About the role
Studio Intern
Rich Harwood, President and Founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, has created the Studio on Community to advance new ideas for strengthening communities and society in a rapidly changing world. The Studio is offering intern positions for exceptional, public-spirited students or professionals to begin work in 2023 in its Bethesda, MD offices, or virtually, if mutually agreed. The Studio Intern position terms are flexible, but should last *at least* three months. Interns will receive office space at the Harwood Studio on Community, the opportunity to earn a stipend, professional development training, exposure to new networks, and mentorship from one of the country's leading authorities on civic life.
About the Studio on Community
The Studio on Community Studios have long existed as a combined workshop and space where the act of reflection can merge with acts of production. Drawing members who seek to participate in and contribute to these activities, the studio environment also provides the space and time for individuals to focus on and develop their own ideas and skills. Located within The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, the Studio on Community provides the opportunity for Rich Harwood and a high-performing team of individuals to strengthen the civic fabric of our communities and our country by innovating and incubating new ideas, projects and initiatives.
Studio interns will work directly with Rich Harwood and other Harwood Institute staff. The Institute's practice, methods, ideas and approaches have helped shape the field of civic and community change for more than 30 years. Studio interns will be enriched by the process of learning from and working with each other, Rich Harwood, and the larger team at The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is founded on a deep civic faith in our ability to solve our toughest shared problems by placing people rather than organizations or tribes at the center of our actions, engendering a sense of belief and can-do spirit, and coming together in the common enterprise of community to accomplish our goals. Everything we do at the Studio is an expression of that faith, and is an attempt to develop concrete, practical answers to society's most fundamental challenges.
Studio Intern Position Description
This is an invaluable opportunity for individuals who are seeking a time-bound, purpose-driven, professional and personal growth experience, and who want to be part of a larger effort to advance new solutions for communities and society, particularly at a time of growing division and inwardness.
Studio interns will support Rich Harwood and The Harwood Institute by:
- Developing research and background for a series of groundbreaking articles, books, and projects with responsibilities including conducting research; interviewing relevant people; compiling background materials; and serving as a thought partner and sounding board
- Working on special projects that innovate on key challenges in society
- Creating ways to spread critical ideas emerging from the Studio, including drafting material and content for new articles, special reports, podcasts, new courses, and projects
- Managing and coordinating logistics for Institute events
- Contributing to the the building of various Institute web pages
- Assisting in the execution of existing Institute community and network-based projects
In addition, Studio Interns will be encouraged to write a piece in their own voice, for publication, that draws on the Harwood ideas and practice and applies to their own context.
Past Studio Interns have worked on projects such as:
- Completing a 30-year impact study of The Harwood Institute's approach in communities, which resulted in Rich's recently released book, *Unleashed: A Proven Way for Communities to Spread Change and Make Hope Real for All*
- Evaluating and establishing the connection between American pragmatism and Black American pragmatism to the Institute's approach
- Defining the role of civic rituals in community life
- Creating the new "Making the Invisible Visible" Tool, which helps change agents and communities reveal the progress they are making
- Documenting the 30-year evolution of the Institute's ideas, approaches and philosophy
- Completing research and analysis to allow the Institute to better articulate its foundation of civic faith
- Providing logistical and planning support to various Harwood initiatives and activities
Additional Benefits
Studio Interns will:
- Attend a Harwood Public Innovators Lab, if possible
- Shadow Rich Harwood and Harwood staff in Institute meetings to learn and get exposure
- Participate in weekly and monthly discussions about the Studio, the Harwood practice, previous Harwood reports, and civic issues
Potential Candidates
Candidates should be Undergraduate or Graduate students committed to strengthening communities and using their skills, critical thinking and creativity to advance the Studio and further the mission of The Harwood Institute. This is not a traditional research fellowship. Members of the Studio on Community are eager to develop and test concrete solutions to messy problems with a national expert in civic innovation.
Examples of ideal candidates include:
- Individuals with organizational, leadership, or research skills looking to prepare themselves for a future career
- Leaders looking to build their knowledge of communities and take that back to their school or organization and into future work
- Individuals with experience or interest in community work who are looking for ways to expand their knowledge and skill set
- Individuals interested in gaining a deeper perspective on how communities operate, how change happens, and how people can work better together
Qualifications
Studio Interns should possess the following characteristics:
- Conceptual and critical thinker
- Effective communicator and intentional listen