Intern, Community Research & Innovation

LISC is one of the country’s largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. LISC works with residents and partners to close gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity so that people and places can thrive. We do this by acting as a conduit for grants, loans and equity--and by providing technical assistance and capacity building--to locally rooted organizations that carry out the work in communities.

Background

LISC Jacksonville seeks a curious, reliable and creative student for the position of Community Research & Innovation Intern. The intern will contribute to active projects at the intersection of housing, neighborhood development, public policy, data, design and community engagement. Current work includes Ownership Continuity, which helps families protect their homes, address property-related challenges and successfully transfer property from one generation to the next.

This is a primarily remote, paid internship designed around meaningful project work rather than general administrative support. The position is open to part-time and full-time students enrolled in an academic program. Occasional Jacksonville-area meetings, community events and field activities may be conducted in person.

To that end, the intern will:

• Conduct community-based research, data review and mapping that support housing stability, family wealth and neighborhood development in Jacksonville/Duval County.
• Help review and validate neighborhood and property-level information generated through Project Guardian and related research before it is used for outreach or decision-making.
• Support simple mapping, neighborhood profiles and trend analysis, and help document the path from Signal → → Intervention → Completion.
• Assist with resident interviews, listening sessions, community research and student Design Studio activities; identify recurring barriers and help test whether tools and outreach materials make sense to intended users.
• Turn reports, articles and data into concise briefs, presentations, graphics and plain-language summaries for LISC staff, community partners and funders.
• Maintain organized research files, source documentation, project trackers and other knowledge-management tools so decisions, lessons and useful evidence can be easily retrieved.
• Use approved AI tools responsibly to support research, synthesis and workflow improvement; verify AI-generated information against reliable sources and identify where human judgment is essential.
• Work with LISC staff, community partners, universities and consultants on selected assignments and participate in regular remote project check-ins.
• Complete at least one substantial portfolio-ready project and present actionable findings and lessons to LISC staff during the internship.

What You Will Learn

• Turn a complicated community problem into a clear research question and practical work product.
• Analyze multiple forms of evidence and translate findings into action-ready recommendations.
• Communicate complex ideas to professional and community audiences in plain language.
• Work across nonprofit, government, university and community partners.
• Use AI, data and digital tools responsibly in a professional environment.
• Manage assignments, deadlines and communication in a primarily remote workplace.

Qualifications

Candidates must:

• Be actively enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree or above program. Students of all majors are encouraged to apply.
• Demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills, curiosity, sound judgment and follow-through.
• Be able to work independently, manage deadlines and ask questions when direction is unclear.
• Have reliable internet access during work hours.
• Be comfortable with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel and with internet research. Experience with Canva, GIS, data visualization, qualitative research, AI tools or Adobe products is helpful but not required.
• Respect confidential information, resident privacy and the limits of the intern role. Interns will not provide legal advice or independently make decisions affecting residents.

Portfolio Challenge

Every intern will complete at least one substantial project that can become a professional portfolio piece. Examples include a neighborhood intelligence brief, resident experience project, data-to-story product or small community innovation prototype. The project will be selected based on organizational needs and the intern’s interests and skills.

Interns will not be promised continued employment at the end of the internship. LISC does not provide visa sponsorship.