The Population and Just Societies Program (POPJUS) focuses on major societal challenges and delivers insights into current and future population sizes, structures, and distributions that are fundamental to understanding human impacts on ecosystems and simultaneously, the impact of environmental changes on populations.

The POPJUS Program’s research agenda centers around identifying sustainable development challenges and exploring people-centric systems solutions for sustainable, resilient, just and equitable societies. In doing so, the program builds on existing strengths and expertise in population and human capital modeling as well as expertise in understanding, managing, and equitably governing systemic and existential risks associated with global change. The program strives to continuously advance its methods, approaches, and data to deliver results that can be incorporated into system analytical models, inclusive policy processes, and ultimately into equitable and effective policy pathways and transformations.

If you have any questions, please contact the POPJUS YSSP coordinators Guillaume Marois and Elliott Woodhouse.

The Equity and Justice (EQU) Research Group conducts inter- and transdisciplinary research at local, regional and global level with the aim to co-produce and co-design a space for sustainable and fair solutions to the grand challenges of our times. Together with our YSSP students, we set out to identify and understand these ethical challenges and related potential conflicts in order to support the design and implementation of politically feasible policy measures.

Early career researchers joining the EQU Research Group in the POPJUS Program have the chance to work in a dynamic interdisciplinary team of social scientists, economists, geographers, systems analysts, and ethicists who are motivated to integrate justice considerations into systems analysis and a wide array of sustainability and risk governance issues.

Applications are especially welcome from YSSP candidates focused on:

  • Justice considerations and socioeconomic and governance challenges in (climate) risk management
  • Governance of climate change adaptation and mitigation
  • Co-production in sustainability research, climate policy and risk management
  • The politics and ethical challenges in the context of Losses and Damages from Climate Change

Here you can read more about your YSSP in the EQU Research Group.

Examples of past YSSP research:

The Migration and Sustainable Development (MIG) Research Group applies advanced data collection and estimation methods to quantify and understand the trends, drivers, and impacts of various types of migration, with a focus on their interactions with the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

The group employs innovative approaches to provide comprehensive estimates of internal and international migration and its underlying factors at global, national, and sub-national levels. A key focus of the group’s research is exploring how climate change and environmental factors influence migration patterns, how these effects vary across regions and population subgroups, and identifying common drivers of vulnerability.

We especially welcome applications from YSSP candidates who are interested in: 

  • Estimating and forecasting migration across different scales
  • Analyzing the impact of climate, environmental, economic, and geopolitical disruptions on migration 
  • Advancing models of interconnected migration drivers using novel data sources 
  • Understanding the causes of immobility in different contexts
  • Exploring the implications of migration for communities in both origin and destination areas 

Examples of past YSSP research: 

The Multidimensional Demographic Modeling (MDM) Research Group aims through its research, to advance demographic modeling methods to assess and forecast population dynamics with a focus on demographic and spatial heterogeneity under different socioeconomic scenarios at the global, national, and sub-national levels.

The group has a strong focus on population forecasting using a scenario-based approach allowing for aligning future demographic components with socioeconomic scenarios such as the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). The group also carries out innovative, policy-relevant research at the local and regional level, for instance, assessing social vulnerability to COVID-19 at a small spatial scale.

We particularly encourage applications from YSSP candidates with an interest in: 

  • Population projections, including multidimensional population modeling, subnational population projections, downscaling and spatial projections, household projections, scenario and assumptions making, etc. 
  • Exposure and vulnerability of populations to current and future climate, environmental, and geopolitical changes. 

Examples of past YSSP research:

The Social Cohesion, Health, and Wellbeing (SHAW) Research Group is an interdisciplinary research group spanning health economics, demography, health systems and psychology. We are committed to conducting and supporting rigorous research that increases our understanding of the drivers of health across the life course, and of health systems performance, and informs policies to improve health outcomes, mitigate disparities, and foster sustainability and resilience to shocks.  A key focus of our work is understanding how heterogeneities in the characteristics of the population and their local context shape health and wellbeing outcomes across the life course.

More generally, we encourage applications which consider the effects of climate change, environmental factors and other transnational shocks on health and wellbeing across the lifecourse; and on health systems (the people, institutions, and resources that deliver and ensure access to services to meet population health needs); how we can measure resilience for health and health systems; and evaluations of the effects on health/wellbeing and health systems of mitigation and adaptation policy, and other health policies or programs.

We are especially interested in receiving YSSP students focusing on areas of relevance to the following projects:

  • Cognitive health in aging society – The role of context for cognitive functioning and related policy implications in Europe (CHIAS)
  • Building resilience to floods & heat in the maternal and child health system in Brazil and Zambia (REACH)   

Examples of past YSSP research: