Under the leadership of the chair and five vice chairs (Programming, Fellowships and Stipends, Civic Engagement, Communications, and Operations), Stanford in Government (SIG) is organized in a committee structure. Each committee — run by a director and staffed by committee members — focuses on a defined set of goals throughout the year.  The following is a guide to each of SIG’s committees.

Programming

Special Events Team:

Special Events brings a wide variety of speakers and perspectives to campus. Past events have included lectures with Al Gore, Kofi Annan, John Boehner, and David Petraeus. Committee members help develop at least one event with a major speaker, and they will help build partnerships with other student groups on events. CMs will also leverage the connections of professors and students to identify special event opportunities.

Policy Lunch Team:

The team’s purpose is to engage students in focused, intimate discussions about policy with relevant experts. The Policy Lunches team typically has organized lunches with relevant Stanford professors and visiting experts.

Public Policy Forum (PPF):

PPF encourages political dialogue and interactive civic participation on campus in peer-to-peer settings, and committee members will plan and hold forum events in line with this mission. CMs will directly lead policy discussions and create a social atmosphere of engaged peers.

Operations

Community Development:

Help with the development of social and leadership development programs for SIG members. Encourages inter- and intra-class bonding through a variety of social events: coffee chats, hikes, barbecues, parties, and more. Works with Diversity and Outreach to connect with different groups around campus. Also oversees the creation and distribution of SIG apparel in partnership with the Graphic Design Team. Throughout the quarters, plans weekly or bi-weekly social events, including bonfires and a Special D, homework hangouts and more. Closes spring quarter with a Board retreat and banquet for all members.

Strong candidates are fun, awesome people. They must have enthusiasm and energy, and great organizational skills. They must also believe in the value of leadership development programs and thriving from a strong sense of community. A great committee to be involved in if you want an overview of SIG overall & want the chance to take on a lot of initiative.

Diversity and Outreach:

Works with all teams on diversity outreach to all campus communities. Helps direct SIG’s engagement with underrepresented communities. Meets with relevant campus leaders as early as possible when SIG is planning events. Works with the Communications Team to market to campus groups that SIG has underserved in the past. Works with Community Development to market SIG membership to underrepresented groups. Works with the Fellowships team to get our great summer opportunities to communities that are underrepresented in those types of positions.

Candidates should be interested and have given deep thought to the spaces currently being taken up on campus and how we create new space for underrepresented people who want to pursue a career in public service through policy work. We want a diversity of thought and people from all points in the political spectrum in this committee.

Financial Officer:

Assists the FO in all of their doings, working with the different accounts SIG has to help the organization won. Chance to learn about how to run the finances of a large organization and work with the ASSU on budgeting as well. Previous finance experience not necessary, just a willingness to learn and interest in the topic.

Analytics 

Seek greater feedback from SIG and the broader Stanford community regarding SIG events and programs; the Director(s) of Analytics may utilize surveys or other forms of information gathering to improve SIG through recommended changes and updates in Communications, Operations, Programming, or Fellowships/Stipends.

Recruitment

Committee helps promote SIG to the Stanford Community and invite people to join the membership! Recruitment is important not only in the first quarter, but throughout the whole of the year – especially as Stanford goes virtual!

Communications

Alumni Outreach:

Alumni Outreach tracks and coordinates SIG involvement with opportunities to engage alumni on campus. Alumni Outreach works to create the SIG Holiday card, plans the alumni brunch, and invites alumni to speak to students. Alumni Outreach also networks with the SIG Alumni Advisory Board and maintains the SIG alumni database. This committee is integral in crafting a long-term vision for SIG alumni engagement.

Marketing:

The Marketing team manages all outgoing email communication for SIG: this includes emails advertising events, fellowships, and stipends. Strong candidates are high-energy, detail-oriented, and fantastically organized. An interest in communications strategy is a plus. Note: all graphic design will be handled separately by the Graphic Design Team.

