We are seeking to recruit a post-doctoral Innovation Fellow with expertise in participatory design methodologies and co-creation to work in the School of Design as part of the new UKRI funded Centre for Digital Citizens. 

The Centre for Digital Citizens is an exciting new initiative led by Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, which seeks to design, understand and build demonstrators of citizen-centred data-driven technologies. The Centre will conduct this work with a wide-range of partners, including BBC Research & Development, FutureGov, Google, Mozilla Foundation, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, along with many local authorities, healthcare providers, and small to medium sized businesses and charities. 

The Innovation Fellowships are post-doctoral research positions funded by the Centre for Digital Citizens. The Fellows will be immersed in the cross-disciplinary environment of the Centre and work closely with each other, as well as the Centres academics and partners, to conduct collaborative research that addresses issues of citizenship in a data-driven age. The Fellows will be supported to establish their own independent programme of research aligned to the overall vision of the Centre and its four citizen challenge areas, which will be conducted over the two years of the post. They will also work closely with the Centre’s external partners, who will provide real-world contexts and settings for our research to be responsive to. The Centre has an emphasis on ensuring its projects, activities and technologies have longevity and continue to bring benefits beyond the lifetime of its funding. As such the Fellows will be supported to identify ways for their work to be sustained beyond the two years of their post through follow-on funding, translation to practice, or through creating start-ups and community interest companies with an emphasis on socially responsible technology.

For this post, we are seeking a fellow with a background in design research to contribute to the Centre’s research on co-creative methodologies and citizen-led research into data-driven technologies. It is expected the successful candidate will have a PhD (or one that is close to completion) in a design research or a related field, and will have a research track record or interest in the role of co-creative and participatory approaches to designing new systems, infrastructures or policies. You will have a track-record of publishing in relevant leading conferences and journals in these fields, and have a developing profile of academic community leadership and involvement commensurate with a post-doctoral researcher. Ideally the successful candidate will have experience of working within interdisciplinary teams, and in utilising digital platforms and tools to support co-creative activities. Excellent communication skills and ambition to collaborate with researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds is essential. 

It is also expected that there will be a need to travel around the UK and the North East of England for short periods in order to work with partners and to conduct engagements and studies, although this is highly dependent on the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Occasional weekend work may also be necessary but compensated for in time off elsewhere.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Nick Taylor (n.taylor@northumbria.ac.uk) and Pam Briggs (p.briggs@northumbria.ac.uk).

To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply Now', and submit a covering letter, CV including research /education statements, and grants and publications list. Please highlight your highest quality research outputs (please indicate a rank from 1 to 4) up to a maximum of 4, since 2017.  In addition, candidates are asked to provide copies of the top 2 research outputs (Journal / book chapter / practice-based portfolio).  Where possible candidates are asked to combine all of these documents into a single file.

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community.The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers.

Please note this vacancy will close on 31/01/2021