The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at the University of California, Berkeley and the Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) at Northwestern University are seeking motivated graduate students (who have completed a Master’s degree or who are enrolled in a PhD program) and early-career researchers (including PhD graduates and postdocs) to join DEVIDENCE, an ambitious project to synthesize academic research in international development.

This is an opportunity for individuals from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) who are interested in strengthening their capacity in experimental design & econometrics while collaborating with DEVIDENCE on extracting results and study-level information from published academic studies. The fellowship includes financial compensation and offers virtual trainings and materials on experimental design, data collection, interventions, and empirical specifications, as well as guest lectures from leading researchers in development economics, including Dean Karlan and Chris Udry from GPRL and Edward Miguel from CEGA, on topics including meta-analysis, evidence to policy translation, and research transparency.

About the DEVIDENCE Fellows Program

Research Development

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) at Northwestern University are seeking motivated early-career researchers and graduate students from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to join DEVIDENCE, an ambitious project to build a relational database of evidence from randomized evaluations in international development by leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to extract information on treatment effects, experimental design, sampling, compliance, attrition, study context, cost-effectiveness, and publication information from published research papers.

Work Experience

This is an opportunity for individuals who are interested in strengthening their capacity in experimental design & econometrics while collaborating with DEVIDENCE on extracting results and study-level information from published academic studies. Fellows validate and refine extracted data and inform model development by checking the accuracy of LLM-extracted results and study-level information, and helping surface important details the model may have missed. The initial set of papers spans entrepreneurship, education, nutrition, and agriculture. 

This is a fully remote, mostly asynchronous opportunity.  After a virtual training, fellows validate and code papers through our dedicated portal at their own pace, alongside office hours and ongoing guest lectures. Fellows are expected to commit for a six-month period of flexible working hours with the possibility of extension. In the first 6 months, Fellows are expected to validate at least 75 studies (3 per week).

Compensation

This fellowship is designed as a 6-month engagement, with the possibility of extension. Over this period, DEVIDENCE fellows will successfully process data from at least 75 academic papers, allowing for 1,000 papers total to be completed by the end of the first cohort (2026–2027). Fellows in the initial cohort will be compensated for the amount of data validation they complete on a per-study basis, and are eligible to receive a stipend of up to $3,000 USD for their time over the first six months. For anyone who is in the U.S. on a U.S. visa, please check with your academic office to see if you are eligible to receive financial compensation. 

Benefits include:

- Certificate from Northwestern upon completion of the program

-Targeted trainings from researchers at UC Berkeley and Northwestern

- Financial compensation on a per-study basis up to $3,000 for the six-month engagement

- Accelerated on-ramp to using DEVIDENCE data for your own research projects

- 1-year access to gated journals

- Public recognition for top contributors

Who Should Apply

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about rigorous research methods and international development. Ideal candidates include:

• English fluency (all papers are written in English).
• Early-career researchers who have completed at least a Master’s Degree. Current PhD students and recent PhD graduates are welcome to apply; we are looking for applicants who already have had some entry-level training in econometrics and impact evaluation design.
• Individuals with a strong understanding of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and impact evaluations. While the majority of the papers currently being processed by this project are in economics, we welcome social science researchers from multiple disciplines.

Deadline to submit papers is Sunday, December 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST. PacDev 2027 will take place on Saturday, March 13, 2027. It will be hosted by the University of British Columbia.

When submitting your paper, you will be asked to include the following:

• Title
• Author and co-author(s)’s name(s)
• Paper abstract
• Paper to upload as pdf file

Full papers and extended abstracts will be reviewed. If your paper is not selected for a presentation, it may be considered for the poster session. 

PacDev welcomes paper submissions in all research topics in development economics. Priority will be given to full papers, but extended abstracts will also be considered. Submissions from junior researchers are encouraged, including submissions for a Junior Researcher poster session that is open to doctoral students in their third year or below, masters students and graduates, and advanced undergraduates.

Please submit via this site by December 13, 2026. You will be notified of a decision by January 16, 2027.

BITSS Catalysts are academic faculty, graduate students, and other researchers across the quantitative social sciences—including economics, political science, and psychology— who are energized to improve standards of transparency, reproducibility, and ethics in research through infrastructure development, training, and advocacy.  While the past two decades have seen exciting advancements in the adoption and effective use of open science tools, we have a long way to go before transparency and reproducibility are the norm. The goal of this program is to connect and empower individuals to make changes in their own classrooms, institutions, and networks, thereby catalyzing large-scale and durable change.

This call for proposals is to join the Catalyst program and to develop a workshop, training, curricula, guidelines, or other open science materials. Examples of suggested activities that the Catalyst program will fund include:

• Training students/colleagues on research transparency and reproducibility 
• Integrating research transparency topics into existing curricula/courses, seminars, and workshops
• Conducting meta-research
• Advocating for better standards and policies around transparency, reproducibility, and ethics in research

More information about the proposal requirements are available in the application form. Proposals will be evaluated by the BITSS committee for innovation, feasibility, alignment with the program goals, and potential impact. Here is a summary of the scope:

• This call for proposals is international in scope.
• Applicants may apply as an individual, or as a consortium of researchers. There are no organizational or career stage requirements.
• Proposed projects should take place between September 10, 2026 - March 10, 2027. Final reports will be due by April 1, 2027. 
• Typical project awards are from $8,000 - $2,000 USD. Please begin the application form for budget guidance. 
• All materials (including curricula, agendas, and training slides) must be made publicly available upon conclusion of the project.

To see information about previously funded Catalyst grants, please see the BITSS website.

Project proposals are due on Sunday, August 16, 2026. If you have any questions about the proposal form, please contact jweech@berkeley.edu.