The Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences is pleased to partner with the NASA Citizen Science Leaders Series to pilot a new AAPS Fellowship Program. Designed as a part-time experience (average 15hr/month), this Fellowship is an ideal opportunity for emerging leaders and learners to gain exposure to ideas, mentorship from field leaders, connections to new colleagues, and visibility in the field of participatory sciences.
Fellows will serve as a front-line source of information for members and the field. This initial opportunity will focus on products and resources created as part of the NASA Citizen Science Leaders series, curating high-level summaries to reach a broad audience of practitioners from across the AAPS community.
This Fellowship is designed for graduate students and early career professionals in this field. We encourage applicants from a variety of backgrounds to apply–a connection to NASA Citizen Science is not required.
The Vision:
A year long fellowship to curate, package, and share professional development resources on project design and management from the NASA Cit Sci Leaders series through AAPS channels.
Fellows will gain:
- Direct access to field leaders as mentors and collaborators (NASA, GMRI, AAPS)
- Develop a deep understanding of key principles of project design, ongoing issues, and best practices in the field of participatory sciences
- Recognition as an emerging leader working at the forefront in the field via visibility (website, conference) and product authorship/co-authorship (posts and guides)
- Stipend (up to $5000)
- Free registration to AAPS conference (CAPS 2025) in Portland, OR (May 27-30), and access to travel stipend
- Professional skill-building, including guidance and experience in managing time and concrete project deliverables
Qualified applicants are:
- Graduate students or early career professionals with some experience researching or implementing participatory science projects
- Experienced with, or interested in, science communication
- Comfortable working independently and on remote teams
- Collaborative and good communicators
- Working towards a career related to the participatory sciences
- Working and residing in the United States*.
Fellows will be expected to:
- Participate in twice monthly virtual meetings with AAPS staff and NASA Participatory Science Strategist
- Review the NASA Cit Sci Leaders Series recordings and materials to curate and synthesize resources for busy project leaders. Materials include recordings of past virtual series events, the NASA Citizen Science Handbook, and other relevant documents (e.g., worksheets).
- Elevate key NASA Citizen Science resources for a general audience. Work alongside the NASA Citizen Science Strategist and AAPS Program Manager to determine priority items to publish as resources on the AAPS website.
- Draft one introductory blog post as a personal introduction covering their interest in this field, connection to the topic, and opportunity/role as a fellow.
- Publish a minimum of 6 short-form summaries of/guides to resources on high priority themes. Each collection will include an overview of the resource(s), its relevance to effective practice, and its intended application.
- Draft social media posts announcing each thematic resources on, at minimum, both LinkedIn and AAPS Connect.
We expect that the fellow will spend on average 15 hours per month on activities, with flexibility to accommodate other academic and work commitments. The above list is subject to change at the discretion of the project team.
*UPDATE (8-22-2024): Candidates of any nationality are welcome to apply so long as they are working and residing in the US and are able to accept funds in US Dollars. For interested candidates working in other countries, we will be opening up more general Fellowship opportunities in the winter that will be funded from AAPS directly and which will not have the same restrictions. While they will not be focused specifically on the NASA resources, they will be of a similar format and will be opportunities to curate and lead conversations about resources for work in this field. Please subscribe to our newsletter for notice about these opportunities.
Application process and timeline:
Interested applicants shall detail their interests and experience related to this opportunity in the following google form. Applicants will also be asked to share two professional/academic references and a short writing sample written for a public audience. The writing sample can be linked to or uploaded directly via the form.
Please review the following planning guide to help you prepare your application. Click here to submit your application when you are ready: https://forms.gle/Ufy277KNfALv5JvR8
Application opens:
August 15, 2024
Applications due:
September 8, 2024.
Interviews:
September 16-20
Preferred start date:
September 26, 2024
This is a 12 month position. Performance will be reviewed after 6 months; if mutually agreeable, position will be renewed for 6 additional months.
Questions should be directed to info@citizenscience.org.
