The vision of Policy Lab is a just, ecologically sustainable, democratic and peaceful world, where economic and social systems are aligned with ecological limits and the needs of communities.
ABOUT POLICY LAB
VISION
MISSION
Policy Lab, an independent and non-profit a think-and-act tank, has a mission to change the dominance of GDP as the sole policy objective that fuels social inequality and ecological extraction, and to create collaborative spaces for research, political action and inspiration to create systemic change.
UNDERSTANDING DEGROWTH
Degrowth as a Transition and Post-growth as a Destination
In the midst of global polycrises, Policy Lab is committed to degrowth – a deliberate shift away from the GDP-driven economy as the sole policy metric towards one in which prosperity thrives without expansion. This approach, fundamentally different from recession, aims to stabilise the economy to prevent ecological collapse, address climate change and improve social well-being.
Unlike individual corporate efforts, which fall short, degrowth requires systemic change and advocates:
- Reducing sectors such as fossil fuels and fast fashion.
- Improving public services and introducing a green jobs guarantee.
- Shorter workweeks to promote community engagement and personal well-being.
Globally, we are witnessing important shifts in our understanding of progress and development. 74% of people in the G20 countries said they want national economic priorities to move beyond increasing profits and wealth to focus more on human well-being and protecting the environment.
Policy Lab is at the forefront of this paradigm shift, advocating a degrowth model that respects our ecological limits while ensuring everyone has access to the necessities of life.
PEOPLE
Policy Lab is a fresh, forward-thinking organisation founded by Ajda K. Pistotnik and Aljoša Slameršak, a passionate duo dedicated to shaping the future of policy-making.
Our team may be small at the moment, but we are committed to making a significant impact in the world of social-ecological transformation.
With aspirations for expansion on the horizon, stay tuned as we grow and welcome new members to our team in the coming months.
Ajda K. Pistotnik is the co-founder and director of Policy Lab, a think-and-act organisation advancing degrowth and post-growth transformations in Slovenia and beyond. Her work focuses on building political, research, and community infrastructures that challenge growth-dependent economies and open space for more just and ecologically grounded alternatives.
She is also a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) for the 2025–2030 mandate, where she represents Slovenian civil society organisations at the EU level.
She leads Policy Lab’s Beyond GDP programme and contributes to the Horizon Europe GreenPaths project, a knowledge hub for green and just transitions. Her research and advocacy focus on land politics, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the role of financial systems, debt, and global inequalities in shaping ecological and social outcomes. She works on reframing land as a political question—linked to power, access, and justice—as reflected in Policy Lab’s work on land and the just transition.
Ajda is a organiser of the International Degrowth Political School, a space for building political capacity and alliances across Europe. She has contributed to the degrowth movement through research, translations, editorial work, and organising, including her involvement in the 2016 International Degrowth Conference in Budapest.
Her earlier work on debt politics led her to advocate for debt audit and cancellation at international forums such as the G20 in Hamburg, UNCTAD in Nairobi, and the IMF Annual Meetings in Lima. Today, her work connects these systemic questions with concrete policy processes, participatory governance, and grassroots organising.
Aljoša Slameršak, PhD, is a co-founder and consultant at Policy Lab, working at the intersection of degrowth, energy systems, and ecological economics. His work focuses on the biophysical limits to growth and their implications for a just and low-carbon transition.
He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at ICTA-UAB and part of the European Research Council–funded REAL project, which develops policy and modelling frameworks for post-growth transformations that enable well-being within planetary boundaries. He also serves as Secretary of Research & Degrowth International, a global network advancing research and advocacy on post-growth transitions.
His doctoral research, The end of energy abundance: Embracing biophysical limits to a low-carbon energy transition, examined how declining energy availability and material constraints reshape the possibilities for decarbonisation. Building on this, his research explores pathways that combine rapid emissions reductions with lower energy demand, global justice, and improved human well-being.
Aljoša has published in leading international journals, including Nature Climate Change, Nature Communications, One Earth, and The Lancet Planetary Health. His work challenges dominant assumptions in climate modelling by foregrounding sufficiency, reduced energy use, and equitable North–South convergence as central conditions for a viable transition.
Beyond academia, he contributes to public debate through media, commentary, and podcasts, engaging with the political and social dimensions of the climate crisis and post-growth transformation.
Blaz Kosovel, PhD, is a Policy Lab Consultant who specialises in cultural studies. He has extensive experience as an independent researcher, editor of the quarterly journal ‘Razpotja’ (Crossroads), and cultural worker.
