Civic Graph Fellowship Opens to Strengthen Open Civic Data in South Africa
- 📢 Programme: Civic Graph Fellowship
- 🏢 Organisation: Code for Africa (CfA) – Open Data Initiative
- 📍 Location: South Africa (Remote / Flexible engagement)
- ⏳ Duration: 3 months (part-time)
- 💰 Stipend: Competitive monthly stipend
- 🎯 Focus Keyword: Civic Graph Fellowship
- 🔎 Secondary Focus: Open civic data, election transparency
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The Civic Graph Fellowship is now open for applications, offering a three-month part-time opportunity focused on civic technology, open data, and digital democracy. The programme is delivered by Code for Africa (CfA) through its Open Data Initiative and is designed to strengthen open-source civic data systems ahead of South Africa’s 2026 local government elections.
The Civic Graph Fellowship will select seven fellows to support the collection, verification, and structuring of civic data related to Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and Politically Influential Persons (PIPs). Fellows will work closely with CfA’s iLab team to develop interoperable datasets that improve transparency and information integrity across digital platforms.
This initiative is supported through a partnership between Code for Africa and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a strong emphasis on improving public access to verified civic information during the municipal election cycle. The Civic Graph Fellowship plays a key role in ensuring that structured civic data is accurate, accessible, and usable for public interest applications.
Key Responsibilities
Participants in the Civic Graph Fellowship will engage in structured data collection and verification work, including identifying and validating publicly available information on political figures in South Africa. Fellows will also verify official social media accounts across platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Telegram.
Additional duties include recording civic data using standardised Open Civic data formats and applying rigorous quality control checks to ensure authenticity and accuracy of profiles. The Civic Graph Fellowship also involves supporting the development of structured civic profiles containing demographic details, websites, and verified digital identifiers.
Fellows will further assist in working with the Troll Tracker platform, which uses machine learning and natural language processing to monitor content trends and messaging patterns across digital spaces.
Fellowship Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Programme | Civic Graph Fellowship |
| Organisation | Code for Africa (CfA) |
| Duration | 3 months (part-time) |
| Stipend | Competitive monthly stipend |
| Focus Area | Open civic data, election transparency, information integrity |
| Working Arrangement | Flexible part-time engagement |
| Key Output | Verified civic datasets and structured public profiles |
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The Civic Graph Fellowship provides fellows with practical exposure to civic data systems and open-source intelligence workflows. It is structured to enhance technical, analytical, and research skills within the field of digital governance and data transparency.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants for the Civic Graph Fellowship should demonstrate strong technical and analytical capabilities, particularly in working with structured data tools such as Google Sheets. Fluency in English is required, along with proficiency in at least one South African language, including Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, or Setswana.
Candidates should have experience collecting and verifying information from social media platforms and public data sources. The Civic Graph Fellowship is open to analysts, technologists, university students, and individuals with experience in civic data or related fields.
Applicants must be able to follow structured data collection standards and maintain consistent communication with programme coordinators. Experience in open-source intelligence techniques and digital verification will be considered an advantage.
Application Process
Interested applicants must complete the official online application form before the deadline. Candidates are advised to prepare documentation highlighting their research experience, language abilities, and familiarity with digital platforms and civic data workflows relevant to the Civic Graph Fellowship.
The selection process is competitive, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage. Code for Africa maintains a strict merit-based recruitment approach aligned with its digital democracy objectives.
Disclaimer: Pulse Opportunities shares verified opportunities from trusted sources. We are not a recruiting agency and do not request any payment for applications.
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