Research Intern (ASAP)

Location: Berkeley, CA

Duration: 4 months (with the possibility of extension pending performance and budget)

Position Type: Paid, Part-time, 10 hours/week

Start Date: ASAP

Professor Manisha Shah at the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is hiring an Intern (10 hours/week) to support her research portfolio. The paid internship will start ASAP for about 4 months, with the possibility to renew depending on mutual agreement. 

About CEGA

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 decision-makers can use to improve policies, programs, and people’s lives. Our best-in-class academic network includes nearly 200 faculty, 80 scholars from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—primarily from East and West Africa—and hundreds of graduate students from diverse academic disciplines who produce rigorous evidence about what works to expand education, health, and economic opportunities for people living in poverty. Our business model involves curating policy-relevant research agendas in collaboration with development leaders, overseeing competitive grant-making to answer critical questions, investing in research capacity, and strategically connecting research and ideas to inform decision-making by governments, NGOs, and the private sector.

CEGA values diversity and seeks to include people from under-represented groups on our team. Read our values statement. 

Position Overview

The intern will work with Professor Shah on her various international development projects. The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills. They should possess strong organizational skills, attention to detail, the ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders, and a strong desire and willingness to learn new systems.

Responsibilities

Research

• Literature reviews and writing 
• Data analysis (ideally using STATA)
• Writing and editing surveys
• Assistance with other writing (grants, academic papers, etc.) and managing grants
• Engaging partners on international projects

Essential Qualifications

• UC Berkeley student (work-study preferred but not required)
• Exposure to development economics, social science research, and/or policy-making
• Familiarity with relevant tools and platforms, including Stata, Latex, and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience cleaning and analyzing data
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, hard worker

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite and graphic design
• Familiarity with coding languages such as R, Python, STATA
• Experience making slides

Compensation

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

How to Apply

To apply, submit an updated resume, cover letter, and transcript (unofficial is fine). Your cover letter should explain why your experience makes you the ideal candidate for this position, and should be no more than one page. 

Postdoc: Kenya Life Panel Study

Description

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley, seeks an outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar (postdoc) to support research projects in development economics in Kenya. The primary goal of this agenda is to assess the longer-term impact of interventions for poverty alleviation and to use data collected as part of these studies in creative ways to further scientific knowledge. The studies seek to publish credible, rigorous research findings in leading academic journals, and create actionable evidence for policymakers. 

This will include the Kenya Life Panel Study—a series of evaluations exploring the health, educational, and economic impacts of mass school-based deworming interventions in rural Kenya. The postdoc will report to CEGA’s co-Faculty Director Edward Miguel, and collaborate closely with CEGA Staff Scientist Michael Walker. There will be opportunities to assist with other Kenya-based projects of Professor Miguel and Dr. Walker. 

Key Responsibilities

The postdoc will collaborate with Professor Miguel, Michael Walker, and co-investigators in economics, demography, health, and political science from CEGA’s academic network on research projects based in Kenya. These projects typically involve original data collection, and the postdoc will collaborate in the design, analysis, and management of data collection. 

A core responsibility will be contributing to KLPS. In particular, they will contribute to the development of a new survey measuring the living standards, labor market activities, and well-being of respondents in midlife, and will bring innovative ideas on topics and measurement to combine with questions from the panel fielded in previous rounds. The position will also develop statistical models and analyses using Stata, R, and other software packages, and publish the resulting findings. The postdoc will work closely with and support a team of 5-10 research associates and student researchers, providing them with regular technical input and managing their workflow. The postdoc will develop strong relationships with Kenyan organizations and collaborators providing research support and data collection services, and provide oversight and advice to these organizations in meeting the objectives of the research agenda, including facilitating the use of evidence among key stakeholders. Other key responsibilities include: managing data-centric components (including analysis, review, and technical assistance) for collaborative research projects and case studies, including developing work plans and timelines to ensure that deliverables are completed on schedule; authoring research papers using empirical approaches and disseminating findings/best practices to academics, donors and policymakers through meetings and presentations; contributing to grant proposals, progress reports for current funding sources, and strategic planning and partnership development for research projects with relevant stakeholders.

The postdoc would be encouraged to spend 33% of their time on individual research pursuits.

Required qualification:

• A PhD in Economics, Statistics, Public Health, Political Science, or a related field at the time of starting the position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Existing research agenda, with record of academic publication, related to international development, evidence aggregation, and/or the design of randomized experiments.
• 1-3 years experience conducting empirical research on development topics, with an in-depth understanding of experimental design and analysis;
• 1-3 years experience and competency with statistical software packages (Stata, R, and/or Python) and data collection platforms (e.g., SurveyCTO), and ability to render accurate statistical analysis;
• 1-3 years experience translating complex material/research to broad, non-technical audiences;
• 1-3 years experience managing large research teams;
• Ability to independently investigate solutions to technical problems;
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills, with the ability to translate complex scientific findings into accessible, non-technical language (via publications or professional presentations);
• Ability to work well with teams, and communicate effectively with colleagues and faculty.
• Ability to interact with individuals at all levels in a fast-paced environment, sometimes under pressure, while remaining flexible, proactive, tactful, resourceful, and efficient, and with a high level of professionalism and confidentiality.

Appointment Duration, Salary, and Benefits

This is a two-year full-time position with the possibility of extension pending funding. Starting annual salary for this position is set at $90,000 and standard UC Berkeley postdoc benefits will be provided.

