Opportunity for Policy Brief Writing

We’re excited to launch a professional development opportunity for University of Pennsylvania students interested in applied policy communication. The PDRI-DevLab is seeking student writers to help translate rigorous academic research into concise, accessible policy briefs.

About the Initiative:
PDRI-DevLab will publish policy briefs over the 2025-2026 academic year. Each brief will follow a standardized template and be developed in close collaboration with the original research author, who will provide feedback and approve the final version for publication. Briefs will be published on the PDRI-DevLab website and promoted through our newsletter.

We are currently recruiting a small cohort of student writers to support this work. Selected students will be matched with a research paper and will work closely with both the author and a PDRI staff lead throughout the drafting and revision process. Please note that while we will make every effort to match students with authors whose research aligns with their interests, we cannot guarantee a perfect match.

This is a paid, part-time role, offering hands-on experience in policy communication and research translation.

Key Details:

• Eligibility: Open to current Penn students (rising undergrad seniors, master’s, or PhD)

• Workload: ~6–10 hours per brief over 3–4 weeks

• Structure: You’ll work in collaboration with the research author and a PDRI staff lead to ensure high-quality outputs

• Timeline: Rolling assignments starting start of Fall 2025

As this is a new and evolving process, we appreciate your flexibility in accommodating varying timelines and coordination efforts, especially with the original authors.

If you’re interested, please fill out this brief Google Form to tell us more about your background and interests. We will reach out on a rolling basis as briefs are assigned.