CEGA’s Global Networks program invites proposals from East and West African investigators, in collaboration with CEGA-affiliated faculty, for the rigorous evaluation of programs and policies designed to reduce poverty in their home regions. A total of $210,000 in research funding will be awarded to 3-4 projects with budgets up to $70,000. The period of performance for this grant is December 1st 2023 to December 1st 2024. 

Eligibility: Research teams must have two lead investigators – a CEGA affiliate or invited researcher from Northwestern University, and an East or West African scholar (with preference given to alumni of CEGA’s East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) or Development Impact West Africa (DIWA) fellowship programs). Graduate students are welcome to apply as the CEGA/Northwestern PI if they are sponsored by an eligible faculty member. Other co-investigators may be brought on, but funding can be disbursed to a maximum of two institutions per grant. 

Please see more details and follow the instructions in the Request for Proposals (RFP) here.

Background: 

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is a hub for research, training, and innovation headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley. We generate insights that leaders can use to improve policies, programs, and people’s lives. Our academic network includes more than 150 faculty, 65 scholars from low- and middle-income countries, and hundreds of graduate students–from across academic disciplines and across the globe–that produce rigorous evidence about what works to expand education, health, and economic opportunities for people living in poverty. 

CEGA’s Global Networks program invests in research capacity building that empowers low- and middle-income (LMIC) scholars to become knowledge-generators in their home countries and regions. Through semester-long fellowships at UC Berkeley [i.e. the East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative], scholars audit development economics courses, present their work at seminars, apply to competitive funding opportunities, receive faculty and peer mentorship, and network with faculty and students across the CEGA network. Global Networks also offers opportunities for LMIC scholars to engage remotely through the CEGA Non-Resident Fellowship.

In addition, the Global Networks team organizes conferences to disseminate locally-generated research, connects fellows with policy makers and other partners, and hosts events for LMIC scholars to deliver and receive feedback on working papers [i.e.the Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE)]. Other initiatives in our portfolio include: the Collaboration for Inclusive Development Research (CIDR) and Development Impact West Africa (DIWA).

We are recruiting an intern who will primarily support Global Networks, across initiatives, with documenting and auditing programmatic impacts, through the use of Salesforce. 

The Role: 

This is an opportunity for a senior undergraduate or graduate student to work part time (approximately 12 hours per week) from October 2nd  to December 20th. Extension into the second semester of internship will be contingent upon successful completion of the tasks outlined below. 

Interns should be based in the Bay Area and able to work a hybrid schedule (mix of in-person ~1-2x per week and remote).

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Evaluation and CRM management: 
  • Salesforce uploads of events, event attendees, information on CEGA Fellows, and key stakeholders
  • Support additional program monitoring and evaluation, including grant management and tracking of impacts (predominantly in Salesforce)

   

• Event Support (WGAPE and the Africa Evidence Summit) 
  • Support the pre-logistics of the 2024 WGAPE Annual Meeting in Accra, Ghana (e.g. preparing paper submissions for review, coordinating with institutional partners and vendors in Ghana) 
  • Support strategic fundraising by creating a database of potential donors to expand WGAPE’s breadth and impact 
  • Support event pre-logistics for the 2024 Africa Evidence Summit

   

• Communications 
  • Communications management for select project descriptions and input into Wordpress
  • Support Global Networks broad communications tasks by researching opportunities for the monthly newsletter and maintaining Global Network webpages with updates from grantees
  • Build the organizational network and global presence through targeted outreach, including managing LinkedIn groups and Mailchimp listservs 
  • Assist with miscellaneous program administration tasks as they arise

   

Required Qualifications:

• Senior Undergraduate Student or Graduate Student studying global development, social science, public policy, or other relevant field.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong ability to anticipate, plan, prioritize, and meet deadlines. 
• Experience working in Salesforce

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working with cross-functional and multicultural teams
• Excellent attention to detail
• Self-directed and intrinsically motivated worker with proven capacity to support multiple projects at once, and be responsive to time-sensitive deadlines.
• Knowledge of Wordpress and Mailchimp
• Experience with event planning, social media, communications, design skills
• Commitment to scientific, evidence-led international development policy and capacity building in low-income countries
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to change
• Sense of humor with a positive attitude

Compensation

CEGA compensates undergraduate interns (i.e., undergraduate students, bachelor degree holders, or equivalent) at $21/hour and graduate student interns (graduate students, graduate degree holders, or equivalent) at $26/hour.

Duration

Approx dates: October 2nd-December 20th, with the possibility of extension through Spring 2024.

To Apply:

Please submit a one-page cover letter and CV as one PDF with the naming convention “LastName_FirstName_GNInternF23”.  

The first review of applications will occur on September 25th. 

Please apply before then to be considered in our review.

Request for Proposals: Catalyst Grants for Advancing Transparent, Reproducible, and Ethical Research
 

Quick Reference
 

• Proposed Award Budget: Between $1,000 and $10,00 for projects led by anyone who meets the eligibility criteria
• Average Award Size: Between $2,000 - $5,000
• Eligibility: Participants from all past Research Transparency and Reproducibility Trainings (RT2) and existing Catalysts.
• Submission requirements: Complete this Submittable form by 11:59 pm PT on Sunday, December 3, 2023 (attachments may also be sent via the form).
• Expected performance period: January 2024 - June 2024
• Full RFP: Read the full Request for Proposals here.

Summary
 The Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) invites 2023 RT2 participants and all Catalysts who have participated in a Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) to submit proposals for training or organizing projects. These may include developing and delivering new curriculum, workshops, training materials, or convenings to advance transparency, reproducibility, and ethics capacity in social science research.

A total of $23,000 is available for this call. Awards will be based on quality and expected impact, as well as the diversity of project leads, intended audiences and beneficiaries, and approaches. In light of circumstances related to COVID-19, we expect to make several small awards that will leverage approaches and opportunities to develop or deliver training virtually. In-person activities may be considered when appropriate safety precautions are taken given institutional contexts. We strongly encourage proposals from early career researchers—especially those who have not received a BITSS Catalyst grant in the past. We also encourage submissions that leverage teaching topics introduced at RT2 and use resources developed by BITSS (e.g., the Social Science Prediction Platform, the Social Science Reproduction Platform) and past Catalyst projects, or work to translate these topics for disciplines or sectors underrepresented at RT2.

Scope for Catalyst Projects 

Funding will be primarily directed to projects that advance the teaching, conduct, or publishing of transparent, reproducible, and ethical social science research. These projects will be focused on, but not limited to, one or more social science disciplines, including economics, political science, public health, psychology, and sociology. Project deliverables must be completed by June 30, 2024.