Post-Doctoral Researcher – EU Law (SWINS Project) (Specified Purpose Contract), School of Law & Criminology, Maynooth University

Maynooth University is committed to a strategy in which the primary University goals of excellent research and scholarship and outstanding education are interlinked and equally valued. 

We are seeking a Post Doctoral Researcher to join the SWINS Project team of Maynooth University. The project, titled Sustainable Wellbeing through Investment in Social Services (SWINS) is a 36-month project funded by Horizon Europe and coordinated by PIN ARCO - University of Florence. SWINS will develop and test a policy-oriented toolbox for the ex-ante assessment of the economic and social returns of investments in social services over its life course. Focusing on the complementarity of services aimed at developing human capabilities throughout the lifespan, it will explore the impacts of alternative social policy scenarios entailing different social services configurations (from maternal care and ECEC, to education and ALMP, up to long-term care). SWINS will conceptualize the returns to social services in terms of income, employment, and growth, as well as bridge knowledge gaps about how these investments influence macroeconomic stability and foster the EU sustainability transition performances. By implementing a right-based social investment approach, SWINS aims to support the rethinking of social services as drivers of the EU’s shift towards sustainable wellbeing, going beyond their role as mere safeguards against the transition’s side effects.

We are looking to appoint a candidate to support the Lead Investigators, Prof. Delia Ferri and Dr Charles O’Sullivan in conducting their research. The focus of the Post-Doctoral Researcher will be related in particular, but not exclusively to Work Package (WP) 2 and 8 of the project. The researcher will conduct desk-based research on EU law and policy and relevant scholarship. For this particular position, we are looking to appoint a candidate with strong knowledge of EU law and policy, European studies, and a working knowledge of qualitative research methods, as well as possessing an interest in disability-related issues. Experience of working within interdisciplinary research projects is desirable. 

Overview of the SWINS Project

The structural challenges and shocks Europe has experienced over the past 15 years are not isolated events. Rather, they are part of a transformative phase of European society. In this context, while one genealogy of academic enquiry focuses on measuring performance (which changes, directions, etc.), SWINS is part of a genealogy of research aimed more at guiding this process and the decisions of policymakers (i.e., where do I allocate my resources? Which policies yield the most? Which are the most sustainable?). The perspective of Social Services as Social Investment is thus a useful means of framing social spending among the various tools available to policymakers to support the transition. The sustainability of national Welfare States/systems is indeed a central debate that remains somewhat parallel to that on the Transition to new modalities of social regulation and has not found solutions in the review of the Economic Governance Framework and especially the Fiscal Framework. An attempt was made to establish a Golden Rule for social investment, but it is not a viable path. Consequently, the necessity of finding new ways of measuring the economic and social return of social services is of increasing importance.

SWINS takes up the challenge to operationalize a “rights-based social investment paradigm” which transcends the predominant focus on income and employment-related returns and instead integrates a broader perspective that integrates ecological sustainability and sustainable human development as key objectives. As such, it emphasizes a ‘just transition’ approach, and conceptualizes and measures this paradigm in social services as a tool for fostering the EU’s resilience and sustainable wellbeing. Additionally, SWINS prioritizes the integration of this measurement framework within institutional, regulatory, and policy contexts, situating it within the broader sustainability-focused transition needed to address the social, environmental, and economic challenges of recent decades.

The legal research in SWINS will include comprehensive Legal Mapping and Doctrinal Legal Research of EU legal strands relevant to social services - focusing on state aid, competition, and free movement laws. This desk-based research, essential for understanding EU regulatory frameworks, will also explore the enforcement of state aid and competition law, particularly in relation to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The legal mapping conducted under WP2 will also feed into the other WPs, providing a comprehensive legal backdrop and identifying areas for in-depth research, thereby enhancing the overall coherence and effectiveness of the project.