Werk in Uitvoering. De toepassing van Interactive Uitvoering in de praktijk.

Molen, J., van der (2011). Crossing Borders; Een raamwerk voor de ontwikkeling van grensoverschrijdende samenwerking in water management.

Matinga, Margaret N. (2010). We grow up with it. An ethnographic study of the experiences, perceptions and responses to the health impacts of energy acquisition and use in rural South Africa.

Agung Rakhmanto, P. (2009). The Political Economy of Market Liberalization Policies of Indonesia's Oil Sector.

Boshuizen, J. (2009). Join the Club! Knowledge Spillovers and the Influence of Social Networks on Firm Performance.

Haase, N. (2009). European gas market liberalisation : competition versus security of supply?

Hoppe, T. (2009). CO2 reductie in de bestaande woningbouw: een beleidswetenschappelijk onderzoek naar ambitie en realisatie.

Knudsen, J.K. (2009). Environmental Policy Integration and Energy, Conceptual Clarification and Comparative Analysis of Standards and Mechanisms.

Wiloso, P.G. (2009). Responses from the Region: Democratization at District Level During The Post-Suharto Era, Grobogan, Central Java, Indonesia.

Bakhiet, Nouralla Yassin Ahmed (2008). The walk out of rural kitchen. Towards planning energy services for sustainable rural livelihoods in Sudan.

Fikkers, Derek Jan (2008). Geruisloos beleid. Regio’s in West-Europa en hun zoektocht naar hoger opgeleiden.

Karky, Bhaskar Singh (2008). The Economics of Reducing Emissions from Community Managed Forests in Nepal Himalaya

Kooijman-van Dijk, Annemarije L. (2008). The Power to Produce. The role of energy in poverty reduction through small scale enterprises in the Indian Himalayas.

Mathis, Arno (2008). Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Policy-making. Perspectives, Instruments and Consequences.

Owens, Katharine A. (2008). Understanding how actors influence policy implementation. A comparative study of wetland restorations in New Jersey, Oregon, The Netherlands and Finland.

Regeczi, David (2008). Private Equity; Public Principle. Evaluating the legitimacy and sustainability of public-private partnerships.

Zahabu, Eliakimu (2008). Sinks and Sources. A strategy to involve forest communities in Tanzania in global climate policy

Grevers, W.A.J. (2007). Land Markets and Public Policy; An act of balance in spatial equilibrium.

Minang, Peter Akong (2007). Implementing Global Environmental Policy at Local Level: Community Carbon Forestry Perspectives in Cameroon.

Danda, Anamita Anurag (2007). Surviving in the Sundarbans: Threats and Responses.

Kalfagianni, Agni (2006). Transparency in the food chain.

Tirion, H.B. (2006). Beleidseffectmeting en legitimiteit.

Hofman, P.S. (2005). Innovation and institutional change: The transition to a sustainable electricity system.

Lim, Merlyna (2005). @rchipelo online: Internet and political activism in Indonesia.

Program’s Content

The Ph.D. program lasts four years and consists of individual scientific research, individual supervision, and—for internal Ph.D. researchers—some class work. In the first two years, internal Ph.D. researchers take both mandatory and elective courses that are relevant to their research. However, even in these first two years, conducting research and writing the doctorate thesis is the primary task. External Ph.D. candidates receive guided reading material in lieu of coursework. All students will receive guidance from their assigned supervisor as well as from their promoter. The program ends with the defense of the doctoral thesis during the promotion ceremony. Successful completion of the course is rewarded with the title of Doctor of the University of Twente.

Qualifications

Candidates require the minimum of a Master’s degree in a subject which is relevant to the proposed research. This could be one of the social sciences, such as international relations, political science, anthropology, social geography, or in more technical topics, such as environmental science, sustainable energy, civil engineering and management, water resource management, land and water use, forest and nature conservation. This Master’s degree must be acknowledged by the NUFFIC (http://www.nuffic.nl and http://www.idw.nl/pages/study.html). Candidates must also be able to express themselves clearly in spoken and written English (IELTS 6.5 TOEFL computer based 213, TOEFL paper based 550 or equivalent). A telephone interview may be part of the procedure.

You will also need financial resources for living expenses when you are at CSTM and any field work you may need to complete. Unfortunately CSTM cannot offer grants to students. CSTM only covers the costs of courses, supervision, and promotion.

Information on Fellowships. You can find more information on funding possibilities at the following web site:

http://www.utwente.nl/mb/cstm/education/short_courses/funds.doc/

Ph.D. application

Students applying for the Ph.D. program should submit the following materials:

You can send your application by post or e-mail.

Mrs Barbera van Dalm
CSTM
University of Twente
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
The Netherlands
b.vandalm@utwente.nl
Phone: +31 53 489 4377