NOTE: The Land Research Curation Fellowship has been filled! Please check out the Fellows Program page here to see other open fellowships for Research Curation at Public Lab. Thanks!

The Details

• Starting: April 30, 2021, or as soon as possible.
• Commitment Period: roughly 20-25 hours a month over 12 months.
• Fellowship Stipend: $6,000.00 USD in total over the commitment period.
• Where: This fellowship is open to anyone and is remote; fellows will meet on Zoom.

About Public Lab: Public Lab is a community, supported by a 501(c)(3) non-profit, that develops and applies open-source tools to environmental exploration and investigation. By democratizing inexpensive and accessible do-it-yourself techniques, Public Lab creates a collaborative network of practitioners who actively reimagine the human relationship with the environment.

About the Research Curation Fellowships

Research Curation Fellowships enable individuals with experience and interest in an environmental health topic related to air, water, soil/land, or community organizing and advocacy to grow both their personal knowledge, as well as a larger network of collaborators within that topic area on Public Lab's platforms. Research Fellows will work individually in their research area, and as a cohort among other Research Curation Fellows to share knowledge and best practices across topics. Read more here: https://publiclab.org/wiki/fellows#About+Research+Curation+Fellowships.

Land Research Curation Fellowship---Specifics

This fellow will work to support research on Public Lab related to land and soil broadly, with attention to several subtopics in greater depth such as specific soil pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, or organic compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), land use, land loss, waste and agriculture, and approaches to accessible technologies for monitoring such as mapping or soil testing. Candidates with experience in any of these topic areas are encouraged to apply.

The major goals of this Fellowship for each topic area are to:

1. Network with scientists, technologists, and/or organizers working in the environmental topic area and invite contributions to Public Lab's community science resources in this area.
2. Organize quarterly virtual events where contributors and other interested community members can connect on the environmental topic.
3. Co-organize a once annual, three-month period of focused outreach and content development in their focus topic area with Public Lab's Research Coordinator, culminating in a half-day event featuring research highlights, community conversations, and demos or live builds of environmental monitoring tools.

Commitments in this Fellowship

Getting started:

• Attend the March 31 Research Area Review event for Soil & Land to see what a "State of the Community Science" event for a topic entails (see this component of the Fellowship below). Or, watch a recording of the event.
• Attend the first cohort meeting of all 4 Research Curation Fellows together with Public Lab Research staff.

Ongoing:

• Network with scientists and technologists working in your topic area, connecting these contacts to community science research areas,
• Help to orient people who are new posting to the research area,
• Attend monthly Research Curation Fellows team sync-up,
• Follow Public Lab topic areas that fall under your fellowship, and help to ensure that new posts are seen, responded to, and properly tagged,
• Maintain and adhere to Public Lab values, and the Code of Conduct.

Every 3 months:

• Organize one (1) quarterly call, a 90 minute public event for Public Lab contributors and other interested persons in your topic area to connect. Four (4) quarterly calls total.
• Post an update on Public Lab on your research area including new topics to follow, emerging research, and updates from your quarterly calls.

Once during the year:

• Co-organize a three month intensive period in your topic area (read: /reviews#What+happens+during+a+review?) with Public Lab's Research Coordinator,
• Assist in co-organizing one (1) half day mini-conference with four (4) components including:
  • a formal wrap-up event on the "State of the Community Science" in your research area with the Research Coordinator,
  • a space for community discussion co-hosted with the Community Manager,
  • a hands-on "build your own tool" event led by the Kits team, and
  • presentations on social and technical methodological or legal approaches to redressing injustice in this topic by people conducting relevant projects.

This role may be for you if you are:

• Detail oriented: You have excellent attention to detail and documentation skills; you're an exceptional written and oral communicator with excellent interpersonal skills.
• A problem-solver: You are often praised for your organization and ability to learn quickly and adaptively.
• Team-oriented: You work collaboratively with remote colleagues, to envision and promote positive change, and to be supportive of others. You bring integrity to all situations.
• A collaborator: You've worked with people with different backgrounds, and from different fields and lived experiences; you're able to communicate on environmental science.
• Tech savvy: You thrive working in a remote work environment and are comfortable using different communication platforms regularly to interact with the team (Slack, Zoom, Google Drive, etc.); you are excited to learn new programs and share about technology and monitoring in the context of advocacy.
• Self-directed: You work successfully with minimal supervision. You can organize work, set and meet your own internal milestones, and communicate regularly and often when help is required.

To Apply

To submit your application, please complete the Research Curation Fellow Application form to tell us more about your experience and share your resume. The Land Research Curation Fellowship has been filled. All instructions are within the application form. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at jobs@publiclab.org and include Research Curation Fellow in your subject line. No phone calls, please.

This Fellowship will be hosted through Public Lab. Public Lab is committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment and we strive for our team members to reflect the lived experiences and diversity of our global community. We encourage people with different ability sets, people of color, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, and identities to apply.