PhD Position in Public Management

We are seeking a researcher to join our international research team (ZHAW, University of Potsdam and Vienna University of Economics and Business). The focus will be on analyzing the diffusion and pace of digital transformation in European local government. The candidate will pursue a PhD in Public Administration (supervisors: Professor Reto Steiner, ZHAW School of Management and Law and Professor Oliver Neumann, IDHEAP, University of Lausanne). This will include writing an independent scientific thesis consisting of three journal articles, presenting the findings at national and international conferences and disseminating them to the public, and providing support in managing the research project.

Your Profile

You have a strong interest in research related to the local tier of government, European-wide comparative research, and digital transformation. You have a Master's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Political Science, or Economics. In particular, you have a solid background in quantitative methods and are interested in machine learning techniques. The ability to work independently and the ambition to publish quality research is a given, as is an excellent command of English; a working knowledge of German would also be an advantage. 

We offer a competitive, stimulating, and motivating environment as part of the "Digital Transformation at the Local Tier of Government in Europe: Dynamics and Effects from a Cross-Countries and Over-Time Comparative Perspective (DIGILOG)" project co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). As part of this project, we are developing a real-time monitoring platform of digital transformation at the local tier of government in the 47 Council of Europe member states. We use machine learning techniques to analyze the transformation over time.