Both evidence users and students can benefit a great deal from collaborating on short term policy and evidence projects. Environment Platform Wales aims to increase the range of opportunities for collaboration between our members.
October 2020: *DEADLINE EXTENDED* to 11th December 2020
Placement with Welsh Government Decarbonisation team
The Decarbonisation Policy Team in Welsh Government is seeking a PhD student for a placement opportunity.
The student will join the analytical branch of the Decarbonisation Policy Team responsible for the delivery of the appropriate evidence and reporting to inform the development and implementation of the Environment (Wales) Act. The student will work in collaboration with internal colleagues, wider Welsh Government departments, and external partners to develop the supporting evidence base and provide technical assistance, and data analysis to the decarbonisation programme.
The intention is to host a placement for a 3-month period, although longer placements would be considered.
October 2020: Deadline 27th November 2020
Placement with Welsh Government Modelling & Geospatial team
The EU Exit and Strategy division of the Welsh Government (WG) is seeking a PhD student for a placement within its team. The student will work with the Modelling, Geospatial and Monitoring branch, which is responsible for delivering robust, quality evidence, analysis and monitoring to policy teams across the Environment and Rural Affairs department, such as Wales’ future farming scheme – the Sustainable Farming Scheme – and a National Forest for Wales.
The main purpose of this three month post is to aid policy development for the National Forest for Wales Programme. There is the potential to extend the post beyond three months.
October 2020: Deadline 9th November 2020
Placements with Welsh Government Air Quality, Noise and Chemicals team
Chemicals policy is a cross-cutting policy area and the Chemicals Policy and Regulations team is responsible for managing the regulation of chemicals that falls within devolved competence, and ensuring UK/GB chemicals policy supports Welsh Government policies. Safe management of chemicals is essential to protect human health and the environment. As we are nearing the end of the Transition Period, the functions previously carried out by the EU will be coming back to the UK/GB. We are in the early stages of developing a chemicals strategy with UK Government which has the potential to be UK-wide. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape a UK-wide chemicals strategy and provide input to support Welsh Government policies.
There are 2 placements available to support this work. Please see documents below for more details.
September 2020
Water policy placement – Welsh Government (3 month period) – Applications for this position have now closed
The Water and Flood Division of Welsh Government is seeking a PhD student for a placement opportunity within one of its teams. Water is one of Wales’ most valuable natural assets and an essential contributor to our economy. The Water team is responsible for developing bespoke policy for Wales for sustainably managing its water systems, including inland waters, estuaries and coastal waters. The team also oversees the effective functioning of Wales’ water industry and safeguards drinking water quality in line with statutory specifications.
The post-holder will actively support the development of longer-term policy direction in addressing water pollution issues and emerging threats to health and the environment. This area of research overlaps with other policy areas such as animal and human health, environmental standards and monitoring and waste management.
September 2020: Deadline Friday 25th September
Supporting Policy Development for the National Forest for Wales Programme
The EU Exit and Strategy division of the Welsh Government (WG) is seeking a PhD student for a placement within its team. The student will work with the Modelling, Geospatial and Monitoring branch, which is responsible for delivering robust, quality evidence, analysis and monitoring to policy teams across the Environment and Rural Affairs department. The main purpose of this post is to aid policy development for the National Forest for Wales Programme.
For further details and to apply please see document below
August 2020: Deadline Monday 31st August
Reducing Single Use Plastics and Litter Prevention
The Environmental Quality Branch in Welsh Government is seeking a PhD student for a placement opportunity within its Air Quality policy team. The team is responsible for delivering a programme of work which focuses on improving the local environment of communities, targeting issues such as single use plastics and littering reduction, fly-tipping, dog fouling and other forms of environmental anti-social behaviour. The team is currently in the process of developing legislation which will ban several single use plastic items in and drafting a Litter Prevention Plan for Wales amongst other key activities.
For further details and to apply please see document below
July 2020: deadline Monday 31st August
Air Quality Wales Clean Air Plan
The Air Quality, Noise and Chemicals Branch in Welsh Government is seeking 9 PhD students for placements within its Air Quality policy team. The team is responsible for ensuring compliance with air quality legislation and driving improvements in air quality in Wales. They are currently in the process of delivering a final draft of Wales’ first Clean Air Plan and developing a Clean Air Bill.
There are 7 placements available to work on the Clean Air Plan looking at e.g.
- Development of new air quality targets for Wales
- Development of an air quality monitoring and assessment service for Wales
- Local Air Quality Management and the Clean Air Bill
There are 2 plecements focusing on communications and behaviour change e.g.
- Developing national level campaigns using a range of media
- Undertaking research on transport accessibility and equity issues
- Developing citizen science initiatives
For further details and to apply please see document below.
June 2020: deadline Wednesday 12th August
Support for the delivery of the Woodlands for Wales Strategy – THIS OPPORTUNITY HAS NOW CLOSED
The Welsh Government Forest Resources Policy team are seeking support with delivery of the Woodlands for Wales Strategy which outlines the vision and targets for Wales’ trees, woodlands and forests. The strategy is built around 4 strategic themes:
- Responding to climate change
- Woodlands for people
- A competitive and integrated forest sector
- Environmental quality
The team works closely with colleagues across the Land, Nature and Forestry Division as it moves towards a more joined up approach around land-use management and land-use change.
For further details and to apply please see document below.
Supporting Wales on its journey towards becoming a Zero Waste Nation by 2050 – THIS OPPORTUNITY HAS NOW CLOSED
The Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy division of Welsh Government is seeking a PhD student for a placement opportunity within its team. The team is responsible for supporting Wales on its journey towards becoming a zero waste nation by 2050, leading on a range of activities including Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy policy, infrastructure, legislation and regulation. The team works cross-departmentally, focussing on the contribution towards a more circular economy can make to meet wider Welsh Government aims including our low carbon plans and models of economic development.
February 2020
Development of the new Wales Transport Strategy – THIS OPPORTUNITY HAS NOW CLOSED
The Welsh Government is developing a new Wales Transport Strategy as one of the Minister for Economy and Transport’s top priorities for the remainder of the Assembly term. The Strategy will set out a long-term vision for transport, over 25 years, with the outcomes we want to achieve and the performance indicators we will use to measure those outcomes.
The role of the post holder would be to provide support in delivering the strategy, including support on delivering the consultation and engagement, providing analytical support and technical input to assist policy makers.
November 2019
Development of evidence base to inform future policy for the management of end of life fishing gear in Wales – THIS OPPORTUNITY HAS NOW CLOSED
Working within Welsh Government’s Marine Eco System & Biodiversity Team, we are looking for a PhD student to assist with the development of the evidence base required to inform future policy for the management of end of life fishing gear in Wales. Closing 6th December 2019.
For students
Policy and evidence placements with organisations such as Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales or the National Park Association provide invaluable insight into the real world application of research. Through these placements you will learn how to communicate complex science to decision makers and build your networks for future collaboration.
Projects can include e.g. synthesising evidence to produce guidance or recommendations for policy makers, gathering evidence to support decision making for environmental management, evaluating options for environmental monitoring, contributing to the development of new tools and models and much more.
Opportunities will be posted here as they come in so please check back regularly for updates. Funding and location for each placement will be decided by the host organisation on a case by case basis.
For evidence users
Working with a doctoral student on short term projects can bring valuable skills and experience into your team. It is an excellent way to develop new links with the research community and can act as a stepping stone to more substantial collaborative projects.
If you have a project in mind please complete the project proposal form below and email to sue.cody@epwales.org.uk. Further guidance on how to fill out the form and what makes a suitable project is also available below.