Worldwatch Institute

Duration: 20-40 hours a week approximately from late May through mid-August. Timing and hours are flexible.

Location: Washington D.C.

Housing: Housing is not provided. The Research Intern is responsible for finding her own housing.  Worldwatch staff can help identify housing resources.

For more information: Worldwatch Institute

Description:  Interns work closely with Institute staff on a range of projects.  Responsibilities include providing research and fact-checking help; occasionally attending briefings in and around Washington and reporting on these to Worldwatch staff; and possibly writing short pieces for publication. 
Intern work typically contributes to one or more of the Institute’s products, including its flagship publication State of the World (whose 2010 edition, produced in summer 2009, will focus on building Sustainable Cultures), various Worldwatch Reports, and Web features including Vital Signs Online and Eye on Earth (e2).  (See www.worldwatch.org for a description of these products and online features.)  Outstanding interns will likely be offered an opportunity to write short pieces for these publications, time permitting. 

Qualifications: Research Interns have:
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Experience with web and library research. 
• Basic to intermediate facility with spreadsheet software.
• Demonstrated experience in and passion for sustainability issues—and for the importance of accurate information and analysis to guide environmental decision-making.
• Coursework reflecting interest and knowledge of the environmental, social, and  economic dimensions of sustainability. Work for environmental or other sustainability-oriented organizations, and international experience, are pluses.   

The work requires attention to detail and an ability to carefully and accurately document authoritative sources for all information gathered.  Successful interns are also comfortable contacting experts to track down data and other information.  A curiosity about how the environment relates to social, political and economic realities and a capacity to see connections across fields and specialties are critical.

Funding: Available through the Center for the Environment Summer Leadership Fellowship Program; see application instructions.

To apply: Send resume, cover letter, and writing sample to the Center for the Environment Summer Leadership Fellowship Program.  The recruitment process is open until positions are filled.

About the Organization:
The Worldwatch Institute blends interdisciplinary research, global focus, and accessible writing that makes it a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Our work aims to speed the shift to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society and lays out roadmap for how to achieve that vision. Most of our work falls in one of three program areas: 1) sustainable energy and climate, 2) sustainable agriculture, and 3) environmental reform of the global economy.

The credibility and accessibility of Worldwatch research has made our publications and Website popular among government and business decision-makers, the media, NGOs, teachers and students, and the general public. Since the first Worldwatch Paper was published in 1975, the Institute has broadened discussion of environmental and social issues by analyzing them from a global and interdisciplinary perspective. This has produced fresh angles on the issues closest to the issue of the long-term sustainability of human activities.