Opportunities for Placement Fellowships in the Environment Agency 

As part of its Placement Fellowship Scheme the ESRC welcomes applications 
from academics interested in working within the Environment Agency. The 
Scheme encourages social science researchers to spend time within a 
partner organisation to undertake policy-relevant research and to develop 
the research skills of partner employees. The placement will be jointly 
funded by the ESRC and the Environment Agency while the Fellow will remain 
employed by his/her institution.

Fellowships can be for between 3-12 months duration with a minimum of 50 
per cent of the Fellows time being spent within the partner organisation.

Closing date: Monday 1 October 2007 

For an application form contact [log in to unmask] or telephone
01793 413033.

The Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and 
improving the environment in England and Wales. It is their job to make 
sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today's 
society, so that tomorrow's generations inherit a cleaner, healthier 
world. Science and technology play a vital role in the work of the 
Environment Agency in providing key information, advice, tools and 
techniques to support our policies and work in protecting and improving 
the environment.

Title of ProjectDeveloping energy research in the Environment Agency 

Length of Placement:The placement is for 12 months on a full-time basis 
but could be flexible.

Location of Placement:The placement would be based at Westbury-on-Trym, 
Bristol.

Skills Required:The Agency has several areas of interest in the energy and 
climate change arena, primarily around our regulatory and influencing 
activities, with research support needs falling primarily under either 
climate change mitigation or climate change impacts and adaptation. 
Priority areas for mitigation include energy generation (nuclear power, 
energy from waste, bioenergy and other renewable technologies); energy 
efficiency (primarily focusing on the industries we regulate through IPPC 
and our own energy use); and energy and carbon futures and economy 
(including EU Emissions Trading Scheme; Carbon reduction Commitment; and 
Carbon Capture and Storage). Therefore knowledge and research experience 
in one or more of the key energy fields above is vital, as well as an 
understanding of the climate change context. 

Background Information
The successful applicant should, ideally, be senior post-doctoral/junior 
lecturer level with a strong interest in driving the research agenda to 
serve policy and operational needs. The following skills are expected:

Ability to work strategically across disciplines (economic, social and
environmental) and an appreciation of the policy and regulatory context of 
research.

Good project management skills to coordinate current and future energy 
projects.

Data analysis skills for undertaking in-house analysis relating to our own 
energy efficiency and in connection to the key areas identified.

Good communication and networking skills - building links both internally, 
with policy and operational customers, and externally with UKERC, Research 
Councils, Defra, DBERR and fellow academics in the energy and climate 
change fields, with potential to develop FP7 proposals with the external 
funding team.

Background: The successful applicant will be working in the Science 
Department, supporting and advising the Science Programme Managers in 
developing energy and climate change research strategies and delivering 
research support to the business. As a science-based organization, the 
Agency is constantly looking to work with the very best research groups on 
world-class scientific evidence. The successful applicant would be 
expected to develop further collaborative relationships in these 
scientific areas.