Stanford Impact Labs is a new initiative at Stanford University investing in highly-motivated teams of researchers and practitioners to generate new insights and solutions to persistent social problems. To begin in the Fall of 2022, Stanford Impact Labs is now accepting applications to the two-year postdoctoral fellowship program in collaboration with three research teams. As part of this program, Professor Gulzar and Professor Prillaman are seeking a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join a team-based, collaborative community that value the different skills, expertise, and perspectives necessary to design, conduct, sustain, and disseminate public impact research.

The Inclusive Democracy and Development Lab is a collaborative community at Stanford, led by Professors of Political Science Saad Gulzar and Soledad Artiz Prillaman, that seeks to identify how and when the voices of marginalized peoples are represented in political institutions in low- and middle-income countries, what policies better ensure this representation, and how political inclusion impacts broader patterns of development.

Based on their expertise, the postdoctoral fellow will engage with the lab community on a variety of projects that employ field and natural experimental methods to understand the determinants and impacts of representative government with a regional focus on South Asia. Using large datasets, creative research designs, and modern analytical tools, the research team will bring new evidence on challenges political parties, bureaucrats, and government agencies navigate on a routine basis in the delivery of programs that benefit ordinary citizens.

The principal job of the postdoctoral fellow will be to design and implement experimental studies with policy partners and conduct rigorous quantitative analyses using advanced methods of causal inference. The postdoctoral fellow will be involved in all aspects of the research, including identification, survey design, data acquisition, data analysis, interpretation of results, and writing reports and academic papers. The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to co-author papers, reporting on the results of the studies. While the majority of the postdoctoral fellow’s time will be dedicated to collaborative projects, there will also be time set aside for independent research.

Mentorship Structure

The postdoctoral fellow will be supervised by Profs. Saad Gulzar and Soledad Artiz Prillaman and will collaborate with research scholars, staff, and PhD students affiliated with their research lab. Mentorship of the Postdoctoral Associate will be structured according to research and professional interests.

In addition, a goal of the Stanford Impact Labs Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is to create a diverse community of scholars who are committed to producing research that has a positive impact on society. Postdoctoral fellows will have the opportunity to engage with one another and with the broader Stanford Impact Labs team and community and will be invited to participate in select professional development, cohort-building, and SIL programming goals and activities.

Qualifications: ● Completion of all doctoral requirements – Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Statistics, Computer Science are preferred – within the past three years and no later than September 1st, 2022 ● A range of statistical and data analytic skills including graduate-level knowledge of program evaluation methods, data management, and data analysis; experience in running and analyzing field experiments and/or conducting quasi-experimental program evaluations will be highly useful ● Demonstrates excellent written and verbal communication skills ● Knowledge of and familiarity with the political economy of development in South Asia (particularly Pakistan, India, and Nepal), and the ability to use a South Asian language other than English will also be highly valued, though not required ● Is committed to advancing solutions to social problems through rigorous research, and communicating research findings to diverse audiences, including non-academic audiences ● Wishes to grow their collaborative research skills and ability to partner with organizations

Candidates will be evaluated according to their: ● Scientific record and potential ● Commitment to pursuing scholarship that can impact public policy or social outcomes ● Potential contribution to the research team ● Potential contribution to the Stanford Impact Labs Postdoctoral Fellowship program and the educational activities, goals, and community of Stanford Impact Labs ● Potential for scholarly careers that will contribute to addressing historical inequities and advancing diversity through their research, teaching, and service

Timeline: ● Review of applications will begin on January 25, 2022. ● Those advancing will be notified by mid-February at the latest and may be asked to submit additional materials, including letters of recommendation, and may be invited to interview. Please do not send emails asking about your status; you will be contacted by the faculty lead if you are advancing in the review process. ● Final selections will be made by March 1, 2022.

To apply: To be ensured of full consideration, please send your complete application by January 21, 2022 in a single PDF to silpostdoc@stanford.edu with the subject line: “SIL Postdoc_GulzarPrillaman”. Complete applications should include: 1. Letter of interest explaining your motivation to become a postdoc with the respective research Lab through the Stanford Impact Labs fellowship program (500 words max) 2. Short responses to the following three prompts, in 300 words or less for each: 1. Please provide a short description of your dissertation research and broader research agenda. 2. How does your research training and expertise prepare you to make progress towards understanding and identifying practical solutions to social problems? 3. In what ways have you contributed towards and/or demonstrated a commitment to inclusion, equity, and diversity through your academic career, and how do you plan to advance these commitments professionally? 3. CV: Provide a curriculum vitae of no more than 5 pages 4. One representative writing sample 5. Graduate school transcripts 6. Applicants should be prepared to complete a research design and data analysis exercise as part of the interview process. Stanford is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.