Posted in Research 25 days ago.
Type: Part-Time
Overview
The Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) is seeking a part-time Participation Lab Research Fellow to join the small but effective team at our award-winning organization.
The Research Fellow reports to our Director of Learning & Design, works closely with our Programs team, and is responsible for supporting ongoing research initiatives of the Participation Lab. The work of the Participation Lab is to develop innovative strategies and design solutions that make participatory democracy practices more equitable and accessible, and that deepen, measure, and communicate their impacts.
In this role, you will provide support to ongoing research initiatives and be supported to conduct your own independent research connected to participatory democracy. Work is carried out independently and in collaboration with PBP staff. The Research Fellow will also have the opportunity for mentorship from members of the North American Participatory Budgeting (PB) Research Board.
If you share our values of striving to bring people together across differences and support them in learning from each other, troubleshooting around ways to build support for innovative practices, forging new bonds, and working collaboratively to achieve shared goals, we encourage you to apply!
For more information, visit participatorybudgeting.org.
About PBP
The Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) seeks to collaboratively transform democracy to center community power. Our work focuses on participatory democracy as a practice of collective governance where we all share real decision-making power, rather than just a select few. This includes our work to expand participatory budgeting (PB) processes that give people real power over the money that affects their lives. Through our work with PB partners in over 30 cities, we have engaged over 534,000 people in deciding how to spend over $337 million. We support partners in establishing and running participatory democracy processes in a range of settings (e.g. cities, schools, organizations) across the United States.
PBP is a remote first organization and is at an exciting moment of transition, growth, and change. We continue to refine how we create an organizational culture and practices that cultivate a supportive work environment. Our organizational and decision-making structure is based on sociocracy, which provides a collaborative and distributed leadership structure.
The following are the key responsibilities and areas of focus for this role. This is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities.
Coordinating the North American Participatory Budgeting (PB) Research Board (including managing meeting logistics, agenda setting, research, and providing other administrative support).
Researching, sharing, and maintaining index of historic and emerging PB and participatory democracy (PD) research.
Managing updates to our North American PB process map, maintaining the associated database, and responding to inquiries about the map.
Assisting with research and evaluation activities to support an initiative to expand participatory budgeting in the state of New Jersey, supported by funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Conducting self-directed research, potentially informed by PBP or partner research priorities. (Some of our current research interests include: if and how PB achieves more equitable outcomes; accessibility in PB implementation; how the shift to virtual engagements impacts PB practice and outcomes; established and emerging forms of participatory democracy (beyond PB).)
Developing content to share research activities, including blog posts, social media, and presentations.
Helping sustain and improve the Participation Lab’s Research Fellowship by offering feedback and participating in the hiring process for the next cycle.
We are looking for someone with these kinds of experiences and interests:
Current student of an undergraduate or graduate program in a field of study connected to participatory budgeting, which may include: Political Science, Urban Planning, Public Administration, Sociology, Geography, Anthropology, Economics, International Studies, Design, Public Affairs, and Social Work. We also welcome candidates from other fields (including Engineering and Computational Science), as well as interdisciplinary fields.
We will consider candidates who have equivalent experience in place of education.
Commitment to PBP’s values: equity & racial equity; transparency & accessibility; support & experimentation.
Experience with or strong interest in the field of participatory democracy.
Willingness and excitement to work within a sociocratic framework that balances autonomy, collaboration, and shared decision-making.
Here are the competencies that will be important for successfully carrying out this role:
Strong written and spoken communication.
Basic data management skills.
Some experience with one or more core research competencies:
Framing research questions
Navigating scholarly literature
Designing and administering surveys and questionnaires
Data analysis and interpretation, ideally with some experience with analysis software (for quantitative and/or qualitative data)
Presenting research to colleagues and collaborators
Experience with or interest in learning how to communicate complex ideas and make them digestible.
Experience coordinating and facilitating shared spaces, particularly virtual spaces.
Proficiency in essential computer software (e.g., Google Suite Apps, Zoom), and/or comfort with navigating and learning new computer software and tools (including Airtable, Tableau, and SurveyMonkey).
Ability to work respectfully with a diversity of partners and across lines of difference.
Ability to work independently, with input and feedback from others.
Ability to give and receive feedback, actively listen, consider multiple perspectives, and adapt when necessary.
Ability to balance competing priorities, including setting and meeting deadlines (or communicating when they need to be adjusted).
Values
Our organizational practices strive to embody our core values of community, equity, learning, participatory democracy, and transparency. We make decisions together, through team-based processes, sociocratic consent, and a commitment to building trust in our team. This means all staff are deeply engaged in the organization’s planning and decision-making.
An ideal candidate will thrive in a collaborative and remote environment, be ready to dream big and turn those dreams into achievable goals with a deeply committed team. Our virtual office is evolving as we quickly grow, and we invite you to build it with us!
Compensation & Benefits
The compensation for this position is $28.85/hour.
This is a part-time, fixed-term position. We anticipate about 10-15 hours per week, as the candidate's schedule allows. Additionally, this position is funding dependent; we have funding for this role budgeted through the end of 2024, and hope to continue funding the position through June 2025.
The below benefits are what we’re able to offer for this role:
Accrued paid time off: vacation, holiday, and sick leave
Remote work support - monthly utilities/internet reimbursement, and home office supplies.
Schedule and work site flexibility to accommodate your life, including families, continuing education, and community leadership.
Location
This role is open to all qualified applicants based anywhere in the United States.
All of our staff work remotely. Access to reliable internet is required.
Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the U.S.; PBP is not able to sponsor visas or work authorizations.
PBP is an Equal Opportunity Employer, strongly committed to building a staff that represents the diversity of communities we work in. We strongly encourage applications from black, indigenous, and people of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.