Applications are now closed. Any questions? Contact Suryansh, the organiser, at [email protected].
The Oxford Effective International Development Group (IDG) is a team of researchers that investigates and addresses issues related to global health and development. We work on concrete projects that either make direct progress on problems in global health and development, such as improving developing countries’ emergency response abilities, or creating valuable resources for NGOs, grantmakers, and policymakers through research to aid prioritisation. There’s an exciting opportunity here to (i) get additional people working on the problems we’re excited about and that students can make a big difference in and (ii) help individuals upskill, test their fit, and build career capital for careers in global health and development.
Every term, you will take on a short, well-scoped research project and spend 5-10 hours on it per week alongside your studies as part of a 2-5 person team. Your exact responsibilities will depend on the nature of the projects and your experience and background. However, we do want all those involved in the Oxford IDG to have ownership over their work. Particularly for those with relevant expertise, we expect most researchers will be taking on mini-projects rather than RA-type work. Teams will meet weekly for an opportunity to co-work, sync up on progress, and clarify questions and concerns.
Bruce Tsai is a doctor and independent researcher collaborating with FHI and doing pro-bono work for Our World in Data. Previously he worked at Rethink Priorities, doing global health and development research ranging from climate change to assessing the value of global health R&D in order to help foundations and nonprofits better allocate philanthropic resources. He has also engaged with global health and development in other ways, such as speaking at UN conferences, interning at the World Health Organization, and engaging in social innovation for the businesses and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Jessica Rapson is a senior researcher at the G7 and G20 Research Groups and a Master of Statistical Science graduate from the University of Oxford. She is also a graduate of University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Her work focuses on the usage of statistics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in improving policy analysis. She has spent three years working for the Government of Canada at Infrastructure Canada, where her machine learning forecasts of public transit demand were used to inform post-pandemic recovery spending. Jessica's Master's research explored new ways of improving machine learning-based spatiotemporal forecasting, with applications in improving spatially-driven forecasts in fields such as hydrology, meteorology, public safety, and transportation.
Julian Jamison is a professor of economics at Exeter University, on secondment to Oxford University’s Global Priorities Institute. His work has been published in academic journals spanning a wide range of disciplines, and it has been mentioned in media outlets such as The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Forbes, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and The Economist. He has consulted for the US National Institute of Mental Health, NASA, the US Army, Bates White, Lockheed-Martin, and GiveWell. Julian has traveled to roughly 90 countries, and he once received a special award in physics at the 1987 science fair in Washington, DC.