Climate Innovation Platforms: Evidence, Impact & AI Insights Analyst
The Bekenstein intern at Greentown Labs will support the development of a rigorous evidence base demonstrating how platform-based, place-based innovation accelerates climate and energy startup outcomes.
Greentown Labs is the world’s largest climatetech incubator, supporting founders developing solutions that deliver more energy with fewer emissions. With flagship sites in Boston and Houston, Greentown operates as a platform that combines physical infrastructure, programming, community, and ecosystem partnerships to help startups move from prototype to real-world deployment and scale.
In 2026, Greentown is strengthening its operating system, growth discipline, and digital infrastructure. A core priority is to clearly demonstrate — with data and credible analysis — that physical infrastructure, programming, and community design materially improve startup speed to scale and real-world impact.
The Bekenstein intern at Greentown Labs will analyze startup outcomes, synthesize primary and secondary research, and author a structured evidence and impact brief that supports Greentown’s role as a thought leader in climate innovation platforms, with select findings translated into external-facing materials for partners, donors, and the broader climate innovation community.
The intern will also identify targeted opportunities where AI-enabled tools could further reduce founder friction, improve insight, and strengthen platform decision-making — aligned with trust, care, and community.
The intern will have significant responsibility for relatively independent completion of deliverables and will work closely with senior leadership for guidance and feedback.
Qualifications
Required qualifications:
Current graduate student at a Yale professional graduate school; Strong analytical thinking and synthesis skills; Excellent written communication; Ability to work independently with ambiguity; Dependable, responsible, and detail-oriented
Preferred qualifications:
Background in climate, energy, policy, economics, systems, or innovation; Experience with research, data analysis, or strategy; Interest in entrepreneurship or innovation ecosystems
Soft skills:
Self-starter; Collaborative and works well with others; Knows when to ask for help; Creative problem solver; Strong personal time management; Sense of curiosity
Timeline
Weeks 1–2 Onboarding to Greentown’s mission, platform model, and startup ecosystem. Review existing board materials, startup outcome data, and internal metrics.
Weeks 3–5 Analyze startup outcomes (e.g., deployments, capital raised, jobs created, time-to-scale). Begin literature review on climate and energy startup failure modes and place-based entrepreneurship.
Weeks 6–8 Synthesize findings on common startup failure drivers and friction points. Assess how Greentown’s infrastructure, programming, and ecosystem design mitigate these risks. Identify potential AI-enabled platform improvements.
Weeks 9–11 Draft a comprehensive Platform Evidence, Impact & Insights Brief suitable for leadership, donors, and partners, with an executive summary or short-form version designed for external communications and thought-leadership use.
Week 12 Finalize deliverables and present findings to Greentown Labs leadership. Complete documentation and handoff of research, analysis, and recommendations.
Background
Greentown Labs is a nonprofit innovation hub dedicated to accelerating climate and energy startups. Founded in Massachusetts and now operating flagship sites in Boston and Houston, Greentown provides founders with lab space, shared equipment, programming, partnerships, and community to help technologies move from prototype to deployment and scale. Greentown’s mission is to help entrepreneurs deliver more energy with fewer emissions — faster.
