Logic List Mailing Archive

PhD student position in evidence-based policy, Antwerp (Belgium), Deadline: 31 Aug 2023

Dear colleagues

I am hiring a full-time (100%) doctoral scholarship holder (PhD student) 
in the field of philosophy of science to work on the following research 
project at the University of Antwerp (Belgium):

Defending the virtues of evidence-based policy

Starting date: 1 November 2023 (or as soon as possible after that date if 
necessary).

Duration: 2 + 2 years.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2023. To apply, see here. (See the 
'Apply'-button on the website. Only applications submitted via that way 
will be eligible.) Your application should include (1) a motivation 
letter, (2) your academic CV including names and email addresses of two or 
three possible referees (please do not send letters of recommendation when 
submitting your application form), and (3) a brief summary of your 
Master’s dissertation (250 words).

Summary of the research project:

Evidence-based policy (EBP) is based on the idea that policy makers should 
use evidence as the basis for their policy decisions, in the hope that the 
latter will work. EBP is highly important in present-day societies. It has 
been heavily discussed in the social sciences (i.a. in the public policy 
literature) and receives increasing attention in philosophy/philosophy of 
science. If we look at what has been done, we see that many divergent 
definitions and characterizations have been proposed, leaving room for 
disagreement about what EBP is or should be. It is unclear what counts (or 
should count) as evidence, what the precise relation between evidence and 
policy is (or should be), based on what criteria it should be decided 
whether a policy works etc. Furthermore, EBP faces important challenges in 
practice: on the one hand evidence-based policy proposals face opposition, 
whereas on the other hand some non-evidence based proposals gain 
surprisingly much support. If we want to defend the virtues of EBP – of 
course without turning a blind eye to its possible pitfalls – much can be 
gained from increasing conceptual clarity (what precisely is EBP?; what 
should it be?; what crucial features does or should it involve?).

This research project is related to, but different from, the research 
project “Evidence-based policy, fallibility and ignorance” (2022-2026).

 

If you have any questions about the job itself, or if you would like to 
read the full project description before applying, please contact both 
Prof. Dr. Bert Leuridan (Bert.Leuridan@UAntwerpen.be) and Paride Del 
Grosso (Paride.DelGrosso@UAntwerpen.be).

 

With kind regards

Bert Leuridan (University of Antwerp)


 
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