Research for Action: Summer Fellowship Opportunity

Posted by on April 16, 2012

Research for Action: Summer Fellowship Opportunity

Research for Action is seeking a graduate-level summer fellow to contribute to our Pennsylvania Clearinghouse for Education Research (PACER) Initiative. PACER was formed in response to a clear need for reliable, rigorous, nonpartisan research on emerging education policy debates in Harrisburg and statewide. By developing, and widely disseminating, easily-digestible PACER briefs, RFA seeks to provide accurate, timely information that can help policymakers base decisions on evidence, rather than ideology.

Each PACER publication is accompanied by a comprehensive communications rollout plan to inform a range of audiences—from informal briefings for Harrisburg policymakers, to engagement with education stakeholders statewide, to research-based opinion and editorial publications to extend the reach of our findings. Less than a year into the initiative, PACER is challenging the political landscape on education reform discussions by reaching more than 3,500 education leaders on a regular basis. In addition, RFA leadership have presented our findings before more than 150 stakeholders in three cities (Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia), authored or informed five opinion pieces in major daily newspapers statewide, and brought Republican and Democratic staffers together in the same room to discuss issues. The summer fellow would have the opportunity to contribute to our PACER efforts by focusing specifically on Philadelphia to ensure that the city’s teachers, parents, and students are well-positioned to enter reform debates armed with the best-available information, and an understanding of the nexus among politics, policy, and practice.

To this end, the fellow will work alongside RFA staff to identify opportunities and avenues to improve the public dialogue on education policy decisions locally. His/her contributions will help extend our research capacity, focus our work more explicitly on Philadelphia, and create lasting networks for delivery of research. Specific, intended project goals and deliverables include:
• Creating mechanisms for surveying Philadelphia education stakeholders concerning emerging policy priorities that would benefit from objective, high quality research;
• Developing live and web-based “town halls” to accompany the rollout of PACER publications;
• Moving beyond daily newspapers to identify community and stakeholder publications that can extend the reach of PACER publications; and
• Partnering with local organizations to reach Philadelphia youth, and helping student leaders understand the role research can play in making them full partners and compelling advocates in reform debates.

By the end of the fellowship, the fellow will have taken ownership of one PACER brief from start to finish. The fellow will help to select the topic; identify rigorous sources with support from RFA staff; work with RFA stakeholders to identify key groups in the School District of Philadelphia who could leverage our research in their work/advocacy; and manage the communications/dissemination strategy and rollout.

Time commitment: Full-time (for the summer) Stipend: $6,000

If interested please send cover letter and resume to mlarson@researchforaction.org by April 26th.