Indonesia Senior Research Fellowships - J-PAL SEA

 

Background

Project Title: Multiple projects

Country:

Indonesia

Start Date: February 1, 2014

Length of Commitment: One year

Education:

Other advanced degree

Organization: J-PAL Southeast Asia at UI

Language Requirement: Indonesian

Job Description

The Southeast Asia regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL SEA), based at the Institute for Economic and Social Research within the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia (LPEM-FEUI), is pleased to offer a paid, half-time senior fellowships for the year 2014-2015. The senior fellowship, which is open to Indonesian academics, will provide opportunities to participate in rigorous academic research related to governance and development in Indonesia. All applications are due by January 6, 2014.

This Fellowship provides an opportunity for Indonesian researchers to build their knowledge base through on-the-job training working alongside J-PAL and staff and through regular long-distance communication with J-PAL-affiliated faculty researchers, including development economists from some of the top US-based universities such as MIT and Harvard.

J-PAL is a leading research institute based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States and serves as a focal point for development and poverty research based on randomized control trials (RCT). J-PAL works with government institutions, NGOs, international organizations, and others to evaluate programs and disseminate the results of high quality research. J-PAL’s work includes projects in over 50 countries, including Indonesia. More information about J-PAL’s work can be found on the J-PAL website (www.povertyactionlab.org).

Senior Fellow Responsibilities and Qualifications: 

Responsibilities:

Working half-time (minimum of 20 hours per week) at their current location, the responsibilities of the Senior Research Fellows will play an active role in:

• Assisting with the research design of the projects
• Designing surveys and implementation procedures
• Writing drafts and reports
• Overseeing project implementation in the field
• Facilitating connections between the research and university networks
• Capacity building activities, such as serving as a trainer at J-PAL trainings

Mandatory Qualifications:

• Applicants should be Indonesian nationals, have a PhD in the field of Economics, Public Policy, or a related field, and should be currently working as a university lecturer.
• A demonstrated interest in conducting high-quality research for impact evaluations, particularly as related to RCTs
• Prior research experience on topics related to development economics/public policy is required
• Fellows must be willing to travel occasionally to the field outside of Jakarta, including rural areas of Indonesia on supervision missions.

The Senior Fellow will work from February 2014 through January 2015 (dates may be flexible).

About J-PAL and J-PAL SEA

J-PAL was founded in 2003 as a research institute within the Economics Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA with the belief that development policy can be made more effective if policymakers have access to rigorous scientific evidence of what programs or policies work or not, and why. J-PAL conducts randomized evaluations to measure the impact of programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty, trains local researchers and implementers to conduct evaluations, and translates research findings into concrete policy action and change so that development spending and programs can be made more effective.

Over the past ten years, J-PAL has grown into a network of over 80 affiliated professors who have more than 350 completed and ongoing projects in over 50 countries. These projects rigorously test the effectiveness of social programs in the areas of health, education, finance, labor markets, environment, governance, and agriculture. Further, J-PAL has conducted numerous executive education courses that have trained over 1,200 participants in conducting randomized evaluations. Importantly, J-PAL also performs policy analyses to determine which interventions are most cost-effective, produces publications highlighting important policy lessons, disseminates these materials and builds long-standing relationships with policymakers to help evaluate and scale-up successful programs.

J-PAL has opened five regional offices based at leading universities in South Asia (IFMR in India), Africa (University of Cape Town in South Africa), Latin America (PUC in Chile) and Europe (Paris School of Economics in France). Our latest partnership is with LPEM-Ul, which is the institutional home of the Southeast Asia regional office.

J-PAL Southeast Asia (J-PAL SEA) is working to improve the effectiveness of social programs throughout the Southeast Asia region. J-PAL officially launched its Southeast Asia office in June 2013 through an event that brought together over 400 leading academics, local and international research institutions, donors and government officials. The President of the Republic of Indonesia delivered the keynote address at the launch event. 

In Indonesia, J-PAL Directors Abhijit V. Banerjee (MIT) and Benjamin Olken (MIT), along with J-PAL SEA Scientific Director Rema Hanna (Harvard), have worked closely with policymakers in the government to conduct rigorous evaluations of large-scale development programs and to integrate their findings into government policy. For example: 

• Research by J-PAL Director Ben Olken, along with Junko Onishi and Susan Wong of the World Bank, showed that community block grants linked to performance were more effective at improving maternal and child health outcomes than non-incentivized grants in the PNPM Generasi program. Based on the results of the evaluation, the Ministry of Home Affairs decided to move exclusively to incentivized grants, and increased its annual funding for the block grant program.
• In collaboration with a division of the Vice President's office tasked with reducing poverty (TNP2K), J-PAL launched an evaluation of Raskin, Indonesia's largest social assistance program. The evaluation tests the impact of distributing ID cards to program beneficiaries as well as al lowing alternative service providers to distribute Raskin on program targeting, accountability, transparency and the price of subsidized rice. TNP2K is currently utilizing the findings from this ongoing evaluation to inform national reforms to the country’s social protection programs.

Through J-PAL SEA, affiliated researchers are currently conducting or developing projects related to increasing transparency and accountability in social protection programs, migration, sanitation, taxation, and increasing health coverage.  For further information on J-PAL’s activities and programs in Indonesia, please visit the website: www.povertyactionlab.org/sea

How to Apply

1. Send an email to Efendi Siahaan at esiahaan@povertyactionlab.org, copying jobs@poverty-action.org and jpalseajobs@povertyactionlab.org following these instructions exactly: In the subject line, put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name. Please attach 1. Your CV, 2. A cover letter no longer than 600 words discussing how you meet the position requirements, emphasizing relevant skills and experience, 3. A writing sample. In the email body, copy exactly the following position line: 101051 JPALSoutheastAsia, Indonesia Senior Research Fellowships - J-PAL SEA. Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in the body of the e-mail. Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application.  
2. Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application indicating that you are interested in applying for a "Type 4" position.