Sonja Nielsen

Sonja's doctoral research examines the role of knowledge co-production in environmental governance, focusing empirically on transition arenas in Finland as structured co-production interventions. While co-production is widely promoted as a means to produce legitimate, robust, and policy-relevant knowledge to guide decisionmaking, empirical evidence regarding its societal outcomes, institutional embedding, and political implications remains limited. Sonja's research interests lie in the intersection(s) of environmental governance, science and technology studies (STS), and participatory design. Pursuing a a double-degree PhD between the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University and the Department of Design at Aalto University supports the interdisciplinary research aims of her thesis.

She conducts her research as part of Experimental environmental governance: coproduction and orchestration of transformative change (EE-GOCO) consortium of Aalto University and the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) funded by the Research Council of Finland. She is also part of Reducing polarization via material participation (Material Democracy) consortium, which develops ways to improve participation in the formulation and implementation of Finland’s environmental and energy policies, aiming to widen and open participation in a manner that also benefits policymaking and democracy. The consortium is funded by the Strategic Resource Council (SRC) and includes Aalto University, University of Helsinki, University of Eastern Finland, LUT University, and Demos Helsinki.

Before starting her doctoral studies, Sonja worked as a senior designer and sustainability specialist in several consultancies, collaborating with public and private sector organizations on various development projects. Sonja pursued her Master's degree in the transdisciplinary Creative Sustainability Master's program at Aalto University, before which she studied at Lund University, Emily Carr University of Art+Design, and University of Helsinki. Sonja's educational background combines sustainability science, transitions research, service and industrial design, and environmental economics.