FixOurFood PhD Studentships: Procurement Policies and Equitable Outcomes
Study how policy changes to drive local procurement influence equitable outcomes within the Yorkshire food system.
This PhD project is aligned to the new FixOurFood interdisciplinary research programme, part of the UKRI Transforming Food Systems programme. FixOurFood brings together social sciences, natural sciences and data science to learn how to transform the Yorkshire food system to one which prioritises dietary health in young people, supports agriculture that enhances the environment, and builds a more diversified hybrid food economy. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a vibrant collaboration, gaining skills on systems-level thinking in the food system.
While we have a food system that seemingly delivers good quality food and choices for all, it is underpinned by unsustainable thinking that is leading to environmental degradation and failing to give everyone access to affordable, healthy foods. What if we could drive radical transformation so that all benefited from sustainable food provision? What policies would we need to drive that change? How would we know they would work? How would we know if there were undesirable, unintended consequences of new policies?
This PhD research would seek to answer the question: how do policy changes to drive local procurement influence equitable outcomes? The novelty will be the means to quantitatively understand the impact of a policy change prior to implementation. The project is expected to develop a policy modelling framework underpinned by literature review and stakeholder interviews. Using the framework to develop food system models, we anticipate desk experimentation and gaming with stakeholders to uncover knowledge on how policies can lead to significant changes in procurement to in turn contribute to greater equity in food systems.
The PhD candidate will join a vibrant research community of PhDs, researchers and academics working on the large-scale FixOurFood project and other food systems projects. They will work closely with our stakeholders including policy makers to understand and explore how changes in policy can influence our progress to a healthier, lower impact and, most importantly, more equitable food system.
Start date: 1 October 2022 (the student will be affiliated with the University of York Management School). Appointed candidates will be fully funded for 3 years.
Supervisors: Peter Ball, Bob Doherty
Open to UK (home) students only.
Open to students in the School for Business and Society.
Candidates with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. We welcome applications from people with a first degree in business/management/geography or equivalent.
If your first language is not English, you must meet the School’s minimum English language requirements.
The University of York is committed to recruiting regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways, and we have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in academia, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.
Application deadline: Sunday 23 January 2022, 11.59pm GMT
To apply, follow the instructions on application via the page PhD in Management, ensuring you identify at least one of the supervisors, and that the title of the application clearly shows you are applying for this studentship.
For more information about our research degrees, please visit our Current doctoral students pages or contact the team at management-phd@york.ac.uk.
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in late February/early March 2022.