Offer Description
NOTICE FOR THE AWARD OF RESEARCH GRANTS (M/F)
PT VERSION consult Edital nº 3/2026/BIPD/DAO on University’s subweb-DAO
A tender is hereby opened for the award of one (1) Postdoctoral Fellowship(s) (PDF) under the project Observatory of the contents of environmental plans – tracing the soil-water nexus, (reference) of Department of Environment and Planning, under the following conditions:
1. Scientific Area: Environmental Sciences (Environmental Planning and Governance) and related fields.
2. Financing Source: Own revenue.
3. Admission Requirements: Doctor Degree (PhD) in Environmental Science and Engineering or related scientific fields; or a PhD in Public Policy or related fields, with a thesis focused on environmental policy, with experience in publishing articles in international scientific journals.(1)
4. Other Requirements: Preference will be given to candidates with the following qualifications: i) strong affinity in environmental planning, with knowledge of water and soil planning and governance, and associated institutional issues; ii) relevant scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals; iii) proven experience in data analysis, literature review, and reporting; iv) competence in developing and applying content analysis models, including the construction of coding tables and databases; v) experience in qualitative and quantitative methodologies applied to document analysis; vi) familiarity with qualitative and quantitative analysis software with textual analysis and natural language processing tools, with experience in Python or R (advanced) programming and graphical data representation being valued; vii) excellent command of written and spoken English and Portuguese; viii) sense of responsibility and commitment, motivation for research work, rigor, enthusiasm, ability to develop high-quality work autonomously; ix) immediate availability to start work.
5. Eligibility: Applicants are eligible if they had obtained a doctorate less than three years prior and comply with no. 2 of article 2, of the Research Fellow Statute in the wording given by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th, and also the provisions of article 8 of the Scientific Research Grant Regulations of the University of Aveiro. PDFs can only be granted provided the following requirements are met cumulatively:
a) The doctorate has been obtained within the three years prior to the date of submission of the application for the grant;
b) The postdoctoral research is carried out in a host entity different from the entity where the research work leading to the doctoral degree was carried out;
c) The research activities do not require postdoctoral experience;
d) The research activities have a time frame for development and implementation of three years or less;
e) The fellow does not exceed, with the conclusion of the grant contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of three years in that type of grant, consecutive or interpolated.
6. Work plan: The aim is for the fellow to develop research in the fields of environmental planning and governance, focusing on the critical analysis of the contents of environmental planning instruments. This research will focus on the analysis of the embeddedness of the nexus water-soil in a selection of water, land and soil-related plans, as well as the coherence between sectors and governance levels. The challenges of climate change adaptation will receive particular attention, especially regarding water scarcity and desertification. The study will critically analyse the plan’s objectives, measures, responsible and involved actors, the monitoring and follow-up systems foreseen in their contents. When possible, the main institutional arrangements associated with each area of planning and governance will be mapped. The tasks include: a) updating the systematic literature review; b) updating the database of available plans and selection of the plans for analysis; c) developing and applying a content analysis methodology to characterize major narratives and discursive patterns; d) critical and comparative analysis of the selected plans; e) Conducting interviews with institutional actors in Portugal and other countries to strengthen the interpretation of the results. The methodological approach will combine: a) systematic content analysis; b) natural language processing (NLP) techniques; c) comparative and temporal analysis of discursive trends. This research work will combine analytical methodologies applied to large volumes of data contained in the document content with language processing tools to map and understand how the discourses that emerge from environmental plans are shaped and how they evolve over time. This work will contribute to consolidating the Observatory of the Discourse of Environmental Plans, a platform for generating data on the content of environmental plans. This observatory seeks to provide insights to better inform plan formulation and more effective governance. Submission of at least three scientific articles per year.
7. Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellow Statute, as amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of August 28th; Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro, Regulation No. 292/2020, published in Diário da República No. 61, Series II, of March 26th; Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions).