The author of ‘Why the US never had a Department of Culture‘ and a contributor to ‘The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream‘. His research covers intellectual and social history, as well as the cultural and urban geography of Western societies.
As part of the Nova Gorica 2025 European Capital of Culture project, Kosovel’s project Ab Initio – an Urban Utopia explores modern new towns, their history, urbanism, and future challenges. A Fulbright Scholar at the City University of New York in 2013, Kosovel is a valuable addition to our interdisciplinary team.
Tomaž Zaniuk is a communications and advocacy strategist working at the intersection of culture, media, and political change.
He is a columnist and the former director and editor-in-chief of Radio Študent Ljubljana, one of Europe’s longest-standing independent radio stations. He has also worked as an expert associate at Asociacija, supporting NGOs in the field of culture. His work included analyses of public funding mechanisms and commentary on draft laws and policy developments in the areas of culture, creative industries, community media, and broader socio-economic transformation.
He is actively engaged in advocacy for a stronger role of civil society in policymaking, including contributions to initiatives such as the public call to decision-makers to ensure the systemic inclusion of civil society in decision-making processes.
He co-authored Brez nagobčnika. Radio Študent – od leta 1969 / Uncensored: Radio Student – Since 1969 (Mladinska knjiga, 2023), and contributed an analysis of Slovenia’s 2026 parliamentary election campaign for the Green European Journal, titled “Slovenia’s Choice Has High Stakes for Europe.”
Ela Bolčič…
Jošt Derlink has joined Policy Lab in 2026 as a Project Coordinator. He brings over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, working at the intersection of participatory urban development, cultural production, and everyday sustainability, including collaborations with organisations such as Prostorož and Beletrina.
ADVISORY BOARD
GUIDING OUR POST-GROWTH VISION
As a Think Tank for a post-growth future, Policy Lab collaborates actively with respected international intellectuals, representing a rich history of progressive activism and scholarship, nurturing a dynamic exchange of ideas. Collectively, we navigate the complexities of societal change and work towards a just and sustainable future.
We’re honoured to have Professor Julia K. Steinberger, a prominent figure in the field of Societal Challenges of Climate Change at the University of Lausanne, on our Advisory Board, leading our commitment to innovative and sustainable solutions. A lead author of the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report with Working Group 3, Prof Steinberger has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Climate Change and Nature Sustainability. In particular, her groundbreaking research project ‘Living Well Within Limits’ won her the prestigious Leverhulme Research Leadership Award, underlining her commitment to exploring universal human well-being within planetary boundaries.
We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Mladen Domazet to Policy Lab’s esteemed Advisory Board. Dr. Domazet is a graduate of Oxford and Zagreb universities. His expertise spans theories of scientific explanation, degrowth-compatible frameworks for social transformation, and the societal attitudes crucial for sustainability. A dynamic contributor to the field, Dr. Domazet has played vital roles in organizing the 6th and 9th International Degrowth Conferences. Currently immersed in research on sustainability and degrowth dispositions within small semiperipheral societies, he explores the potential for ecological transformation in Europe.
All the efforts we invest in the green transition, diversification and achieving the sustainable development goals will not yield the desired results if we do not start abandoning the prevailing model of constant economic growth. Only the search for new models, such as degrowth, can enable further development that will not endanger natural and human capital. I wish the Slovenian Policy Lab success in raising awareness for change.
J0BS AND INTERNSHIPS
Iščemo sodelavko, sodelavca za projektno delo
Si motiviran, organiziran in imaš izkušnje s koordiniranjem in spremljanjem projektnih aktivnosti? Si želiš sodelovati pri oblikovanju pravičnejših družbenih in ekonomskih sistemov? Če te privlači ustvarjanje projektov, ki se osredotočajo na koncepte, kot so odrast, okoljska pravičnost in družbena solidarnost in vidiš projektno delo kot ključno orodje za družbene spremembe, se pridruži Policy Lab kot projektni sodelavec!
POGOJI
– Vsaj 3 leta delovnih izkušenj s projektnim delom in sodelovanje s projektnimi (mednarodnimi) partnerji (izkušnje s koordiniranjem ali vodenjem projektov).
– Odlično znanje slovenskega in angleškega jezika.
TIP ZAPOSLITVE
– Redna zaposlitev ali delo prek s.p.: vsaj za 1 leto, krajši (60%) delovni čas: 24 ur/teden, plačilo 1.300,00 EUR bruto/mesec.
