Full-time Research Internship (remote)
Background
The Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) is a not-for-profit independent research institute established in 1994, which specialises in the design, implementation and evaluation of child-sensitive social protection programmes and provides capacity building and policy advisory services to government and civil society. EPRI is committed to inclusive economic growth and to social protection for vulnerable people as a human right based developmental response. Through capacity-building work and technical assistance to country-led policy formation, EPRI endeavours to build environments that foster long-term development by investing in children and enable better outcomes throughout the lifecycle.
EPRI has a wealth of global knowledge and experience that is paired with its unique position as one of the preeminent research institutions in the developing world with a global footprint of over 50 countries. In 2019 alone, EPRI’s team worked in 28 countries. EPRI’s unique focus on evidence-based research and policymaking has contributed significantly to EPRI’s recognition as the top-ranked small think tank in Africa. In 2018 EPRI ranked 4th in the world in the category “Top Think Tanks with Annual Operating Budgets of Less Than $5 Million USD,” taking the leading position in the developing world. EPRI has ranked within the top 10 since 2011 and in the top 5 since 2014.
Driven by teams of dynamic Social Policy Advisors team since 2016, EPRI has accelerated its growth with a focus on providing technical assistance in social protection and child protection to governments and development partners around the world. The team is composed of international, ambitious and innovative Social Policy Advisors working full-time or on a consultancy basis. The team is currently engaged in projects across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.
Selected recent and on-going projects include:
Covid-19 socio-impact analysis: Microsimulation modelling and qualitative rapid assessments across 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America
Formative Research and Policy Development: Technical assistance to develop India’s National Social Protection Strategy; development/drafting of South Africa’s EPWP policy; review of the DRM framework for cash-based disaster relief in Nepal
Policy Advisory: Long-term technical assistance for strengthening Myanmar’s social protection system, long-term technical assistance to support in the high-level advocacy, the development of long-term framework of Social Protection, and tracking the overall implementation status of NSPSP/CSPSP in Myanmar; technical assistance through research and evidence-based policy advisory services for developing integrated social protection system in India; policy advisory for the development of a child benefit package in Viet Nam
Vulnerability Assessments and Systems Reviews: vulnerability assessments and systems review of social protection systems in four countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic) and in three states in India, Social protection systems review using CODI framework in Montenegro.
Quantitative Modelling and Analysis: Cost of financing the achievement of child-sensitive SDGs in Ethiopia, complex microsimulation modelling for the development of optimal social protection packages for children in India; complex productivity functions to review the long-term impact of investments in children on a broad set of indicators of interest;
Programme Design and Integration: Development of evidence-building cash-plus pilot design, design of a cash transfer for pregnant women and young children in Cambodia, designing an integrated
Evaluations and assessments: Assessment of disaster relief efforts in Nepal, impact evaluation and process review of Nepal’s Child Grant, impact evaluation, targeting assessment and process review of Thailand’s Child Support Grant, impact evaluation and process review of Bangladesh’s CPSP CCT; Review of Ethiopia’s National Child Policy and its implementation
Scope of work
With a continuously evolving and growing demand for technical assistance in social protection and child protection, and particularly in the area of policy and programme assessments and evaluations for international donor agencies and/or governments, EPRI is looking for qualified interns with strong qualitative research and writing skills.
EPRI is currently seeking enthusiastic, dedicated and organised interns to join the team remotely. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work with an organisation that is at the front-edge of practical social protection work. This is an excellent opportunity for talented graduates (or those in their penultimate year) interested in social policy and development to be part of a dynamic, committed, and professional team. Applicants must be enthusiastic and have excellent research, writing and organisational skills. He or she should have a proven interest in development studies, preferably with some understanding of statistics and data analysis or strong analytical writing abilities.
The intern’s tasks and responsibilities will include, however not be limited to, the following:
- Carrying out structured desk research activities and mapping of available literature and information;
- Developing tools for qualitative research, including key informant interview guides and focus group discussion guides;
- Supporting in-country participatory research in form of discussions, interviews, focus group discussions;
- Coding and analysing available information and data, at times with the help of software such as NVivo;
- Supporting the write up of research analysis and findings, for example in form of reports, policy briefs, research papers, PowerPoint presentations.
- Supporting the development of research proposals and concept notes for new projects, as required;
- Providing inputs to and support other team activities, such as the development of training materials for EPRI’s social protection courses.
Requirements
EPRI is looking for candidates meeting the following requirements:
- Recently completed their bachelor’s degree or in the penultimate year in one or more of the disciplines relevant to social and political sciences, public policy, international development, economics;
- Strong qualitative research skills (particularly, desk reviews)
- Excellent writing and communication skills (in English), with experience in writing research papers or reports are a pre-requisite;
- Knowledge of NVivo or similar software that support and facilitate qualitative research will be an asset;
- Understanding of social protection and knowledge of poverty and inequality is an asset;
- Independent, flexible and problem-solving qualities, with the ability to effectively manage the own working time to safeguard that tasks are completed successfully and on time are indispensable.
Conditions of involvement
EPRI’s team is an international, ambitious and innovative team of consultants that currently works on projects in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. With Covid-19 restrictions in place, the intern will be home-based. Thus, the candidate enjoys a high degree of freedom and independence; in turn, EPRI expects high levels of responsibility, motivation and self–disciple and regular communications. This position offers no remuneration. EPRI offers and prefers:
- Full-time interns, for a duration of 8 weeks at a minimum.
- Expected work hours 7.5 hours a day, five days per week.
Interested candidates are encouraged to send their CV and cover letter to preksha@epri.org.za. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. For any queries about the EPRI internship programme, please email the email address listed above. The email must be clearly marked with “Research Intern” in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.