8. Workplace: The work will be carried out at Department of Environment and Planning of the University of Aveiro, under the scientific supervision of Professor/Doctor Maria Teresa Fidélis da Silva.
9. Duration of the grant(s): The grant duration will be 12 months, starting in June 2026, and may be renewed for additional periods of 12 months, up to the maximum limit of approved funding. Under no circumstances shall it exceed the limits defined in no. 5 of article 8, of Regulation no. 292/2020, of February 28th, published in Diário da República, no. 61, Series II, of March 26th (Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro).
10. Amount of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the grant corresponds to €1.901,00, according to the table of values of monthly maintenance allowances, set out in Appendix III of the Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro, subject to any updates that may occur and are applicable. The fellow may also be reimbursed for the amount corresponding to the Voluntary Social Security, in case of adherence to this plan.
11. Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: Curriculum vitae assessment, with the option of an interview. The curriculum vitae assessment (100%) will focus on the following aspects: A1) curriculum evaluation; A2) cover letter; and A3) reports and publications, with respective valuations of 50%, 15%, and 35%, respectively, expressed quantitatively from 0 to 20 points.
If the jury deems it necessary, the 3 (three) best candidates will be notified for an interview (E), via videoconference. If the interview is applicable, for the purposes of calculating the final classification (CF) and the decision on the granting of the scholarship, the candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the classification obtained in each of the criteria, translated by the following formula: CF = 0.5 x (0.5 x A1 + 0.15 x A2 + 0.35 x A3) + 0.5 x E
The Jury reserves the right not to propose the awarding of the scholarship if it considers that none of the candidates has the appropriate profile, experience and/or skills to carry out the work plan. Candidates whose CF is less than 14 will not be eligible for the scholarship.
12. Composition of the Selection Jury: Professor Maria Teresa Fidélis da Silva (Chair); Doctor. Peter Roebeling (permanent member); Professor Filomena Martins (permanent member); Professor Luís Tarelho (alternate member); Professor Isabel Nunes (alternate member), all from the University of Aveiro.
13. Deadline for applications and how to submit applications: The call is open from 24- 04-2026 to 7-05-2026, and only applications submitted within the deadline will be admitted.
Applications must be formalized by sending a letter of application accompanied by the following documents: Application form for research grants available on the Human Resources Management Services website under scholarship holders – sgrh – University of Aveiro (https://www.ua.pt/pt/sgrh/bolseiros); Candidate’s Curriculum Vitae (CV); Academic qualifications certificate; Letter of motivation, two letters of recommendation from university professors or researchers; Proof of English and Portuguese language skills. They shall also indicate the e-mail address to which by such indication they accept to be notified for all purposes within this procedure.
Applications should be sent by e-mail to dao-bolsaseconcursos@ua.pt, copying (Cc) to teresafidelis@ua.pt, and indicating the reference of this anouncement in the subject line.
14. Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation shall be made public no later than 60 working days after the closing date for submission of applications and shall be notified to the applicants. The candidates are informed, in a prior hearing, under the terms established in the Code of Administrative Procedure, of the probable meaning of the final decision, and may, within 10 working days of this notification, express their opinion on this decision. The final results may be appealed to the Rector, to be submitted within 10 working days from the respective notification.
15. Tender duration: The final ranking list of candidates will be valid until 30-06-2026 for the purpose of constituting a reserve list for selection.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT IS A TRANSLATION FROM THE PORTUGUESE ORIGINAL – IN CASE OF DOUBT THE PORTUGUESE VERSION PREVAILS
The models of the grant contract and of the final report to be prepared by the grant holder and the supervisor are available at Research fellows – sgrh – Universidade de Aveiro (ua.pt).
1 Note: If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of the provisions of article 25 of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16th, which approves the legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education, attributed by foreign higher education institutions, and of paragraph e) of no. 2 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of August 3rd, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the hiring act.
Where to apply
E-mail: dao-bolsaseconcursos@ua.pt
