Call for Research Fellows - Field Studies of Platform-Work

Fellowship Title: Call for Research Fellows - Field Studies of Platform-Work

Deadline: 18^th Nov. 2018

We are inviting applications for three Research Fellow positions to undertake field studies of platform-work in two cities, including Bangalore and another city (to be decided). The project seeks to produce a comparative understanding of at least two different kinds of platform-work as unfolding across Indian cities. Each fellow will be responsible for one field study (one form of work in one city) based on their language fluency and research experience. The Research Fellows will be associated with CIS from December 2018 to May 2019, undertake fieldwork, participate in two research workshops, and prepare an Ethnographic Report based on the fieldwork.

Project Background

The researchers@work programme at the CIS is undertaking a study, supported by research assistance from Azim Premji University, on ‘Mapping Digital Labour in India’ with a specific focus on platform-work. Platform-work refers to different kinds of digitally-mediated service work. Since the rise of ‘Sharing Economy’ (or ‘gig economy’) services like Uber, Ola, UrbanClap, and Swiggy, platform-work has been gaining ground as viable employment in India. Rough estimates suggest that various logistics arms of Indian e-commerce companies more than 1 Lakh delivery personnel for ‘last-mile’ delivery services. Similarly, OlaCabs ‘employs’ 6.4 Lakh ‘driver partners’ and its competitor Uber had 2 Lakh active drivers across 100 Indian cities in 2017

Research Questions, Methods, and Timeline:

The Research Fellow is expected to work part-time (50% of monthly work hours) from December 2018 to May 2019 (6 months), and undertake an ethnographic field-based study of platform-work and platform-workers involved in a specific app-based logistical (say, delivery services) or transportation (say, taxi services) sector.

The field studies will be driven by the following questions:

• How are gig economy platforms impacting the labour market in India? Is platform-work driving new patterns of migration across geographies (including rural to urban) and industries? What skills are being demanded of platform-workers, and how are they acquiring such skills and entering this job market?
• What legal, social, economic, and technological challenges are being faced by platform-workers, and what structural barriers (say, digital divide) are shaping the ability of platform-workers to articulate and access labour rights in these industries?
• How are existing forms and practices of labour management and self-organisation (including formal unions) are being recast in the context of platform-work?

Eligibility and Application Process

We are seeking applications from individuals who:

Preferably have a postgraduate degree (current students may also apply) in social sciences, journalism, or legal studies (undergraduate degree-holders with research experience may also apply)

Are based in the city where the field study is to be undertaken, at least during the duration of the study

Are fluent in the main regional language(s) spoken in the city where the study will be conducted, and in English (especially, written).

Applicants with previous research and writing experiences on issues related to labour and work, digital or otherwise, will be given preference.

Please send the following documents (in text or PDF formats) to raw@cis-india.org by Sunday, November 18 to apply for the Research Fellow positions:

• Brief CV with relevant academic and professional information
• Two samples of academic/professional (published/unpublished) writing by the applicant
• A brief research proposal (not more than 500 words) that should specify the city of study preferred by the applicant, and the sector (either delivery services or taxi services) where platform-work will be studied by the applicant

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