LIEPP INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAR IN POLICY EVALUATION PROGRAMME

• Position Definition: Post-doctoral fellowship
• Location: The postdoctoral researcher will be based at LIEPP, Sciences Po in Paris, France
• Type of contract: Temporary contract
• Contract duration: 12 months
• Expected start date: January 1st, 2024 (non negociable – the contract will have to end on December, 31st, 2024).
• Work time: full-time
• Required degree level: PhD in any relevant disciplines (Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Psychology, Public Health, or related fields)

Application deadline: November 6th, 2023 

The Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP), a research platform at Sciences Po (Paris, France), launches a call for applications for a postdoctoral fellowships of 1 year. This call aims at supporting young researchers’ careers and fostering excellence in policy evaluation. 

Created in 2011 under the "Investissements d'avenir" programme of the French National Research Agency, this laboratory has been redeployed since 2020 in partnership with Université Paris Cité. LIEPP develops an innovative approach to evaluative research: articulating quantitative, qualitative and comparative methods; confronting disciplinary views on the evaluated policies; and promoting the cross-fertilization of methodological and theoretical inputs from different disciplines, with those from the international field of evaluation. LIEPP thus works on anchoring policy evaluation in academic research.

This call for applications aims to promote research projects evaluating policies in line with the research proprieties or one or several of our research groups (please see online description of each research group for details):

• Discriminations And Category-Based Policies 
• Educational Policies 
• Environmental Policies
• Evaluation of Democracy
• Health Policies 
• Socio-Fiscal Policies

Applications are welcome from all disciplines.

Functions

The successful candidate is expected, for the duration of their contract:

• To conduct their research project as submitted in relation with the research groups indicated above,
• To participate in the scientific activities of the laboratory (annual seminar, seminars of the corresponding research group).

The research activities are expected to lead to peer-reviewed publications (which may come out after the end of the contract). In this perspective, research teams are encouraged to submit a working paper for LIEPP’s publication collection, as well as a policy brief to be submitted after the peer-reviewed publication has been accepted.

We expect the postdoctoral fellows to work 80% on their LIEPP-related postdoctoral research and 20% on their other activities (ex. publications based on doctoral research, job search, etc.).

Application requirements

Doctoral degree should have been completed (thesis defended) before December, 1st, 2023 at the latest (a proof of defense is required as part of the application).

Sciences Po’s working languages are English and French. Mastering French is helpful, but not required for the positions.  The publications expected to derive from the projects will be in English.

Employment conditions

Selected candidates will be recruited on a one-year contract from January, 1st, 2024 to December, 31st, 2024 (non negociable – the contract will have to end on December, 31st, 2024 at the latest).

The remuneration is 3,400 € gross (salaire brut) per month. Employment in France guarantees full access to healthcare, other social security benefits and social acquis (such as luncheon vouchers, contribution to transport costs).

The successful candidate will benefit from LIEPP’s working environment. Each candidate will receive a personal research fund of 2,000 euros for the duration of their contract.

Location

Sciences Po – Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP), Paris, France. Our offices are located in the center of Paris. A workspace will be available for the postdoctoral fellow, as well as access to the Sciences Po Library.

Application procedure

Applications should be sent to liepp@sciencespo.fr [subject: Postdoctoral Fellowship]. They include:

• A curriculum vitae;
• A cover letter stressing the proposed project’s contribution to innovative policy evaluation in one of the domains/thematic priorities of LIEPP’s research groups;
• A research proposal including project title, abstract (300 words maximum), project description specifying the theoretical framework of the project, the research question(s), the evaluative approach, the methods, the expected results, a work plan for the 12 months, as well as precise indications on planned publications and dissemination strategy (2500 words maximum);
• A proof of your PhD defense, or an administrative document certifying that your defense is scheduled to take place before December, 1st, 2023 at the latest.
• A single-authored piece of writing in English, whether a chapter of the PhD thesis, a conference paper or an article submitted to a journal.

The deadline for application is Monday, November, 6th, 2023.
The results of the selection will be made available in the second half of November.

The selection of applications will be made by the laboratory council (composed of the research groups directors and the director of LIEPP), on the basis of the scientific quality of the project and of the candidate’s profile, the project’s contribution to policy evaluation, and its fit with the priorities of one of LIEPP’s research groups. Remote interviews may be organized in order to prepare the selection.

Full call for applications text (pdf)