Hivos EOI : Consultant for Junior Researcher for Mapping of Hoax and Young People

Hivos is an international development organisation that seeks new solutions to persistent global issues. Founded in 1968 and inspired by humanist values, Hivos works in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East at a local, regional and global level, together with local civil society organisations in developing countries to contribute to a free, fair and sustainable world. Through smart projects in the right places, Hivos opposes discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources. The Southeast Asia Hub is located in Jakarta, Indonesia, with offices in the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. Hivos Southeast Asia Hub currently works with approximately 69 partners, under two clusters, OPEN and GREEN, and is active in networking, lobbying and exchanging knowledge and expertise. For its Hivos Southeast Asia seeks qualified Indonesian candidates for the position of:

Title         :  Consultant for Junior Researcher for Mapping of Hoax and Young People

Duty Station :  Jakarta, Indonesia

Duration         :  1 (one) month 

Report to         :  Coordinator Project Anti-Hoax Hivos SEA 

1. Background

Young people aged 17-35 years old in Indonesia will make half of total voters in the 2019 general election. Following the aftermath of Jakarta governor election in 2017, the polarization between the hardliner islamists and secular voters will likely continue to general election context.. The early voters source most of information online through social media and news feed such as Instagram, Facebook and LINE Today. Many of contents that are accessible online, indicate discrimination against religious and minorities as well as promote intolerant attitudes. Those contents are often posted in a form of hoax or disinformation provoking debates among the internet users. The dissemination of hoax contents online express discriminative tone and often incline to hate speech messages. Several research reports suggest that young people are vulnerable to be exposed by intolerant messages either online or offline.  

To anticipate the effects of political contestation in 2019 on early voters, Hivos initiates an anti-hoax project. The project aims to effectively stimulate young people’s critical media literacy skills through a self-learning platform. The project can be applied on current existing platforms or built a new one if required. To design the learning guideline and assess available platforms, the process requires a comprehensive mapping and in-depth understanding on young people and hoax exposure. Mapping will cover the primary and secondary actors of the project, the youth as early voters and the stakeholders that will involve and benefit from it. Findings from the process will determine the underlying problems, possible roles of young people, the form of platform and who will use the developed platform.

The study will cover one city as the main intervention area. The project will focus to the population that represents early voters’ characteristic. Besides exploring insights from the primary target, the study is expected to provide list of potential initiatives, communities or organizations to collaborate with. The mapping will involve in-depth interviews, group interviews as well as desk review. As the project utilises Human Centered Design approach, the study will act as the inspiration phase in which we learn and get insights from the target group (young people) as well as relevant actors influencing young people’s access to information.. The project coordinator will lead and directly involve in the mapping process with a substantial assistance by a junior researcher. 

For this purpose the project is looking for a  junior researcher that will responsible for conducting field study and working with the project coordinator on the preparation and reporting phases. 

2. Objective

2.1 Identifying types of  information circulating among young people and affecting their attitudes.

2.2 Gaining in-depth understanding on how young people as early voters perceive and respond to hoax and disinformation.

2.3 Outlining societal factors that contribute to young people’s responses. 

2.4 Defining an appropriate format of self-learning platform based on their preference.

2.5 Identifying viable existing platforms to work or collaborate with.

2.6 Mapping existing anti-hoax initiatives for youth or public in general carried out by CSOs, government institutions and private sectors. 

2.7 Mapping potential communities, organisations and influencers to disseminate the tested platform.

3. Deliverables

Main Responsibilities: 

- Collect and analyze data

- Prepare interview questions

- Recruit interview subjects

- Conduct individual interviews and facilitate group interviews

- Make summary of interviews

- Maintain accurate records of interviews, safeguarding the confidentiality of subjects, as necessary

- Coordinate with transcribers 

- Arrange permit for conducting a research in targeted schools and university 

- Co-write research report

4. Timeline

The consultant will work for 20 days. The mapping process will be carried out for a month from November 5th - December 4th, 2018 

5. Knowledge, experiences and competencies

We are seeking an Indonesian person with the following qualities:

- At least 2 years of experience in conducting social research projects 

- Experience in handling an ethnographic research or user experience research is a plus

- Strong qualitative data analysis skill is required

- Good command in English.

Interested parties must submit a Curriculum Vitae  and a cover letter including your rate fee to: aramadhon@hivos-rosea.org  and hr.sea@hivos.org by 1 November 2018 with email subject: Junior Researcher Anti-Hoax Project.