Voice Up Founding Research Associate Intern 100% Remote

Founding Research Associate Intern (Qualitative or Quantitative)
Make the Difference Network A Division of Voice Up

Position Overview
The Founding Research Associate is a pioneering role within the Make the Difference Network, a division of Voice Up, designed for individuals who are ready to participate in building a new model of research, workforce development, and community impact from the ground up.
This role is not based on prior credentials it is based on practice, participation, and contribution.
It begins with the understanding that:
Many individuals are already performing research, behavioral health, creative, and leadership functions in their daily lives but have never had those experiences named, structured, or connected to a formal pathway.
The Founding Research Associate role exists to:
Recognize those capacities
Develop them through structured practice
Translate them into research, media, workforce, and creative contributions

Role Purpose
The Founding Research Associate contributes to the development of a new research and application ecosystem that integrates:
Behavioral health workforce development
Community-based knowledge creation
Media and publication
Creative expression
Applied purpose science
This role supports the expansion of the Naming Gap framework, the Voice Up system, and the Make the Difference Network across institutions, communities, and populations.

Entry Pathway
All Founding Research Associates begin through a:
Voice Up Internship
The internship serves as the entry point into the research ecosystem, where participants:
Identify and name their lived experiences
Engage in structured reflection and inquiry
Develop practice-based skills
Participate in collaborative learning environments

Core Responsibilities
1. Research Participation
Engage in inquiry-based activities related to:

Behavioral health
Workforce pathways
Purpose development
Community systems
Contribute to:

Qualitative insights
Structured reflections
Emerging research questions

2. Practice-Based Development
Participate in:

Weekly practice sessions
Guided reflection exercises
Peer feedback and collaboration
Develop competencies in:

Critical thinking
Communication
Applied learning

3. Media & Publication Contribution
Contribute to quarterly community publications (Elementary through Adult)

Produce:

Written reflections
Research-informed content
Creative work (optional but encouraged)
Engage in:

Drafting
Revision cycles
Peer review

4. Creative & Applied Expression
Translate ideas into:

Storytelling
Visual or digital content
Community-facing outputs
Connect lived experience to:

Broader themes
Social impact
Behavioral health awareness

5. Workforce Exploration
Explore nonclinical behavioral health roles such as:

Community Health Worker
Peer Support Specialist
Health Educator
Program Facilitator
Develop:

Career awareness
Pathway clarity
Action-oriented goals

6. Community & Network Engagement
Participate in:

Group sessions
Collaborative projects
Community discussions
Contribute to:

A culture of belonging
Shared learning
Collective growth

Developmental Framework
The Founding Research Associate progresses through the following stages:
Stage 1: Recognition
Identify existing experiences and skills
Understand the Naming Gap
Stage 2: Practice
Engage in structured learning and participation
Develop foundational competencies
Stage 3: Contribution
Produce research, media, or creative outputs
Participate in publication cycles
Stage 4: Application
Connect work to workforce pathways
Engage in real-world opportunities
Stage 5: Leadership (Optional Advanced Stage)
Mentor new participants
Lead projects or publications
Contribute to system design

Qualifications (Non-Traditional)
This role is intentionally designed to be inclusive.
Required:
Willingness to participate
Openness to reflection and growth
Commitment to consistent engagement
Not Required:
Prior research experience
Formal credentials
Academic background in behavioral health

Time Commitment
Flexible structure
Typically 2 5 hours per week
Designed for participation alongside school, work, or other responsibilities

Compensation & Benefits
Initial Phase (Founding Cohort)
Unpaid / stipend-based depending on funding
Academic credit opportunities (through partner institutions where applicable)
Benefits:
Participation in a national research and workforce initiative
Publication opportunities
Portfolio and skill development
Access to university-affiliated pathways
Exposure to grant-funded initiatives

Unique Value of the Role
This is not a traditional internship or research assistantship.
It is an opportunity to:
Help build a new model of how people enter research, workforce development, and social impact systems.
Founding Research Associates are:
Early contributors
System builders
Co-creators of a new paradigm

Organizational Context
The Founding Research Associate operates within:
Voice Up the parent organization
Make the Difference Network the integrated ecosystem
Applied Purpose Science Research Lab the research and ethics backbone

Expected Outcomes
Participants in this role will:
Gain clarity on their purpose and direction
Develop transferable skills across research, media, and application
Contribute to real-world projects and publications
Build pathways into behavioral health and related fields

Final Statement
The Founding Research Associate role begins with a simple but powerful idea:
You do not need to wait to be qualified to begin contributing.
Through participation, practice, and recognition, individuals move from:
Unnamed experience
to
Structured contribution
to
Recognized impact

Apply / Join
Participation begins with:
A Voice Up Internship
From there, individuals are invited into the Make the Difference Network as Founding Research Associates where they help shape the future of research, workforce development, media, and creative expression.

Fuller's evidence base is real, if early-stage. Between November 2024 and January 2026, his research drew on 2,983 participants across fifty countries and 949 cities, using psychometric instruments (Cronbach's alpha 0.90 0.93), qualitative analysis of 6,727 written reflections, and longitudinal observation over six to thirteen months. The patterns he found were consistent across age, culture, and context: people demonstrated capability in action before clarity in reflection; minimizing language ("just helping," "wasn't really anything") was widespread prior to recognition; and when recognition was offered accurately and without agenda, measurable shifts occurred decreased self-minimization, increased narrative coherence, greater stability in confidence, clearer articulation of possible pathways.
The changes, Fuller notes carefully, did not alter experience itself. What changed was perception. What changed was naming.

Silence, in Fuller's account, is the medium in which the Naming Gap forms. But it is important, he argues, to understand what silence is and is not. It is not absence. It is not disengagement. It is, for many people in many contexts, a form of fluency the result of having learned, early and accurately, what draws attention and what passes without comment, which stories are welcomed and which are considered private, when speaking is safe and when it is not.