Consultant: Regional Researcher - Earth Journalism Network

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Organization: Internews Network

Closing date: 20 Oct 2020

About Earth Journalism Network

Founded in 2004, Internews' Earth Journalism Network (EJN) covers a multitude of environmental subjects including climate change, biodiversity, environmental health, ocean conservation, fisheries and forest management. Our network includes over 12,000 environmental journalists in more than 180 countries. Our mission is to improve the quantity and quality of environmental reporting around the globe. EJN support includes activities such as training journalists to cover a variety of different issues, support to produce content for local media and development of innovative online environmental news sites. We ensure evidence-based and data-driven environmental reporting that includes the voices, stories and experiences of local populations.

For more information about EJN, please visit: https://earthjournalism.net/

About the Opportunity

In recent years, EJN has invested time and resources to better understand the impacts of the support we provide to journalists and media outlets. EJN already uses a suite of methods to gauge the impact of this work on immediate beneficiaries (i.e. media outlets and journalists), and with this project, we will be able to go a step further and understand the real-world impacts of EJN's work on communities and policy-makers.

This project will use the Outcome Harvesting methodology to guide research design and implementation. Using this method, we will investigate a range of outcomes identified by our network members and see if they can be verified by independent external sources. This project will advance our understanding of how media stories lead to positive changes, such as changes in public policy, halting pollution or destructive development projects, or instances of collective action.

Logistics

We are looking for research consultants in at least 6 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Other potential countries from which we could possibly select applicants include Honduras, Uganda, Vietnam, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, China, Tanzania, Pakistan and Romania.

Research Purposes and Objectives

The overall purpose of this research is to understand the real-world impact of information produced with EJN support and the factors that contributed to the changes.

The objectives of this project include:

• Substantiate select outcomes through fieldwork/research (.e.g. - in-depth interviews and desk research)
• Understand how media stories lead to outcomes
• Understand how EJN contributed to these outcomes
• Identify other factors that interacted with media stories to lead to the outcomes
• Create case studies of verified outcomes
• Create a final synthesis report that will include the case studies as well as an analysis of what and how potential factors may lea to impacts.

The key research questions to be investigated include:

• Have EJN-supported stories led to better environmental policies and practices? If so, how?
• Have EJN-supported stories led to changes in individual or collective behavior? If so, how?
• Who should be interviewed to corroborate, substantiate or better understand how media activities affected public policis and practices?
• To what extent did EJN contribute to these outcomes?
• What other factors have contributed to these outcomes?
• Which types of EJN stories support produced outcome?
• More generally, which types of environment/climate stories and/or distribution channels produce outcomes?
• What are the key components of these stories and/or what external factors generate impact?

Scope of Work

• Participate in initial orientation and planning session;
• Work as part of a team and have regular check-ins with the lead researcher as fieldwork progresses;
• Conduct field research, primarily through in-depth interviews and desk research. Domestic travel may be required (if permitted by the local COVID-19 situation);
• Transcribe and analyze interviews (Note: We are hoping to receive interview transcripts that are at least partially translated into English, but this can be done via machine translation, and perhaps only key segments may be needed);
• Synthesize interview data with desk research;
• Write up findings as case studies for inclusion in the final publication;

Deliverables

• Audio recordings and transcriptions of four to six in-depth interviews;
• A written case study of research findings (details to be agreed upon with the lead researcher);
• A version of the case study written up as a story to be included in EJN's newsletter

Note: Deliverables will be submitted in English.

Workplan and Timeframe

we anticipate between 5-10 days' work, depending on the number of outcomes to be verified by each Research Consultant. The exat nubmer of days will be confirmed in agreement with successful applicants.

Activity

Date

Comments

Deadline for applications

20 October

Select applicants will be invited for interview

Research consultants appointed

By 2 November

Consultants will participate in an orientation and planning session in the first week

• Fieldwork: interviews, desk research, travel (if required)
• Analysis of interview data and desk research
• Write up of case studies

By 30 November

Work in conjunction with the lead researcher who will coordinate across the research team to provide guidance and ensure consistency

Submission of final case studies

30 November

The work under this project will take place between 1 - 30 November 2020.

Qualifications We're Looking For:

• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Bachelor's degree in media, journalism, international development, evaluation or related field
• At least 3-5 years' experience in journalism, evaluation or research work
• Strong interviewing and writing skills
• Excellent experience with qualitative data collection and analysis methods
• Excellent inter-cultural communication skills/cultural sensitivity and the ability to forge strong cross-cultural relationships
• In all duties, an understanding of and demonstrated commitment to upholding Internews' Core Values.

Preferred:

• Background in environmental work
• Experience conducting evaluations for media development or related to environmental journalism
• Investigative research experience

How to apply:

How to Apply

Please apply on our Careers page. Applications should include the below documentation:

• A 1-2 page statement of interest, highlighting how your experience matches the requirements of the position
• A CV and the names of 2 references
• Evidence of journalism, research or evaluation work (e.g. links to reports or PDF attachments), highlighting any experience in qualitative and investigative research

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