Researcher (M/F) Reflexivity and Analysis of Institutional Transformations within the PEPR TRANSFORM

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Patrimoines locaux, environnement et globalisation Research Field Environmental science Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Application Deadline 6 Oct 2026
- 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Dec 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The PEPR TRANSFORM, funded by France 2030 and jointly led by CNRS and IRD, aims, through transformative research, to help reverse current trends that are degrading human well‑being and the living conditions of all beings on Earth. To this end, the programme seeks to (i) advance understanding of the biophysical and social conditions of habitability; (ii) strengthen the co-construction of knowledge between researchers and territorial stakeholders, with a view to transforming societies and territories towards greater sustainability and habitability; and (iii) address interactions across scales, both bottom-up and top-down, in order to create the conditions for conducting socio-ecological experiments and drawing lessons from their diversity, thereby giving transformation a systemic character.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of the Transform Institute within Targeted Project 1. He/she will conduct theoretical, methodological and empirical research on institutional systems and transformations in relation to socio-ecological dynamics. This research will examine the conditions under which institutional systems evolve and transform in contexts of transition, in connection with the various experiments conducted within the programme. In this perspective, they will lead a reflexive and prospective research component aimed at exploring theoretical and methodological cross-fertilization that can foster capacity-building and the scaling-up of transformative experiments, particularly from a comparative Global North–Global South perspective.
In collaboration with the other researchers recruited within the programme, the successful candidate will also contribute to a cross-cutting project on theoretical teaching and practical training within the Transform Institute. This federative platform will seek to create spaces for dialogue between the various theoretical frameworks and scientific communities involved in transformative sciences, strengthen engagement with non‑academic stakeholders (artists, practitioners, elected representatives, associations and local communities), and develop and disseminate different forms of action research.

• Develop a systemic and interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological framework for analysing institutional transformations in relation to socio-ecological systems, and support transdisciplinary collectives in implementing “transformative changes” at different scales.
• Contribute to the design of reflexive and prospective tools to document, compare and support institutional dynamics emerging from experiments conducted in Terrestrial Laboratories in the Global North and Global South.
• Contribute to the coordination and structuring of the Transform Institute.
• Design and facilitate spaces for dialogue between theoretical frameworks in transformative sciences and their associated research communities.
• Analyse processes of circulation and hybridization in knowledge-production practices among scientific, artistic and operational communities engaged in socio-ecological transformations.
• Contribute to the production of syntheses, conceptual frameworks and methodological resources emerging from the work of the Institute and the PEPR

The researcher will be hosted within the PALOC Joint Research Unit (IRD–MNHN–CNRS), a multidisciplinary research unit based in Paris specializing in the study of interactions between human societies, environments and heritage from a comparative and interregional perspective. The unit develops approaches rooted in the social sciences and ecology, with particular attention to territorial dynamics, local knowledge and transformative processes.
He/she will contribute to strengthening the laboratory's Shared Theme 4, “Science–Society”, which provides a collective space for developing critical reflexivity, researcher involvement and engagement, while fostering dialogue with institutional and territorial partners.
The position is part of Targeted Project 1 of the PEPR TRANSFORM, dedicated to the creation of the Transform Institute, a platform for research, training and experimentation on socio-ecological transformations and the conditions of habitability. The successful candidate will cont