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Internship description
- Hours per week: 10-20 per week
- Commitment: 3-6 months
- Reports to: Regional Planning Director
About SPUR
SPUR is one of North America's preeminent urban planning and public policy organizations. Through research, advocacy and public education, SPUR promotes good planning and good government. SPUR is a member-supported nonprofit organization. The SPUR Urban Center houses over 150 forums and symposiums each year.
General Summary
SPUR is seeking a Regional Policy Intern to work closely on the Regional Economic Prosperity Strategy, an innovative regional plan seeking strategies to establish pathways for low and moderate income workers to move up to middle income and middle skill employment. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a unique initiative that is seeking ways to increase opportunity in the Bay Area economy.
The Economic Prosperity Strategy is part of a three year initiative with HUD and the regional government agencies MTC and ABAG (see: http://www.onebayarea.org/regional-initiatives/Bay-Area-Prosperity-Plan/Economic-Prosperity-Strategy.html). SPUR is the overall project manager for the Economic Prosperity Strategy and is working with a consortium of organizations including the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and Working Partnerships USA. The project includes both outreach and analysis. Those tasks will lead to a series of proposed strategies to improve workforce education, land use/regulation, transportation, economic development, and other barriers for low to moderate income workers to access good jobs. For more information on the project, read a SPUR blog post here: http://www.spur.org/blog/2013-06-18/how-do-we-rebuild-bay-areas-middle-class
Internships at SPUR are unpaid. However interns will enjoy SPUR membership benefits, including free admission to all forums and tours, and a one-year subscription to SPUR's monthly publication, The Urbanist.
Essential Functions
The intern position has the potential to support and participate in many aspects of the project – from research and analysis to attending and helping support workshops and other events. The intern could help draft and co-author blog posts as well as write and research aspects of the final strategy. The following are a sample of some of the specific tasks that could be involved in this internship:
- Conduct analysis of best practices in helping move low and moderate income workers to middle income jobs
- Conduct literature review and research
- Prepare summary findings of research
- Assist in spatial mapping and spatial analysis
- Prepare graphics, diagrams, and tables
- Assist other policy staff members on different projects as needed
- Perform other related tasks as needed
Qualifications/Preferred Knowledge and Skills
- Interest in cities and regional planning policies
- Background/education in economics, economic development, workforce training, land use and/or transportation planning
- Familiarity with Word, Excel, Powerpoint
- Preferred knowledge of ArcGIS and Adobe Creative Suite