Commons
The everyday, together.Introductions, fieldwork reflections, and the things only another RA would understand.
INDEPENDENT BY DESIGN. CONNECTED BY EXPERIENCE.
Different offices.Shared experiences.Our own space.
An independent home for current Research Associates and Research Assistants, including senior roles, and pre-docs worldwide. Connect across organizations, exchange what you’re learning, and find your collective voice.
Open applications · Verified membership
EXAMPLE CONVERSATION
a place to feel connected
Maya O.Practice Exchange
Anyone else learning as
much in the field as
they did in the classroom?
The small things, the unexpected lessons, the questions you didn’t know you had. Let’s talk about them.
So much this. Glad we have a space
to figure it out together.
Good conversations start here.
↳ Across countries.
Beyond the workday.
Beyond the workday.
Built around us. Independent of every employer. RA Commons is not an official employer channel. Organization rooms are led by members and independent of organization management.
A wider world. A closer community.
Connect with RAs across organizations in the Global Commons. Join a private room for your organization or institution using a matching confirmed work email, or request a steward’s review.
Organization circles form when two verified colleagues join the Commons. A room opens without a steward: a willing nominee accepts, then another approved room member confirms them. Room posts stay private; an author can propose a separate draft for global sharing, which needs another authorized room steward’s approval.
ONE COMMUNITY, MANY CONVERSATIONS
Bring your whole RA experience.
For the practical questions.
And everything in between.
Practice Exchange
Learn across borders.Swap general methods, useful public resources, and lessons worth passing on.
Career Room
Make room for what’s next.Talk about mentoring, graduate school, opportunities, and the paths ahead.
Collective Voice
A stronger voice, together.Discuss shared concerns and help shape a community that speaks with care.
A THOUGHTFUL STARTMembership means
Membership means
more than a login.
A shared research experience is our common ground. Membership brings you into conversations, practical exchanges, and private organization circles, with a shared responsibility to protect colleagues’ trust and keep confidential information out.
Use a personal or work email to sign up. Applications are open to current Research Associates and Research Assistants, including senior roles, and pre-docs worldwide, through work-email verification or a private manual review. Confirming an approved work inbox activates membership immediately. Other applications need a steward’s approval before community content becomes visible.
Apply to join the CommonsPrivate access.
Honest expectations.
Members can copy or screenshot posts. Authorized platform administrators may access stored content, including messages. Chat is not end-to-end encrypted.
Do not share any organization’s secret, private or confidential information or documents, or identifiable research participant data.
Read our privacy practicesQUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Frequently asked questions.
Everything you need to know about
membership, eligibility, and privacy.
How long does private membership review take?
Private reviews usually take a few days. If you haven’t heard back within a week, email [email protected]. This is an estimate, not a guaranteed deadline. You can prepare your profile while waiting; community content stays unavailable until approval.
What is RA Commons?
RA Commons is an independent worldwide community and peer network created specifically for current Research Associates (RAs), Research Assistants, senior research support roles, and pre-doctoral fellows (pre-docs) in economics, public policy, and empirical social sciences.
Who is eligible to join RA Commons?
Applications are open to current Research Associates, Research Assistants, Senior Research Assistants, and pre-docs worldwide. You can join immediately with an approved institutional work email, or request a private manual review by community stewards if your domain is not yet registered.
Which research organizations and pre-doc programs are supported?
RA Commons includes researchers across major empirical institutes like J-PAL, IPA, IDinsight, and IFPRI/CGIAR, as well as university pre-doc fellowship programs including Chicago (BFI PREP, EPIC), Yale (Tobin Center), MIT, Stanford (SIEPR), LSE, Oxford, Northwestern (Kellogg GPRL), and many other academic institutions worldwide.
Is RA Commons monitored by or affiliated with employers?
No. RA Commons is completely independent of every employer and university administration. It is not an official workplace channel, employer representatives receive no administrative oversight, and private organization circles are stewarded by fellow members.
How does work-email verification work?
You can sign up using any personal email address for your login. Registration collects your research role and organization, then guides you through confirming your sign-in email and a one-time code sent to your approved institutional work inbox. Confirming the code completes registration and activates membership immediately. We retain only the confirmed domain and a cryptographic fingerprint, never your full work email address.
How are research confidentiality and privacy protected?
Members are bound by strict community rules prohibiting the disclosure of employer confidential materials, unpublished research findings, or participant personally identifiable data (PII). Private organization rooms use database access controls separate from Global Commons, and member content is never sold or processed by third-party AI models.