dr. SI (Sylvia) Bergh

Biography

I am an associate professor in development management and governance at the International Institute of Social Studies, part of Erasmus University Rotterdam, where I focus on PhD and MA thesis supervision. I am also a senior researcher at Centre of Expertise on Global and Inclusive Learning at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where I also work with the Research Groups Multilevel Regulation and Sustainable Talent Development. From this position, I am co-leading the university-wide research line on Climate Justice, and am seconded to the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science as a Science Fellow.

I completed both my MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies and DPhil in Development Studies at the University of Oxford, having previously obtained an MA degree in Arabic and International Relations from the University of St Andrews (Scotland). Before my academic career, I worked at the World Bank, both in Washington D.C. and in the Morocco country office. Following my PhD thesis on local governance and state–society relations in Morocco,  I have published widely on this and related topics in the context of the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond.

While I am still active in this research field, I am since 2020 building up four additional research lines: 

First, I am working on adaptation to heatwaves and extreme heat from a governance perspective. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, silently killing thousands of vulnerable people around the world every year. I strongly believe that adaptation to the effects of heatwaves requires collective action at various governance levels, and attention to cooling and energy needs. In 2021, I led a research project funded by the municipality of The Hague on the effects of climate change on vulnerable population groups in The Hague, as well as the policy response to this issue. I have built on this experience through a research project that stress-tested the greening plans of Vlaardingen municipality, and a large NWA-ORC funded project on climate change adaptation in Africa (CLIMARES, in which I focus on precarious urban outdoor labour and extreme heat).

Second, and connected to this, I’m also interested in the energy transition needed to deal with increased heat levels and moving towards net zero. In particular, I am studying governance and human capital issues around green hydrogen (through an Embassy Science Fellowship in Morocco and a large NWO-funded project focusing on the green hydrogen sector in The Netherlands).

Third, I am interested in what climate change means for policing tasks, and in the (new) environmental crimes that emerge as part of the sustainability transition (through a grant from Politie & Wetenschap). Going forward, I would like to link these topics to my expertise on Artificial Intelligence and public safety which I gained as a member of the AI Multi‐Agency Public Safety Issues (AI-MAPS) ELSA lab and a NWO/KIC-granted project on learning communities in the public safety and cybersecurity sector, as well as several academic publications.

Finally, I have led a research project on the ‘soft’ or ‘cross-cutting’ skills that future professionals need to have in order to contribute to the SDGs and just transitions, and the implications for (practice-oriented) education programs. I have also contributed to a human capital roadmap for the Flemish climate adaptation plan, and am actively exploring ways to build on this work through on-going grant applications and MA & PhD supervisions.

In my research, I am able to draw on my substantial teaching and thesis supervision experience at BA, MA, and PhD levels in the areas of political science, governance, and public policy & management (including evaluation). This experience allows me to approach these pressing issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and using a range of research methods. I find it important to listen to the research needs of actors on the ground, to co-create and co-design outputs and solutions with them, as well as to engage my extensive networks in government, NGOs, and international donors to disseminate them and influence policy at various governance levels. I am fluent in English and Dutch as well as a number of additional languages.

Are you interested in doing research on these topics with me? I have (limited) availability for new PhD supervisions and I am keen on setting up international research collaborations. Please get in touch at bergh@iss.nl.