Internship - Land on Property Rights , Overseas Development Institute

ODI’s Agricultural Development and Policy (ADP) team is seeking a full-time voluntary intern for up to two months between June and September 2014 to assist with research on land and property rights. The intern will work out of ODI’s offices in London. 

The intern will work on the team’s land governance workstream and contribute to ongoing research on land and property rights. The main assignment will be to review evidence on land reforms and build a database of the research findings from academic literature. Depending on circumstances at the time of the internship and your interest, you may be asked to contribute to other areas of work. 

The ideal candidate for this internship must have:
• A background in social sciences, a good understanding of economics and an ability to interpret econometric analysis. Because much of the material you will analyse deals with agriculture in developing countries, this internship is most suitable to candidates pursuing studies in agricultural economics/ natural resource economics. 
• Experience in quantitative analysis and data management. As you will need to design a database with multiple variables and search functions, prior experience of database management and familiarity with statistical software packages is highly desirable. 
• Be able to commit to a minimum of six weeks, including at least two days per week in the office. 
• Be enrolled in, or have recently completed a university degree. 

Your activities will include the following:
1. Identify objectives and features for the database, based on interviews with relevant ODI researchers and background reading.
2. Review options for the database’s design and come up with a proposition for its scope and contents. 
3. Design and populate the database with research findings, and produce a set of instructions for its use.
4. Explore ways to analyse data and illustrate relationships using freely available software.
5. Contribute to a research report based on an analysis of database findings. 

You will be expected to produce the following:
1. A database of key findings from the academic literature on land and property rights. 
2. A paper describing the approach for building the database. This may also include information on using software to explore and illustrate data. 
3. Depending on time availability, a contribution to a research report based on analysis of the database. 

This internship provides the opportunity to work on a specific task and contribute to an important area of development research. Although you will need to work independently, your supervisor will provide structure and guidance through weekly meetings throughout the assignment. Depending on circumstances at the time of the internship and your interest, you may also be asked to contribute to other areas of work. 

In line with our voluntary intern placement policy, ODI will cover expenses of up to £5.00/day for lunch and reasonable travel expenses. ODI will also provide references upon request. 

Please send your CV and cover letter by 11th July 2014, to h.hynes@odi.org.uk.

We regret, due to limited resources, we can only reply to those who are shortlisted. 

Please Note: This internship will not lead to a permanent position at ODI so candidates seeking employment are encouraged to apply to positions advertised on the ODI Jobs page.