ESRC White Rose DTP Collaborative Award
The ESRC WRDTP Collaborative Awards are PhD studentships set up in collaboration with partners in the private, public or third sectors.
For October 2025 entry, the University of Sheffield and ESRC White Rose DTP are pleased to offer two collaborative PhD opportunities:
Welfare and distributional effects of energy-affordability and debt: Consumer policy beyond the energy crisis with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem)
This exciting PhD studentship is based at the University of Sheffield’s School of Economics. The student will work in close partnership with the UK’s energy regulator (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, Ofgem) and the UK’s national fuel poverty charity (National Energy Action, NEA). A 3-month Research in Practice placement will be provided at Ofgem’s Headquarters (London)This studentship will focus on affordability and debt in the UK energy sector. The research will draw on theoretical and econometric methods to investigate the welfare effects and distributional makeup of household energy-debt/arrears. The research could further explore whether/which households take up support to install “win-win” technologies, ensuring more affordable and sustainable energy consumption. It will use data sources such as Understanding Society and the Smart Energy Research Lab. Its findings will provide policymakers and practitioners with evidence to design policies optimally to address the dual challenge of energy-affordability and energy-debt/arrears.
Developing a Democratic Culture of Voice and Participation for Employee-owned Businesses (EOBs): A Critical Action Research Approach with GLIDE (Growth Led Innovation Driven Employee) Company
This exciting research opportunity will contribute to developing an effective and sustainable model of democratic culture of voice and participation for Employee-Owned Businesses (EOBs). It will take the form of a collaborative doctorate which will involve working with scholars at Sheffield University Management School and GLIDE – a group of EOBs located in Sheffield, UK. Through a critical action research approach that involves working with employees within two selected members of GLIDE you will co-design methods (interview questions, surveys, observation) and interventions (e.g. an EOB “voice” program) that enable a deeper understanding of the possibilities and tensions of developing a democratic culture in EOBs. The findings will have transferable lessons across the EOB sector, driving sustainable economic growth and productivity in a way that prioritises the health and well-being of employees. The project thus responds to calls for an interventionist and engaged approach within management studies whilst exploring democratic working practices that have the potential to transform working relationships by shifting ownership and control into the hands of workers, creating opportunities for them to learn to negotiate power and voice.