Social Media:

The Social Media team manages SIG’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. The team posts updates and photos from most SIG programming (two to three per week), in addition to marketing SIG programming, fellowships, and stipends (three to seven per week). They use paid advertising and analytics on Facebook and other platforms and create long-term plans for SIG’s expanding social media presence. The team also manages the SIG blog (https://sig.stanford.edu/blog/) to ensure that regular, well-written content appears on the website. Strong candidates are excellent writers with great senses of humor. Interest/experience in social media is a plus. Note: all graphic design will be handled separately by the Graphic Design Team.

Graphic Design:

The Graphic Design team creates posters and flyers for SIG events and helps lay out the biennial newsletter and holiday card. The team designs graphics for publicity materials, the website, and SIG apparel/swag. Strong candidates are creative and interested in design/art. Graphic design experience is a plus (although not required)!

Technology:

Helps the Technology Director. Works on overseeing and maintaining the SIG website, sig.stanford.edu. Assists the Director with online application portals and online systems. Helps manage SIG content analytics. Plans new technology projects and meets regularly with the Vice Chair of Operations to chart a vision for SIG’s future technology use. Point committee for all things tech for all SIG teams.

Strong candidates have an excellent knowledge of web development and excellent organizational skills. Interest in CS highly encouraged, or any prior experience very welcome (please put prior experience on application, or planned courses).

Fellowship & Stipends

SIG Fellowships and Stipends Committees:

The SIG Fellowships and Stipends team is responsible for the administration of 80+ fully funded, policy-related summer internship positions. Committee members connect with our host organizations, liaise with faculty mentors, and oversee the application and selection process for their assigned fellowships. The work really ramps up during winter quarter, when our committees review applications and select finalists for each position. Committee members then get to participate in interviews and help make the final selection for highly competitive roles. Fellowships and Stipends don’t have subcommittees – instead, every CM is fully responsible for the application process of one or two fellowships.

No prior knowledge is necessary — we teach you everything you need to know! The only thing we look for in a committee member is commitment and enthusiasm to being part of a dynamic, highly-visible team. The role provides access to some of the most desired internships on campus, and committee members get extensive exposure to high quality applications and interviews. Fellowships and Stipends is FUN, REWARDING, and IMPACTFUL!

For more information on the types of internships we fund, take a look at our website to review last year’s placements: https://sig.stanford.edu/fellowships/

Fellowships Outreach

Coordinates promotion of Fellowship and Stipend opportunities throughout both application cycles.  Strong candidates have excellent organizational skills and an interest in strategic planning. Requires coordination across multiple branches of SIG, including Comms, Diversity and Outreach and Programming.

Director, Faculty & Institutional Relations: 

Oversees relationships with faculty mentors and helps identify new mentors for Fellowships. Plans mixer with Faculty and Fellows. Manages SIG’s external relations with other organizations on campus, with a particular emphasis on centers like FSI, Hoover, SIEPR, etc. Organizes small events with faculty throughout the year specifically geared towards freshmen in order to build connections.

Branch: Civic Engagment

StanfordVotes:

StanfordVotes is a non-partisan, university-wide, student-run organization to increase voter turnout among Stanford students. Formed in response to the low student voter turnout rates in 2014 and 2016, StanfordVotes engages with campus leadership and other stakeholders to help create a culture of civic engagement on the Farm. StanfordVotes is run through the Stanford in Government (SIG) Civic Engagement Branch in collaboration with the Haas Center for Public Service, and has partnerships with the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) and the President’s Office.

Community Service:

Oversees the Community Service team. Engages SIG members with the surrounding community by organizing service trips and events. Works together with the Haas Center to understand what opportunities for service exist around Stanford. Devise creative service projects.

Student Involvement:

Monitors and publicizes policy-related events and activities organized by other student groups on campus to the SIG community. Maintains consistent communication and positive relationships with other student groups. Works to encourage civic participation among members of SIG–while remaining committed to SIG’s nonpartisan mission. Will act as a “Strategic Planning Representative”, maintaining an eye towards SIG’s long-term goals.