Join us! Seeking Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) for Spring 2026

The Possibility Lab is a diverse team of policy researchers and practitioners who partner with government and community to design, pilot, and scale data-driven ideas for the public good. We’re a mix of faculty, led by Professor Amy Lerman, full-time staff, and students who value integrity, rigor, curiosity, and communication. Together, we celebrate our wins, learn from our missteps, and help each other, and our partners, find solutions. Through our work, we are prototyping ideas with impact that can move us towards an equitable, sustainable future. 

At the Possibility Lab, we believe that communities need to have a voice in the policies that affect them. The  I.M.P.A.C.T. Model offers a systematic process for clarifying the purpose of civic engagement, identifying partners and participants, choosing the appropriate design, and carrying out evidence-based strategies to arrive at community-informed policy solutions for public sector leaders. 

GSRs are an integral part of the lab’s projects conducting applied, community-engaged research with public-sector and nonprofit partners. We are specifically seeking GSRs that can meaningfully contribute to our I.M.P.A.C.T. Model team. The position is a 50% appointment for Spring 2025. Rate of pay will be based on qualifications and experience, and based on UC Berkeley’s GSR salary table. The position is eligible for fee remission.

Responsibilities

Types of activities this GSR will undertake include: 

• Working with partners to help design and implement community-engaged research engagements using our I.M.P.A.C.T. Model.
• Gathering, compiling, and interpreting both qualitative and quantitative community-engaged data.
• Assisting project partners in government and nonprofits with logistical support and project management.
• Documenting the lab’s efforts to institutionalize evidence-based practices in community engagement methods, analysis of results, presentation of findings, and collaborating with partners.

Qualifications

• Experience planning, leading, and facilitating direct community and/or civic engagements, such as deliberative democracy, charrettes, citizens/people’s assemblies, and other direct participatory work. 
• Familiarity with designing and carrying out surveys, focus groups, and other methods for measuring public sentiment.
• Familiarity with and/or interest in the use of civic technologies to facilitate community engagement.
• Passion for reimagining civic engagement to improve policies, programs and systems that shape (in)equitable outcomes. 
• Ability to take initiative, juggle multiple projects, and meet tight deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, and exceptional writing skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work both independently and also as a collaborative team member.
• Must meet eligibility requirements, including being enrolled at UC Berkeley as a graduate student, a minimum GPA of 3.0 and no more than 2 incomplete grades.

To Apply

Submit cover letter and CV (as one pdf file) to: possibilitylab@berkeley.edu by 4:00 pm, October 20, 2025.