Research Consultant

Nashville Public Library - Nashville After Zone Alliance

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Job Summary

The Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) is a partnership between the Nashville Public Library, Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Mayor’s Office, and more than 20 youth development organizations across Nashville. NAZA’s mission is to increase equitable access to afterschool and summer learning experiences that help Nashville youth thrive and develop to their full potential. We do this by funding youth development organizations to provide high-quality, free-of-charge programs to middle school youth as well as by strengthening the capacity of the youth development community through professional development, evaluation services, and technical assistance to impact the learning experiences of youth.

In March of 2024, NAZA was invited in collaboration with Every Hour Counts to send a representative to the White House Youth Policy Summit. As a follow-up to the work that was discussed at the summit, a funding opportunity was released to fund projects that elevate youth voices and encourage young people to engage with federal agencies. NAZA was selected based on a proposal to engage with Housing and Urban Development.

Project Overview

The focus of our project proposal is to gain deeper insights into how gentrification and displacement impact access to housing and educational/developmental opportunities for youth in Nashville. Nashville has been labeled an” it” city and is said to have one hundred people moving in daily. With growth comes complications for current residents. Neighborhoods are changing and being gentrified, which means that communities of color are often being displaced. We want to take a deeper look into how this is impacting access to resources, specifically affordable housing, education, and out-of-school programs in the Antioch area. We plan to partner with local organizations that are already doing advocacy work with youth in our community to enhance our research efforts and ensure we collect data that can inform the broader public about the existing issues.

This is part of an ongoing project that stemmed from a Youth Policy Summit held earlier in the year. The purpose of the summit was to engage youth with federal and public policy. We will work with a team that consists of two high school youth leaders, in addition to our NAZA Youth In Action Staff and NAZA Partnerships Manager. This team will review school enrollment data in the Antioch area, lead focus groups, and partner with a local community organization to map out how gentrification and displacement have impacted targeted areas of Nashville. Given the limited time and financial resources, the targeted areas will be limited to three schools that have seen the highest influx of students due to gentrification among other reasons.  By the end of the six-month period, the team will be able to present what they have learned from youth and raise awareness about these issues. They will also suggest pathways for youth to get involved to impact change in the future when it comes to gentrification and access to housing and other services.

Job Responsibilities

Scope of work

To support the implementation of the project described above, NAZA is looking to engage a short-term consultant to support the youth leaders in conducting the research with the following scope:

• Provide technical assistance to youth leaders in developing guiding questions, and protocols for the focus group discussions
• Provide support in compiling data from focus group responses
• Support youth leaders in facilitating focus groups
• Analyze data from focus group responses
• Prepare reports based on findings
• Create data visualizations to illustrate findings

Qualifications

Requirements

• Master’s degree in education, social sciences, community or organizational development, or any other related discipline.
• Minimum one year of experience conducting research projects
• Knowledge and experience of qualitative data tools and analysis
• Communication and analytical skills
• Flexibility to work with young people’s schedules

This opportunity is available between November and January and we’ll pay $50 per hour for up to 40 hours total.

Additional Information

Benefits

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their CV and the research sample that demonstrates previous work on a qualitative study to deana.blount@nashville.gov by November 15th, 2024

Details

• Date Posted: October 31, 2024
• Type: Contract / Temp
• Job Function: Analytics / Evaluation
• Service Area: Children / Youth
• Salary Range: $50/hour