Programme Manager, IGL

at  NESTA

OVERVIEW

The Innovation Growth Lab (IGL) is a global policy lab that supports the development of productive, sustainable and inclusive economies through the application of new policy ideas, data and rigorous evidence. We work with policymakers, researchers, practitioners and funders to experiment and address key policy challenges in the areas of science, innovation, entrepreneurship and business. We span the boundaries of policy and research. IGL brings together leading government agencies in North America and Europe that support our mission, and the IGL Research Network has over 100 researchers working on experimental research in this field.
IGL is seeking a Programme Manager to lead the implementation of an ambitious new research initiative, which aims to support high-impact experimental research in science, innovation, and productivity. This programme brings together the IGL Research Network and the Conference on Field Experiments in Strategy (CFXS) community, the two largest experimental research networks in this field, to enable more impactful research.
As the Programme Manager, you will lead the implementation of our initiative’s diverse portfolio of activities. Your role will involve close collaboration with the programme’s Scientific Co-Directors: Albert Bravo-Biosca (IGL), Sharique Hasan (Duke), Hyunjin Kim (INSEAD) and Rembrand Koning (Harvard), ensuring seamless coordination and effective implementation of the programme activities and strategy. You will be responsible for leading the delivery of this new initiative and coordinating all relevant stakeholders associated with the programme, serving as the primary point of contact for all researchers involved in the research network.
This role provides the opportunity to collaborate with some of the leading researchers in the field worldwide, contribute to advance and diffuse frontier methods in experimental research and data science, and support societal progress by enabling high-impact research that accelerates science, innovation and productivity.

YOUR EXPERIENCE AND MINDSET

• Familiarity with economic and/or management research in the fields of science, innovation and productivity.
• Strong familiarity with experimental research methodologies, and understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to experimental research.
• Proven track record of successful engagement and work with academics researchers.
• A good understanding of the research community and the ways of working in top economics and management departments.
• Experience in managing complex and multi-activity projects, managing different stakeholders effectively.
• Experience in conducting stakeholder outreach and engagement activities.
• Strong strategic skills, able to support leadership roles in their decision making.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, able to summarise complex ideas in clear language for broad audiences.
• Demonstrated project management expertise, with a focus on budgeting, reporting, and operational proficiency - including the use of project management tools (eg. Asana).
• Creative thinking, good judgement, autonomy and problem solving ability, anticipating issues and proactively devising effective solutions with minimal supervision.
• Intrinsically motivated to stay abreast of research trends and recent publications in the field, and enjoyment from engagement with researchers.

Desirable

• Hand-on experience with quantitative research and experimental design, experience of undertaking policy evaluations.
• A strong degree in a relevant subject (such as, but not limited to, Economics, Public Policy, Statistics, Econometrics).
• Familiarity with the US context and academic landscape is a plus.
• Ideally you will have worked in the field of science, innovation or productivity policy, but this is not a prerequisite.
• Experience writing articles and policy/research briefs will be a plus.
• Experience organising academic conferences as well as producing research resources and publications.

This new three-year programme “Reducing Barriers for High-Impact Experimental Research in Science, Innovation, and Productivity” goal is to lower the key barriers to high-impact experimental research, promote knowledge advancement, and enable more researchers to conduct impactful studies in the fields of science, innovation, and productivity.
The programme will foster a collaborative community of researchers - strengthening IGL’s Research Network and the CFXS research community through four pillars. It will support and enhance experimental research through (i) newly created research resources that will be made available as practical tools, (ii) developing new experimental research collaborations between researchers and organisations (iii) convening researchers at yearly research conferences and regular webinar series, (iv) supporting the development of experimental research and data science skills in young researchers via PhD workshops and online training courses, and (v) support early stage empirical research through Grants and highlight and reward outstanding research through Prize Awards.

The Programme Manager will work closely with the programme’s Scientific Directors and the wider IGL team, leading in the implementation and coordination of all programme activities and will be responsible for the successful development of the programme and its objectives. To achieve this, responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

• Lead engagement activities with the IGL Research Network, acting as the main point of contact for all researchers involved in the Network.
• Manage the development, refinement, testing and publication of new research resources, guided by the Scientific Directors and working in collaboration with IGL’s subject matter experts. This may include among others matchmaking support, co-creation workshops, advisory services for trial design and management, upgrading the IGL Trial Database, and developing new experimentation guides, tools and resources.
• Support the Scientific Directors in the development and organisation of CFXS conferences and webinar series (e.g., manage the call for papers, the screening and selection of papers to be presented and discussants, etc).
• Manage the seed grants programme (e.g., manage call, initial screening of incoming proposals for research seed grants, support the evaluation panel in their decision making process, reporting and communication of all grants distributed, including regular follow ups with award recipients - with the support of the IGL Operations team).
• Proactively identify opportunities to further develop the programme and improve its impact, as well as help overcome potential problems that may incur during its implementation.
• Collaborate with the IGL Research and Policy Engagement Coordinator to draft, implement, review, and enhance the communication strategy for the programme.
• Coordinate the planning and implementation of all conferences and online convenings with the IGL Operations team, overseeing logistics and operational aspects of all events.
• Manage programme timelines and keep all relevant stakeholders up to date of programme progress.
• Track progress of the project on key deliverables, milestones and outcome metrics (including engagement, satisfaction and impact metrics as well as DEI targets), reporting them accurately and in a timely manner to internal and external stakeholders.
• Work with the IGL Senior Management team to ensure continuity and sustainability of the programme beyond the initial 3 year period.