CPA Dark Money Research Internship

CPA’s 2024 Spring Research Interns will be engaged in important research on corporate political spending, the path of dark money in political campaigns, and other areas related to the Center for Political Accountability’s work on corporate political spending and activity. The internship is remote.

CPA

Working through a network of shareholder partners, CPA engages companies to improve the disclosure and oversight of corporate political spending and alert companies and shareholders to the risks involved in such activity. It also closely monitors the consequences of company political spending. This includes preparing reports on company political spending, its consequences, and the risks it poses to companies. Among CPA’s seminal reports are Collision Course (2018), Conflicted Consequences (2020/2021), Corporate Enablers (2021), Hollow Policies (2022), and Practical Stake (2022).

The Center publishes the annual CPA-Zicklin Index that benchmarks companies on their political disclosure and accountability policies and practices. CPA also created and maintains TrackYourCompany.org, a database of corporations’ voluntarily disclosed electoral contributions. Beyond the Index and TrackYourCompany, the Center developed the CPA- Zicklin Model Code of Conduct for Corporate Political Spending which it is engaging companies to adopt. The Center is also developing a new interactive research platform to track conflicted political spending by public companies in real time.

The Internship

CPA is seeking winter/spring interns to primarily conduct research for CPA’s TrackYourCompany.org database as well as smaller research projects related to CPA’s work on corporate political spending. Interns may also assist with data entry and with developing data visualizations for new sections of the Center’s site on conflicted political spending.

The ideal candidate will have an interest in the influence of money in politics and how large companies engage in the electoral process, excellent attention to detail, and an interest in analyzing campaign finance data. Interns will learn about campaign finance law and the various entities that engage in political spending. Interns will work under the supervision of CPA’s Vice President for Programs and Counsel as well as CPA’s Research Director. The ability to work independently is particularly important for remote work of this nature.

CPA’s preference is for full time interns but candidates with 20 hours/week of availability may also be considered. Interns generally work 9:00 AM-5:00 PM Monday-Friday. Full-time interns receive a stipend of $2,000 upon completion of the program; part-time interns receive a prorated stipend. Interns may earn academic credit.

The internship start and end dates generally follow undergraduate academic calendars, beginning in mid-January and ending in mid-April.

Qualifications:

• Currently enrolled in a bachelor’s program or bachelor’s degree
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Self-motivated individual who can work independently
• Ability to efficiently manage time and meet deadlines
• Strong attention to detail
• Interest in money in political issues and/or corporate social responsibility
• Coursework or experience with data visualization not required but a plus

The Center for Political Accountability is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace.

To Apply:

Please send a cover letter and résumé (combined into a single pdf file) to CPAStaffAssociate@gmail.com with the subject line “2024 CPA Spring Internship” by close of business on November 12, 2023.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all positions have been filled.