National Equity Atlas Intern, PolicyLink – California

Organization: PolicyLink

Position Title: National Equity Atlas Intern

Location: Oakland, California

Dates and compensation: June 1 – August 7, 2015; $21/hour for 40 hours/week

Application Deadline: March 6, 2015

Description: PolicyLink operates a summer internship program for continuing graduate students (master’s or doctoral) in public policy, urban planning, and related fields. Internships are paid and the duration is generally 10 weeks. PolicyLink occasionally hosts interns during the academic year, depending on project needs and student interest.

We strive to provide each intern with two main opportunities: 1) a meaningful and challenging assignment (or set of assignments) that provides a chance to apply and hone the skills they are learning in graduate school to influence public policy; and 2) the opportunity to learn about the process of policy change and the way that PolicyLink accomplishes our mission of advancing economic, social, and racial equity through policy change.

Each intern plays an integral role in helping our organization further policy impact through research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy. We have had interns from nearly 20 different universities and colleges, in programs such as urban planning, public policy, public health, community development, information management, and journalism/communications.

Interns gain insight into the field by assuming responsibility for a project under the guidance of experienced professionals. Most internship positions are based in our Oakland office; however, if space is available and there is need, we also host interns in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and New York. Communications interns are based in our New York office.

PolicyLink is seeking a graduate student intern to provide research support to a project focused on providing practitioners and advocates with useful data, analyses, and policy ideas to advance equitable growth. PolicyLink is engaged in a formal partnership with the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), a research institute based at the University of Southern California, to produce relevant research about equity, demographic change, and the economy. In October 2014, we released the National Equity Atlas, a comprehensive online resource for data to track, measure, and make the case for inclusive growth in America’s regions, and states, and nationwide. The Atlas contains data on demographic change, indicators of racial and economic inclusion, and the economic benefits of equity for the largest 150 regions, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States as a whole.

The intern will help the team continue to build out this living resource and connect it to on-the-ground change efforts. Assignments may include analyzing regional industry sectors and occupations for equitable growth opportunities; developing short analyses of how regions and states perform on various indicators of equitable growth (such as racial inclusion in high-opportunity industries and occupations); researching new indicators, data displays, and analyses and writing content for the website; contributing research and analysis to tailored equitable growth analyses for specific regions; and researching and writing short profiles about the use of equity data for inclusive growth to include in the “Data In Action” section of the site.

Qualifications:

• Graduate student in urban planning, economics, business, public policy, or related field.
• Commitment to social equity issues and experience working with low-income communities of color.
• Experience with data analysis and quantitative research.
• Passionate about making data relevant and actionable, able to write about data and develop user-friendly data displays for non-experts.
• Knowledge of SPSS and GIS is a plus.

How to Apply: PolicyLink is accepting applications for summer 2015 internships. The deadline for applications is March 6, 2015. Review the PolicyLink website (www.policylink.org) for additional information.

Candidates may apply for up to two internship opportunities. Separate applications should be sent for each position and the candidate should indicate if they have applied to two positions in their cover letter.

Applicants should submit a résumé, cover letter, and a list of three professional references to [email protected].

Please include in subject line: Your Name – Specific Internship Name.

We encourage you to submit the application components in a single document if possible (rather than three separate files) so we can print double-sided and save paper.

Interviews will take place during the month of March. Applicants will be contacted by telephone to schedule an interview that will take place in person or over the telephone. Candidates not selected for interviews will be notified by email in early April.