Research Centre Amsterdam

The Department of Environmental Policy Analysis at the VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is committed to contribute to the implementation of the Earth System Governance Project as part of the global alliance of Earth System Governance Research Centres.

The Department of Environmental Policy Analysis is a vibrant international group of around 35 researchers, faculty members and PhD students within the university's Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), the oldest environmental research institute in the Netherlands.

The group shares an interest in analysing policies, institutions and governance mechanisms in the field of sustainable development, and in exploring new forms of governance that better secure a transition to sustainable production and consumption. A defining characteristic of the department is a high degree of multidisciplinarity within the social sciences that brings together experts from international relations, law, management studies, philosophy and religion, political science, policy studies, public administration, and psychology. The department is also characterised by a successful combination of high-quality fundamental research in long-term research projects, with practical relevance and policy advice to decision-makers, as well as by a strong integration into European and international networks. In the 2007 national research evaluation 'Environmental Sciences', the group was evaluated as the top department in the Netherlands in the field of 'environmental economics, sociology and policy', and 'internationally at the forefront'.

Within the Earth System Governance Project, the Department of Environmental Policy Analysis at IVM plans to contribute research on all five Analytical Themes identified in the Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project, with particular emphasis on the analytical themes of Architecture; Agency; and Adaptiveness. Regarding the four Flagships Activities of the Earth System Governance Project, we have a large number of research projects that focus on climate governance, food governance, and water governance.