CoSS PhD Scholarship - Energy Divides in Europe: identifying data injustices for transformative alleviation of energy policy

Project details

Soaring energy prices, exacerbated by COVID-19 and recent wars, have made energy poverty one of the biggest European policy challenges, and a key barrier to achieving the widely stated goal of just and sustainable energy transitions where no one is left behind. Vulnerable communities are not only largely excluded and sometimes negatively impacted by the energy transition but are increasingly facing a reality where living without energy is their new norm due to worsening socioeconomic and infrastructural conditions, with significant societal impacts.

These energy divides manifest in the use of alternative fuels for heating (such as firewood and household waste), forced energy rationing, and dangerous coping strategies. However, these issues are absent from mainstream indicators due to the dominance of narrow techno-economic frameworks that fail to account for the complexities of energy poverty. On a pan-European scale, the main policy indicators of energy poverty have remained almost entirely unchanged for nearly 30 years (Thomson et al., 2017), in turn creating exclusion biases within policies, meaning households that fall through the cracks in traditional conceptualisations of energy poverty may not receive support.

This PhD project will support the EnCUENTA project in assessing the gaps and data injustices perpetuated by official monitoring indicators of energy poverty across Europe, via in-depth reviews of code books for official surveys, and via secondary data analyses of these same surveys using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The project employs a critical quantitative research approach, with data feminism as an evaluative framework, which means acknowledging the role of data in reproducing (and disrupting) existing power relationships (Hatch et al., 2023), reviewing the rules embedded in the system(s), and identifying intervention points for more socially just data.

In collaboration with the wider team, the PhD researcher will have the opportunity to contribute to trialling innovative new indicators across national surveys in Germany, North Macedonia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Supervisory Team

Principal supervisor: Professor Harriet Thomson

Secondary supervisor/s: Dr Sergio Tirado Herrero (Autonomous University of Madrid)

School: School of Social & Political Sciences

Campus: Gilmorehill

About the School/Research Unit 

This funded PhD studentship will be based in the Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy, within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow and is linked to Professor Harriet Thomson’s European Research Council project ‘Energy Divides in Europe: Closing Gaps in Understanding for Transformative Alleviation of Energy Poverty’ (EnCUENTA).

The focus of the PhD is on assessing the gaps and data injustices perpetuated by official monitoring indicators of energy poverty across Europe.

The candidate will benefit from external supervision by an EnCUENTA Advisory Board member, Dr Sergio Tirado Herrero, 'Ramón y Cajal' Senior Research Fellow at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and a leading expert on the measurement of energy poverty.

Beyond the core supervisory team, the candidate will benefit from access to the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, and the Centre for Public Policy, with associated methodological expertise and mentorship opportunities.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
• Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation
• Applicants must be able to study full-time only
• Applicants will have proven experience in quantitative analysis, ideally using microdata from survey such as EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, or Scottish House Conditions Survey.
• Willingness to apply data feminism as an evaluative framework

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Social & Public Policy, PhD 

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The full funding package includes:

• An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
• Fees at the standard home/international rate
• Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year 

Other information

Due to the volume of enquiries we typically receive, we are unable to offer individual guidance or feedback on prospective applications. All essential details about the project, eligibility, and the application process are provided in the advertised materials. However, if you have a specific query not covered by these materials, do get in touch.

How to Apply

 Applicants must lodge an application to the PhD in Social & Public Policy and must include all the following information in the application:

• Professor Harriet Thomson must be listed as the Supervisor
• "Energy Divides in Europe: Data injustices" must be listed as the Research Project title; and
• "CoSS PhD Scholarship - Data injustices" must be listed in the funding section of the application

Additionaly, you must upload all the following documents as part of the application:

• CoSS PhD Scholarship (Data injustices) Application form (in Word format). This will serve as your 'Research proposal'
• Final or current degree transcripts including grades (and as official translation, if needed) - scanned copy in colour of the original document.
• Degree certificates (and an official translation, if needed): scanned copy in colour of the original document
• Two references on headed paper and signed by the referee. One must be academic, the other can be academic or professional. References may be uploaded as part of the application form or you may enter your referees contact details on the application form. The Admissions tea, will then email your referees and notify you when they receive the refere3nce. They can also accept confidential references direct to rio-researchadmisssions@glasgow.ac.uk from the referee's university of business email account.
• CV 

Please ensure your application is complete and all required documentation is received by the closing date.

Application Closing Date: 30 September 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Social & Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be offered the Scholarship and the PhD concurrently. Unsuccessful applicants will have the PhD applications rejected.

