Sustainable Transitions - Governance, Ecological Management and Society

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Sustainable Transitions - Governance, Ecological Management and Society

The Sustainable Transitions – Governance, Ecological Management and Society – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme was established in 2024. Its purpose is to train the next generation of interdisciplinary doctoral scholars with skills and expertise to contribute to ‘sustainable transitions’ at local, national and international levels.

The programme was made possible through a funding award from the Leverhulme Trust of up to £2.2m over an eight-year period. It is founded on world leading expertise in areas of environmental sustainability drawn across five core disciplines at the University – Life Sciences, Law, Sociology, Government and Business.

It is now widely recognised that the challenges for local, national, and international communities to transition to more environmentally sustainable modes of production, business and industry, agriculture, consumption, energy use, natural resource use and conservation require interdisciplinary approaches to research that combine expertise from the natural and social sciences. At Essex we recognise that this type of research can only occur effectively if researchers are trained in interdisciplinary research methods and practices. The Sustainable Transitions programme provides an exemplary framework through which that training can be undertaken.

The core purpose of all projects under the programme is to clearly understand the systemic change that is required for a specific ‘sustainable transition’ to take place, and secondly to understand what processes or systems would be needed to make that change. This means that the research under the programme has the potential to challenge existing assumptions and practices at governmental and societal levels, as well as those in business and industry.

Doctoral scholars on the programme become independent and creative researchers who have the capacity to expand our understanding in crucially important areas relating to environmental sustainability. They develop a breadth of knowledge across the ‘sustainability’ landscape with the skills to communicate effectively to diverse audiences, making connections between different disciplines. They are trained in different types of interdisciplinary research methodologies, in order that our understanding of what is needed for ‘sustainable transitions’ , can be properly developed and put into practice. Doctoral scholars on the programme have the potential and the responsibility to contribute towards lasting impact that can benefit people and the planet.

Our projects

We are offering two fully-funded Masters plus PhD research scholarships for students to undertake a Masters degree followed by an interdisciplinary PhD either in one of the 5 specified projects or by putting forward a proposal in one of four general disciplinary areas (Business, Law, Life Science, or Government). These scholarships are available for students to commence a master’s degree in January 2027.

Specified project areas

• Implementation of the Human Right to Water
• Political Economy of the Environment and Development
• The Relationship between Legal and Economic interventions for effective Climate Adaptation Strategies
• The role of international economic law in environmental policy
• Waste Management – Towards Sustainability

General project areas

• Business as related to the environment and sustainability
• Law as related to the environment and sustainability
• Life Sciences as related to the environment and sustainability
• Government as related to the environment and sustainability
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Research areas