PhD student position in evidence-based policy, Antwerp (Belgium)

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.

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).

For more information, see https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/jobs/vacancies/academic-staff/?q=3036&descr=Doctoral-scholarship-holder-in-the-field-of-philosophy-of-science or contact Prof. Dr. Bert Leuridan at Bert.Leuridan at UAntwerpen.be, or Paride Del Grosso at Paride.DelGrosso at UAntwerpen.be.