Ad Hoc Design Intern

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is hiring a Design Intern on a retainer basis to provide ad hoc support (up to 10 hours in a given week) designing policy briefs, reports, visualizations, and other outputs that help CEGA communicate its work and impact. The paid internship will run for the 2026–2027 academic year.

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 is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion—please read our values statement here.

Position Overview

On an ad hoc basis, the intern will assist in the development and design of multimedia and print collateral related to CEGA research, events, and organizational development. They will support various visual content creation tasks, including developing graphics for digital and print media, editing images, contributing to brainstorming sessions, and ultimately producing polished reports and briefs that adhere to branding guidelines and communicate the impact of our work. Examples include CEGA’s annual board book, 2-pagers, policy memos, and other reports. Reporting to the Strategic Communications Manager and Events Associate, the intern will have ample opportunity to work across the Center and with many CEGA staff. 

This is an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience applying design skills in a real-world professional setting; learn best practices, design workflows, and how to incorporate feedback from senior professionals; build a creative portfolio; and contribute to the day-to-day operations of a dynamic organization.

Hours and Compensation

Ad hoc work; up to 10 hours/week. CEGA compensates undergraduate student interns $23/hour and graduate student interns at $27/hour.

Location

Remote, with the option to work in our office in Berkeley, CA (Giannini Hall) if desired.

Duration

Fall 2026 - Spring 2027 Academic Year (with the possibility of extension pending performance and availability)

Start Date

October (negotiable)

Responsibilities

• Output Development: Use design software like Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop) and others to produce polished reports, briefs, graphics, and other outputs as assigned.
• Visual Asset Creation: Assist in the creation of graphics for social media, websites, marketing materials, and presentations, using CEGA brand, photo, and language guidelines. 
• Brainstorming: Participate in idea generation and contribute innovative perspectives to design projects. 
• Collaboration: Work closely with supervisor, the Director of Operations, and other CEGA staff to develop creative concepts and execute projects. 
• Brand Consistency: Help maintain brand guidelines and ensure all designs adhere to CEGA standards. 
• Project Support: Manage and organize design files, prepare presentations, and mockups. 

Qualifications

• UC Berkeley student (work-study preferred but not required)
• Design Software Proficiency: High-level proficiency in design software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Figma, and more. 
• WordPress Proficiency: Hands-on experience with WordPress website management, including page layout editing, block editors/builders, media asset management, and web design best practices.
• Creativity and Detail: Possess strong attention to detail, creativity, and the ability to generate unique design concepts. Exceptional design and data visualization savvy.
• Communication: Exceptional communication skills to articulate design needs and effectively describe updates and achievements. Ability to receive and implement feedback well.
• Organizational Skills: Strong time management, planning, and organizational skills to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines. Ability to manage a time-sensitive workflow while maintaining accuracy with details. Strong ability to anticipate, plan, prioritize, and meet deadlines.
• Self-Motivation: A self-starter who is eager to learn and can work independently to complete assigned tasks. Flexible and able to adapt to changes in workflow.

Nice to have:

• Experience with MailChimp, Eventbrite, Tableau, Salesforce, and other digital applications
• Subject Matter Expertise: Exposure to development economics, social science research, and/or policy-making

How to Apply:

Please submit your application here on Submittable . You’ll need to provide a resumé, brief statement of interest, and a design portfolio (no more than 3 pieces/examples). Applications that are incomplete or do not follow the stated instructions will not be considered.

Application deadline: Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

OVERVIEW

CEGA’s Global Networks program invites joint proposals from CEGA Fellows and CEGA Affiliates to conduct policy or programmatically-relevant impact evaluations in East and West Africa. 

A total of $200,000 in research funding will be awarded to 3-4 projects. Individual projects may request up to $67,000. 

Proposed studies must use a rigorous research design capable of identifying causal effects and must demonstrate that the project can be successfully implemented. Priority may be given to extensions of CEGA-funded pilot grants. 

We prioritize research that addresses important questions with the potential to advance knowledge and inform policy or programmatic decision-making. Competitive proposals should articulate both the broader significance and innovation of the research question and its relevance to the specific policy or programmatic context in which the study will be conducted.

We particularly encourage projects that are developed in collaboration with an end user of the evidence, such as a government agency, policymaker, or implementing organization, and that respond to a concrete policy or programmatic need. Applicants should describe how the proposed research is connected to partner priorities and how the collaboration will extend beyond study implementation to support the use of evidence and strengthen institutional capacity. Letters of support from key stakeholders can be submitted to document this engagement and commitment.

Proposals must also demonstrate the viability of the intervention, program, or approach being studied. Applicants should provide sufficient detail and supporting evidence to establish that what is being evaluated is well developed, can be implemented as proposed, and is supported by partners with the capacity and commitment to carry it out. Purely qualitative or descriptive studies are not eligible for funding.

Eligibility: 

We will award teams of scholars made up of at least one CEGA fellow (see here) and at least one CEGA affiliate (see here). Please see the accompanying “Global Networks Co-Authorship Statement,” which lays out expectations for collaboration between the CEGA fellow and CEGA Affiliate. We will accept proposals from PhD students if a CEGA Affiliate sponsors the study. 

Applications will be accepted for research conducted in any of the following countries: Benin, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Applications must be in English.

Proposal Materials Required:

1. Research Proposal - please adapt this template (go to File → Make a Copy)               
   1. Budget Narrative (example)
   2. Budget (Excel sheet): This document must be completed in its entirety using the accompanying excel sheet

    

Call for Speakers for the 2027 BITSS Annual Meeting

The  Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) will hold its 15th Annual Meeting on Friday, February 26, 2027 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 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 and changes in academic publishing;
• 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;
• Role of AI in research transparency;
• Other policy-relevant research.

Eligible projects include completed works, work in progress, and prospective work. All submissions are due by Sunday, November 1, 2026 (11:59 PM Pacific Time).   

Contact 

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