CV, cover letter, writing sample, PhD transcript

Start Date

Flexible start date (Feb 2025-June 2025) with preference for candidates who can begin earlier.

How to Apply

Please submit the following when applying:

• CV
• Cover Letter
• Copy of Your PhD
• Writing Sample 
• 3 academic references

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please note this position is eligible for US visa sponsorship via a J-1 academic visa.

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) invites African researchers interested in developing their skills in impact evaluation to apply for its Fellowship Program to be completed in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026. Selected researchers will audit coursework, develop skills in quantitative development research, access a personalized mentorship program to develop their research ideas, and build their research networks. Fellows will spend 16 weeks, either at UC Berkeley or at Northwestern University, in the United States.

For this upcoming call, interested applicants can apply to 1 of 3 research tracks: General Development Research, Early Childhood Development, or Youth Livelihoods.

ELIGIBILITY 

All applicants to the CEGA Fellowship Program must: 

• Be fluent in English (written and spoken), and a strong communicator. 
• Be from an East African or West African country and have completed secondary school education in an African institution.
• Be an early career scholar, as defined by recently having completed a Master’s degree or a PhD, or be currently enrolled in a PhD program in economics, political science, statistics, epidemiology/public health, education, or another social science discipline. Preference will be those who are currently enrolled or have finished their PhD within the last 8 years.  
• Have a current affiliation with a research institution (university or other research organization) in East or West Africa, preferably one that supports policy-relevant, quantitative social science research;
• Plan to return to a research or higher education institution in East or West Africa after the fellowship. If currently enrolled in a PhD program outside the African continent, scholars may complete their PhD before their return.

Additional criteria for applicants to the following tracks:

• Early Childhood Development (ECD) Track: Fellows in the ECD track will be supported to study the effectiveness of programs that support good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving, and opportunities for early learning—especially for children 0-3 years of age. For this track, we will prioritize fellows who are from and conducting relevant research in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Kenya.
• Youth Livelihoods Track: Fellows in the Youth Livelihoods track will study the effectiveness of programs designed to help young people (ages 16-24) find meaningful work by delivering education, skills training, and comprehensive support. For this track, we will prioritize fellows who are from and conducting relevant research in Kenya - especially in the city of Mombasa.

The application deadline is 5:00 PM GMT on January 17, 2025.

Call for Papers for the 2025 BITSS Annual Meeting

The Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) will hold its 13th Annual Meeting on Thursday, February 27 at UC Berkeley! This event is in-person only.

Program

The BITSS Annual Meeting brings together actors from academia, scholarly publishing, and policy to share novel research and discuss efforts to improve the credibility of social science by advancing research transparency, reproducibility, rigor, and ethics. The program will also feature presentations of meta-scientific work selected from this Call for Papers, as well as a keynote presentation.     

Call for Papers

We invite papers or long abstracts (500-1000 words) in all aspects of meta-science, including but not limited to work that assesses scientific practice, evaluates the credibility of bodies of social science literature, presents new tools or strategies to improve research transparency and reproducibility, or evaluates the effectiveness of existing tools. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Pre-registration and the use of pre-analysis plans;
• Disclosure and transparent reporting;
• Research ethics;
• Replicability and reproducibility;
• Peer review;
• Methods for detecting and reducing publication bias or data mining;
• The intersection of openness and inclusion in science;
• Assessment of the validity or reproducibility of literature;
• Meta-analysis and evidence synthesis;
• Open policy analysis;
• Transparency and reproducibility in COVID-19 or other policy-relevant research.

Eligible projects include completed works, work in progress, and prospective work. All submissions are due by Sunday, November 17, 2024 (11:59 PM Pacific Time). Notifications of acceptance will be sent by mid-December 2024.  

Contact  

Reach out to Jo Weech (jweech@berkeley.edu) with any questions about this event.

We offer two types of awards to support original research in Somaliland. $50,000 will be made available to all PhD Students and Faculty Affiliates at CEGA-Affiliated campuses:

(1) travel grants up to $5,000 for scoping and/or short-term fieldwork;

(2) seed grants up to $20,000 for extensive, longer-term projects.

The Pharo Foundation has generously provided funds to support original research in Somaliland. Preference will be given to proposals examining research ideas that connect to existing Pharo Foundation programs or initiatives. Specifically, CEGA and the Pharo Foundation are eager to support evaluations examining access to safe water and labor productivity in Somaliland. 

Proposed research must involve rigorous evaluation of programs or policies designed to alleviate poverty and promote social or economic development in low- and middle- income countries. Grant funds may be used to cover travel and lodging, data collection or access, data analysis, and related activities. Grants may not be used for researcher salaries nor for F&A/Overhead/Indirect Costs.

Researchers that have previously received CEGA funding are eligible for additional CEGA funding if they have completed requested retrospective surveys, interim and final reports, and/or other required deliverables.

Deadline: November 3, 2024 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Eligibility Criteria: Doctoral students and CEGA Faculty Affiliates can apply. For doctoral students, each application must include a nomination from a CEGA faculty affiliate sponsor. The nomination must be emailed to Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) by the submission deadline (simply stating, "I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to nominate the applicant for this award" is adequate). 

Application Process: Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a proposal describing the research (no more than 2 pages) and a budget. All materials must be submitted in a single PDF file through the appropriate link at our online portal, Submittable.

Please email Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) with any inquiries.