Contact Details

Questions on the Project: Professor Harriet Thomson

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Energy Divides in Europe: Mapping gaps in governing for transformative alleviation of energy poverty

Project details

Soaring energy prices, exacerbated by COVID-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War, have made energy poverty one of the biggest European policy challenges, and a key barrier to achieving the widely stated goal of just and sustainable energy transitions where no one is left behind. Vulnerable communities are not only largely excluded and sometimes negatively impacted by the energy transition but are increasingly facing a reality where living without energy is their new norm due to worsening socioeconomic and infrastructural conditions, with significant societal impacts.

These energy divides manifest in the use of alternative fuels for heating (such as firewood and household waste), forced energy rationing, and dangerous coping strategies. However, these issues are absent from mainstream indicators due to the dominance of narrow techno-economic frameworks that fail to account for the complexities of energy poverty. On a pan-European scale, the main policy indicators of energy poverty have remained almost entirely unchanged for nearly 30 years (Thomson et al., 2017), in turn creating exclusion biases within policies, meaning households that fall through the cracks in traditional conceptualisations of energy poverty may not receive support. Energy poverty is an issue that has seen considerable political change, while also demonstrating significant conceptual stagnation with a high degree of ‘stickiness’ for subpar concepts and indicators, creating a situation where political rhetoric fails to match with current knowledge and tools.

Drawing from political science, in particular institutional analysis (Mahoney and Thelen, 2010) and policy inaction (McConnell & t’Hart, 2019), this project will construct comparative cases, at the local, national, and pan-European scales. This will involve in-depth reviews of relevant national and local policy documents and decision-making records within the just transition, climate, and energy domains, with attention paid to path dependency, political discourses, conceptualisations of energy poverty, and the strength of energy poverty-related policy targets. These reviews will be complemented with around 15-20 interviews with local, national, and pan-European policy stakeholders to understand policymakers’ attitudes about energy poverty, why suboptimal concepts and indicators have been enduringly ‘sticky’, and the barriers and potential levers for change.

Supervisory Team

Principal supervisor: Professor Harriet Thomson

Secondary supervisor/s: Dr Sergio Tirado Herrero (Autonomous University of Madrid)

School: School of Social & Political Sciences

Campus: Gilmorehill

About the School/Research Unit 

This funded PhD studentship will be based in the Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy, within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow and is linked to Professor Harriet Thomson’s European Research Council project ‘Energy Divides in Europe: Closing Gaps in Understanding for Transformative Alleviation of Energy Poverty’ (EnCUENTA).

The focus of the PhD is European energy poverty governance and policy inaction, with attention paid to path dependency, political discourses, and the strength of energy poverty-related policy targets.

Beyond the core supervisory team, the candidate will benefit from access to the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, and the Centre for Public Policy, with associated methodological expertise and mentorship opportunities.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
• Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation
• Applicants must be able to study full-time only
• Applicants will have good understanding of policy science and public policy concepts, ideally relating to comparative institutional analysis, and the European Union.
• Experience in, and willingness to learn, semi-structed interviewing with policy stakeholders.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Social & Public Policy, PhD 

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The full funding package includes:

• An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
• Fees at the standard home/international rate
• Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year 

Other information

Due to the volume of enquiries we typically receive, we are unable to offer individual guidance or feedback on prospective applications. All essential details about the project, eligibility, and the application process are provided in the advertised materials. However, if you have a specific query not covered by these materials, do get in touch.

How to Apply

 Applicants must lodge an application to the PhD in Social & Public Policy and must include all the following information in the application:

• Professor Harriet Thomson must be listed as the Supervisor
• "Energy Divides in Europe: Governance gaps" must be listed as the Research Project title; and
• "CoSS PhD Scholarship - Governance gaps" must be listed in the funding section of the application

Additionaly, you must upload all the following documents as part of the application:

• CoSS PhD Scholarship (Governance gaps) Application form (in Word format). This will serve as your 'Research proposal'
• Final or current degree transcripts including grades (and as official translation, if needed) - scanned copy in colour of the original document.
• Degree certificates (and an official translation, if needed): scanned copy in colour of the original document
• Two references on headed paper and signed by the referee. One must be academic, the other can be academic or professional. References may be uploaded as part of the application form or you may enter your referees contact details on the application form. The Admissions tea, will then email your referees and notify you when they receive the refere3nce. They can also accept confidential references direct to rio-researchadmisssions@glasgow.ac.uk from the referee's university of business email account.
• CV 

Please ensure your application is complete and all required documentation is received by the closing date.

Application Closing Date: 30 September 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Social & Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be offered the Scholarship and the PhD concurrently. Unsuccessful applicants will have the PhD applications rejected.

Contact Details

Questions on the Project: Professor Harriet Thomson