Research Opportunity
for a university student in Charlotte:
A Hobby for Every Child
The Gambrell Foundation, a private foundation based in Charlotte focused on what constitutes a great life, is providing 1-2 student stipends of $3,200 to support an exploratory study on the ecosystem and development needs for children’s hobbies in the Charlotte area. The student will work with Tommi Laitio, an award-winning urban strategist and the former Executive Director for Culture and Leisure for the City of Helsinki (Finland).
The project will include benchmarking on childhood policies from other cities, stakeholder engagement in Charlotte, as well as research and data analysis.
The stipend requires the student to commit to approximately 10 hours per week (hours tracked weekly with your supervisor). The work starts earliest on 1 June 2024 and ends on 20 September 2024.
Work
The student(s) will work with Laitio on:
A research briefing on the scale, participation and impact of hobbies/afterschool programs/expanded learning in the U.S. and internationally
A policy analysis of funding, attendance and impact of afterschool programs in North Carolina and another U.S. city.
Scheduling, preparing, transcribing, and analyzing stakeholder interviews and workshops
Candidate
We are looking for an undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate student with demonstrated research skills and an interest in effective childhood policies and public policy in an urban environment. Past or current participation in civil society organizations is considered beneficial.
Stipend
The Gambrell Foundation provides a stipend of $3,200. The stipend will be paid out at the end of every four weeks for work completed. Students are paid as a 1099 stipend.
Learning Outcomes
Students will strengthen their research skills and deepen their understanding of urban policy.
Students will learn how good ideas turn into practice in public policy.
The students will learn more about the world of public innovation and from policy alternatives from the rest of the world.
The students will be mentored by an experienced public sector leader and will engage with leaders from philanthropic, public, private and civic organizations.
The students will learn to use collaborative project management tools, like Asana.
Support and Mentoring
The collaboration with the students will be asset-based, building on their strengths and interests. Tommi Laitio has mentored dozens of students both in Helsinki and during a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Laitio’s approach is empathetic with a commitment to honest yet supportive feedback. As an openly LGBTQ+ leader, Laitio believes that people can do their best work when they can be their full selves at the workplace. Laitio is based in Los Angeles with regular visits to Charlotte so most of the collaboration with the student would be online. We would schedule regular weekly sessions to go over the progress and plan the next weeks.
How to Apply
Students are asked to apply the latest on 26 May by filling the application form linked below. The application includes a description of former and current studies, relevant classes and courses, interests and possible volunteering and a short description of the student’s motivation.
More information
Tommi Laitio
tommi (a) tommilaitio.com
Photo: Communities in Schools / The Gambrell Foundation
