Dimagi Seeking USAID Research Fellows in Senegal, India

Dimagi is pleased to announce that we have been given the opportunity to host two USAID Research and Innovation Fellows for 6 -12 months at our country offices in India and Senegal. The projects offers the Fellows interesting and valuable field experience whilst researching and collecting data, from interacting with innovative small business owners in Senegal to supporting health activists in villages in rural India.

The Fellows are part of a group of exceptional early-career scientists placed worldwide to engage in research and innovation projects to solve development challenges more effectively. Certain requirements need to be met to receive fellowship funding for the projects and apply for the roles. More information can be found at the RI Fellowship website and applications will be accepted until December 15th.

At our Dimagi West Africa country office in Senegal, the Research Fellow will be assessing how mobile technology’s impact on sales and stock management for small enterprises catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). Little research has been conducted in assessing mobile applications efficacy in benefitting the work of sales agents selling to the BoP, especially in West Africa, a region that is still behind the ‘mobile curve’ compared to its regional counterparts. Leading the research activities for this project would give the fellow the opportunity to make significant contributions to the growing field of mobile data services.

In Dimagi India, the opportunity involves investigating the impact of mobile technology on Maternal Child Healthcare (MCH) delivery in the state of Jharkhand. The Fellow will assess the quality of home visit by Community Health Workers (CHWs) using Dimagi’s Commcare app, built for use by frontline health workers as a job aid, data-collection and monitoring and supervision tool. The Fellow will also be conducting a Knowledge Attitudes and Practices study of the clients of the CHWs. While there is growing work in the space, this project is unique in that it assesses mobile applications’ impact comprehensively from both a service delivery and an end-user perspective.

Please find more details of the individual projects at the links below. Dimagi is still accepting applications and would love to hear from individuals interested in contributing to innovative research in the mobile technology and development space.

Dimagi India RI Fellowship opportunity

Dimagi West Africa RI Fellowship opportunity