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Il s'agit d'un contrat de 24 mois en économie intitulé “Performance of water supply services and multi-objective asset management: contribution of the cost-benefit analysis”. L'Irstea UR ETBX (Cestas) est le laboratoire d'accueil. Début du contrat espéré : 1er avril 2019Voici ci-dessous le descriptif du poste, profil attendu et projet :Under theproject “Gestion patrimoniale des réseaux d’eau potable pour préserver laqualité de l’eau et réduire les pertes – Renouvellement Orienté desCanalisations (ROC)” funded by the Région Nouvelle Aquitaine, the Agence del’eau Loire-Bretagne and the Agence de l’eau Adour-Garonne, Irstea offers a24-month postdoctoral position in economics from April 1, 2019.Drinkingwater networks are a high value asset with a long service life; theirmanagement must thus adopt a long-term approach and adapting to changes in theirenvironment, mainly connected to global change and new technologies. The key challengeof this “asset management” is the annual renewal of a small portion of pipelines,in order to mitigate the effects of ageing on their performances, and toprevent the deterioration of the quality of service. It thus concernstechnical, organisational (service), economic and financial (costs and benefits),environmental (resources) and societal (territorial governance, users) issues,which call for interdisciplinary answers enlisting engineering, mathematics andsocial sciences.In thiscontext, the ROC project aims to develop tools and methods allowing potablewater distribution system authorities to build asset management strategiesoriented towards limiting water loss and safeguarding water quality. The studysites are located in the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine.Today,health risks (in particular linked to the presence of Vinyl Chloride Monomer(VCM) in PVC pipes) and the limitation of water loss are usually driving the decisionregarding water pipes renewal. However, the methodological reflection remainsfocused on risks of service interruptions and impacts of malfunctions on theurban environment. And it is mainly based on multi-criteria decision-making. Amajor challenge for research thus lies in taking into account the otherdimensions of the performance of water supply service, namely integrity of thenetwork (resource protection) and water quality (among which the issue of CVM).This is especially true since, in most cases, actions undertaken to satisfy oneaxis of performance are sub-optimal for the others. It appears that technicalsciences are able to generate new knowledge on each axis taken separately.However, their integration, which is an operational necessity, requires a morecomplete picture on the issue and the resort of economics. To achieve thisgoal, we propose to use a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), which seems to allowtaking into account the multi-objectives character of asset management.The postdoctoralstudent will lead the CBA in order to compare three asset management strategiesleading to the same amount of work but each focussing on one specific dimensionof service performance (water quality; service continuity and protection of theurban environment, that is to say prevention against breakages; limitation ofwater loss), while considering the water price. More precisely, the postdoctoralstudent will have to:Convey the state of the art and best practices in the economic analysisof the performance of drinking water supply services;Contributeto building the research question, in link with the scientific objectives ofthe project;Define the datacollection protocol, taking into account the existing literature and recentmethodological developments in the area;Conduct theCBA and analyse the results;Contribute to the dissemination of those results.Profile for the ideal candidatePh.D. in economicsMastery of the quantitative techniques (statistics and econometrics) andof dedicated softwareExperience in fields surveysFamiliarity with monetary valuation methodsInterest in the issues of water managementAutonomyOral and drafting skills in French and EnglishAptitude for team work and interdisciplinarityPractical informationDuration of the contract: 24 months. Expected starting period: April 1,2019Salary: around €2,850 bruts per month (according to the EPST salaryscheme)The position is based in Cestas, France (Irstea, UR ETBX). Travels areexpected in France and abroad (associated expenses will be covered)Conditions and application procedureYourpre-selection application should include a CV and an up-to-two-page coverletter describing your interest in the subject and a post-doctoral researchproject on the basis of the information provided above. An initial selectionfrom the applications received will be made; a hearing will then be organised.Applicationsshould be submitted by email to Bénédicte Rulleau (benedicte.rulleau@irstea.fr)before 6 January 2019.