Call for Applications:

Research Consultants for NDI Political Party Reference Library

Effective Dates: ASAP - September 30, 2024

1. Background and Purpose

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) supports the development of vibrant, accountable and inclusive multiparty systems that offer citizens meaningful choices and opportunities for political participation. The Institute’s work with political parties includes knowledge and resource sharing, and aims to expand the political participation of marginalized groups.

NDI will work with two research consultants to assist the Global Political Parties team in compiling resources to be included in its new internal resource library for political party programs. This database, to be hosted on the Airtable platform, will help NDI teams across the globe access guidance documents, training materials, and research papers in a searchable user-friendly format.

2. Responsibilities

Under these contracts, Researcher 1 will compile and categorize a comprehensive list of NDI’s resources and publications about political parties, organizing them into specific categories and assigning tags for search engine optimization. Researcher 2 will compile and categorize publications beyond NDI, populating the database with a more comprehensive list of categorized party development resources. Each Researcher will produce a 1-2 paragraph summary for each resource to include on their respective landing pages on the Airtable platform.

The consultants should use their expertise in the following (non-exhaustive) list of political party development topics to identify resources that are relevant to NDI’s programs and partner political parties around the world:

• The design of political party development programs;

• Political party training skills;

• External party communications;

• Internal party communications;

• Party organizational development, integrity, and anti-corruption;

• Inclusion practices;

• Cross-party collaboration;

• Social media outreach; 

• Campaign management;

• CSO engagement and community outreach;

• Political leadership skills;

• Party branch/caucus development;

• Policy development;

• Fundraising;

• Youth leadership and inclusion;

• Strategic planning; and 

• General party development topics.

Illustratively, external references will come from reputable organizations experienced in political party development including, but not limited to:

• USAID

• IRI

• IFES

• Apolitical Foundation

• Innovation in Politics Institute

• Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

• Campaigns & Elections

• Olof Palme International Center

• Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

• Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

• Party of European Socialists

• European People’s Party

• International IDEA

• NDTC

• Victory Institute

The consultants may utilize specific AI tools (ChatGPT for Teams, Google Gemini) to assist in subtasks such as summarizing publicly available materials as well as creating tags and keywords.

The consultants will provide recommendations for the further improvement of the database and its parameters, as deemed necessary in consultation with NDI, at the conclusion of this engagement. 

Applicants who are well-informed about international development projects involving political parties (e.g. those including training workshops, consultations, trends) are preferred. Familiarity with Airtable is preferred, but not required.

3. Remuneration

Researcher 1 will be paid upon NDI receipt and acceptance of the following deliverables:

1. Database of NDI-produced materials completed: $2,700

2. Provision of final recommendations: $450

Researcher 2 will be paid upon NDI receipt and acceptance of the following deliverables:

1. Database of external materials completed: $20 per resource (up to $5,400)

2. Provision of final recommendations: $450

NDI will determine which applicant is best suited for either researcher position.

 

4. Submission

To apply, resumes with contact information should be submitted via email to [email protected].