Research positions related to commons-based strategies in various industries

[Michel Bauwens]

Via Matthew Cooperrider:

From: Solon Barocas
To: DCC Idea Exchange
Subject: [mcc-talk] Yochai Benkler Cooperation Research Opportunities

Please, help me to circulate this among your friends, students and networks.
Thank you. Carolina
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/getinvolved/internships/cooperation

Cooperation Research RA Opportunities
Cooperation Project Research Opportunities: 3 positions

The Cooperation Project is a Berkman Center Project supported by the Ford
Foundation and led by Prof. Yochai Benkler that aims to understand how
different industries and actors are adopting commons-based strategy and
cooperation arrangements.

Some goals of the project are:

1) Map the practices, organizations, and institutions that form the
basis for creating commons-based information production in areas critical to
long-term development in a global information economy.

2) Provide a source of ideas and learning opportunities for new social
and educational agents who are considering new tasks, and thinking about how
to approach their organization so as to leverage the power of distributed
peers in support of their goals.

3) Provide data necessary to examine the success and sustainability of
commons-based practices as part of the online policy and political debates
over the importance, extension, or contraction of patents, copyrights, and
similar exclusive rights and their implementation through the world trade
system.

4) Provide a platform and context for practitioners and researchers
interested in commons-based production, collaboration, development, and
access to knowledge to network with each other, to learn from each other's
work and in conversation with each other's practices.

5) Provide a rich set of materials to stimulate innovative
organizational and institutional thinking among policy makers, at both the
national and international levels; among civil society activists and social
entrepreneurs; and among the small but growing portion of the business
community that seeks to interact with practitioners of social production and
achieve positive social outcomes.

6) Develop a political map ? who depend on patents or not and who can be
the allies ? here we may be limited by jurisdiction (political-economy =
regional) (or project base- globally).

Over the course of next year we will look deeply into three initial sectors:
alternative energy, educational materials and scholarship and biotechnology.

Research Assistant Responsibilities:

We are seeking 3 Research Assistants based in Boston/Cambridge area. Each RA
will perform sectoral research, assist in the development of quantitative
and qualitative research, and conduct interviews among other activities
under the coordination and supervision of the Fellow of the project. The RA
also may assist the Fellow to organize meetings, online discussions, and
other conversations around the research focus.

The required time commitment is flexible, but between 10 and 15 per week is
preferred. Interns generally are required to work onsite at the Berkman
Center one day per week at least or when agreed with the Fellow coordinating
the project, but otherwise may work remotely.

Required Education, Experience and Skills:

Graduate students with professional or academic experience in one of the
sectors that are part of the initial focus of the project (alternative
energy, educational materials and scholarship and biotechnology) are
encouraged to apply.

Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in and enthusiasm for
commons-based research, or technology-related issues. Experience with
technology as applied for collaboration and commons-based production,
excellent research and writing skills, and the initiative and energy to see
projects to completion in a fast-moving environment are essential.

We are also seeking a mixture of skills in data gathering and analysis,
online community familiarity (from blogging to social networks and forward),
lightweight web programming (Ruby and PHP especially), and other technical
and analytic skills.

Applications and Questions:

To apply, please email a current CV or resume and a cover letter summarizing
your interest and experience. Applications and requests for more information
should be sent to:

Carolina Rossini
crossini [AT] cyber.law.harvard.edu
Fellow
Cooperation Project

and more information on the Research Assistants positions here:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/getinvolved/internships