The Effective Institutions Project is a global working group of academics, philanthropic leaders, businesspeople, and policymakers striving to determine the best ways to improve the quality of decision-making at important institutions. We analyze how and in what ways institutions’ decisions influence people’s lives, study how key institutions currently make decisions, identify interventions that might cause those institutions to take actions that will lead to better global outcomes, and mobilize funding and talent to execute on the most promising interventions. Alongside this, we are building an interdisciplinary network of reformers to share insights, coordinate efforts, and steadily increase the odds of success over time.
Over the past three years, our team has published research on the world’s most important institutions, built an expansive network of experts and advisors on high-profile institutions and relevant issue areas, formed relationships with dozens of funders and talent partners interested in our work, and established a regranting fund to support outstanding institutional improvement efforts around the world.
We are hiring interns to support our research, strategy, and field-building work in the summer (May to September) of 2025. The precise dates are negotiable. Exact duties will be assigned from week to week based on current needs and candidate interests and skills. You are likely to be involved in the following work:
- Monitoring and tracking important developments across key institutions and institutional research
- Contributing research and content to our bimonthly newsletter and other EIP publications
- Conducting outreach to and participating in conversations with high-level experts
- Coordinating volunteers researching the decision-making environments at top institutions and literature related to improving institutions
- Supporting and improving EIP’s knowledge management and organizational learning systems
- Organizing events, discussion groups, and other activities to build our community
- Contributing to EIP’s fundraising efforts
Characteristics we are looking for in all candidates:
- A demonstrated ability and willingness to take initiative and work independently
- Strong writing skills (in English) and ability to communicate clearly in a professional setting
- Conscientiousness and attention to detail
- Strong evidence of research skills (can be academic or not) and critical thinking ability
- A positive attitude and enthusiasm for our mission
Additional characteristics that would support an application:
- Experience/interest in operations and/or community-building
- Some background knowledge about our key institutions
- Facility with forecasting, quantitative reasoning, and/or cost-effectiveness analysis
Compensation for interns is $15/hr. We expect to have one short unpaid test for candidates who pass an initial screening and one longer paid exercise for finalist candidates. We strongly prefer candidates who can work full-time, but will consider part-time candidates who can work at least 20 hours/week. Candidates may work remotely, and wherever possible we try not to let nationality/citizenship be a barrier to collaborating with us.
To be considered, please submit an application no later than December 15, 11:59 ET.
Note: the application form requires a Google account in order to upload your resume. If you don’t have a Google account, feel free to email your materials and answers to the application questions, following all character limits, to info@effectiveinstitutionsproject.org. A cover letter is not required.
The Effective Institutions Project is committed to building a diverse applicant pool. We strongly encourage interested candidates to apply regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, physical ability, educational background, socioeconomic status, etc.