Call for Applications: Towards an Ecosystem of Connection, Community, and Healthier Online Spaces

Heinrich Böll Stiftung Washington, DC

About The Position

The Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, DC is commissioning one researcher or small team based in the United States, Canada, or the European Union to map the ecosystem working on loneliness, community, social cohesion, and healthier online spaces. The project will identify organizations, networks, funders, and initiatives addressing social isolation and polarization, with particular attention to online spaces that strengthen rather than replace in-person connection. It will examine overlaps, gaps, promising models, potential cooperation, and differences across the US, Canada, and the EU. The selected applicant will deliver an analytical report of 15–20 pages, recommend organizations and individuals for engagement in a broader inquiry with brief rationales, and provide a short briefing to the Foundation team with availability for follow-up questions. The report should be informed by firsthand knowledge of the field as well as research; applicants are encouraged to propose interviews, outreach, or other methods for finding organizations that are less visible online. The commission supports a broader transatlantic project intended to convene experts and practitioners to share knowledge and develop policy and practice ideas suited to distinct contexts. The report will initially be for internal purposes, though parts may be discussed for public release. Applicants should propose a clear framework for categorizing the ecosystem and mapping dimensions such as geography, issue area, theory of change, target population, scale, and funding source. Relevant areas include tech policy and content moderation, loneliness and isolation, youth online safety, the manosphere and men and boys, social media addiction, and online polarization that spills into anti-democratic engagement. Applicants must submit a 500–750 word proposal covering their approach, framework and sources, methods for identifying and verifying organizations, timeline, and relevant prior experience; a CV or résumé; and a relevant work sample. Applications are due November 5, 2026, and a draft is due December 14. Applications must be submitted via BambooHR. Only one applicant or team will be selected.

Requirements

Be a researcher, analyst, or consultant based in the United States, Canada, or the European Union.
Submit a 500–750 word proposal outlining the approach, proposed framework and sources, methods for identifying and verifying organizations, timeline, and relevant prior experience.
Submit a CV or résumé.
Submit a relevant work sample, such as a prior landscape analysis, report, or database.
Submit the application via BambooHR by November 5, 2026.
Submit a draft of the work by December 14.

Nice To Haves

Background in civil society and philanthropy, technology policy, social psychology and sociology, community organizing, youth development, digital media, or a related field.
Firsthand knowledge of the field and methods such as interviews or outreach to organizations that are less visible online.
Creative presentation approaches that result in a product usable by a non-specialist audience.

Responsibilities

Map organizations, networks, funders, and initiatives addressing loneliness, community-building, social cohesion, and healthier online spaces across the United States, Canada, and the European Union.
Identify ecosystem overlaps, gaps, connections, notable or promising models, potential future clusters, and cross-border differences.
Propose and apply a framework for categorizing the ecosystem, potentially including geography, issue area, theory of change, target population, scale, and funding source.
Produce a 15–20 page analytical report.
Recommend organizations and individuals for engagement in the broader inquiry, with a brief rationale for each.
Brief the Foundation team on findings and remain available for follow-up questions.
Draw on firsthand field knowledge and research, with proposed interviews, outreach, or other methods to reach less-visible organizations.