1. The International Applied Research & Evaluation Internship: Getting Where You Want to Go…
Jeffrey Sheldon, Ed. M.
Applied Social Science Research & Evaluation Intern
Psycho-social Support & Counselling Programme
Sinikithemba HIV/Aids Clinic – McCord Hospital, Durban, South Africa
&
Ph. D. Student (2)
School of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, California, USA
jeffrey.sheldon@cgu.edu/ 909.447.5474
• At the end of my first semester I determined that doing an
international internship was a necessary and vital experience
for the enhancement of both my studies and career.
• In conceptualizing my internship I was clear about what I
wanted my experience to look like, the skills I wanted to use,
the contribution I wanted to make, and how I ultimately
wanted to benefit.
• I developed a “marketing piece” for broad distribution.
• Looking for internships, networking, and broadcasting began
6 months in advance of the actual start date since I was
literally “flying blind” – I knew nothing about this process
before I started.
Preliminary steps:
Conceptualization:
• I was clear that it had to be an authentic applied research & evaluation
internship, not just administrative work.
• I provided a rationale why an international relationship was of value to me
and important for my career – monitoring & evaluation in developing
countries.
• I made sure they would understand my modus operandi was to provide a
service and to contribute to their organization’s development, capacity
building, and improvement.
• Specific projects did not matter so much as the work involved.
• I was clear that I was not interested in an internship for monetary
compensation, but rather for pedagogical reasons – as part of the
requirement to build a portfolio of applied experiences and to potentially
network with practitioners in M & E.
• I offered to bear the costs myself, i.e. basically I would pay myself to be an
intern.
• I provided definite start and end dates.
Looking for the internship:
• I first used the career services office’s Peterson’s Internship reference book
as a guide to looking up organizations that I already knew about – e.g.,
UNESCO, USAID, World Bank, and Unicef, and finding others of interest
that I might want to explore.
• I then used the web to find the organizations listed in Peterson’s.
• If there was a direct contact, I sent an email to that person, if not then I sent
it to info@...
• I Googled “international internships for graduate students.”
• I contacted people in my network that might know of internship opportunities
or other people who I might contact.
Broadcasting & Networking:
• I used two primary sources for broadcasting and networking
– Evaltalk Listserve
– XCeval Listserve
• I sent out the following excerpt of my email to both Listserves, to “blind”
contacts, and anyone who contacted me otherwise:
– “By way of introduction I am a first-year psychology Ph. D. student at
Claremont Graduate University (Claremont, CA, USA) concentrating in
evaluation & applied research with a focus on international
organizational development. One of the interesting aspects of my
doctoral program is the emphasis placed on developing a portfolio of
applied experiences as adjunct to coursework. Thus, the value of
doing an internship with an organization that works in the international
arena is more pedagogical than compensatory, i.e., I would basically
pay myself to be an intern…”
After the emails went out:
• I received many return emails suggesting I contact this person or that
person, which I dutifully, and quickly, followed up on.
• For nearly two months, over 300 emails were sent and received, including
“thank-you” notes.
• It is very time consuming to follow-up on every email, but it is a necessary
part of the process – this cannot be over-emphasized.
The offers, the decision:
• As it turned out, less than two months were necessary to find, secure, and
accept an offer for the position I wanted, from an organization I wanted.
• Enticing internship offers were received from six organizations:
– Three in South Africa (Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth);
– One in Nepal (Katmandu); and
– Two in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney).
• Unfortunately I could accept only one offer.
• I accepted the one that matched up with my long-term career goals and
would give me the best opportunity to do the work for which I’ve been
trained (thus far).
Planning & Logistics:
• If you have to, take out extra loan money for the sake of experience; it will
pay future dividends.
• Purchase airline tickets (Priceline.com was cheapest) at least 2 months in
advance of your departure date.
• Make sure your passport is current and check with both the State
Department and your host country about the necessity of a visa or work
permit.
• Determine the immunizations you need (see CDC advisories on their web
site) and get them well in advance of your departure.
• Get to know the key contacts at your internship site and develop a
relationship with them.
• Develop a budget (includes knowing exchange rate).
• Check Weather.com so you know what to pack for the climate (is it their
winter, our summer?).
Planning & Logistics Cont’d:
• You are a professional so bring the appropriate clothes for work; know
the organizational culture before you get there.
• Know where you are going to stay; set up you accommodations in
advance of your departure working with your on-site contacts.
• Know where you are going to exchange currency and make sure you
have enough money to cover at least your first week in-country.
• Know how you’re going to get from the airport to where you are staying,
and then from where you’re staying to the organization.
• Know where you are going to eat, know where you can shop for
sundries, etc… – basically, know how to maintain yourself in the ways
you would at home.
• Think of all the questions you have, then send them all in one email –
don’t be a pest.
The Experience:
• At first they didn’t know where I best fit - the Psychology Department, the
Hospital, or Sinikithemba HIV/Aids Care Centre – because they weren’t
sure of my capabilities.
• There were many needs to fill, but they wanted me to take some time to sort
out which projects I might like to work on.
• Finally, they decided I should work with the Psycho-support Team at the
HIV/Aids Care Centre because that’s where the most pressing needs were,
i.e. there was much they wanted to know about the counseling program, but
they just never had the time or expertise to undertake studies and
evaluations.
• The projects that I eventually worked on were negotiated with my
supervisor.
• I took about three weeks to finally figure out which projects had priority, the
order they should be undertaken, and how to go about doing the work.
• I had full access to staff, was included in all clinic and staff meetings (4 per
week), and had access to all necessary documents.
Some minor inconveniences:
• I did not always have access to decision-makers, and actually spent a lot of
time working without input so I was never quite sure I was doing work that
was ultimately going to prove useful.
• There was no research and evaluation mentor to review my work or provide
guidance.
• I was not linked in any formal way to external researchers and evaluators.
• After my laptop was stolen I had to scramble for computer resources – 1 PC
in the clinic with internet access and only one PC networked to the only
working printer shared by many, many people.
• I frequently had to deal with personal clinic staff issues and needs because I
was the only one with the capacity to do so.
Final product: a “compendium” that…
• Provides a rationale for each project.
• Delineates implementation and management tasks, and what has been
done to date.
• Offers implementation and management tasks yet to be undertaken as
suggestions for future project direction.
Projects Started & Developed:
• On-going Counselling Pilot Study
• Sinikithemba ART Patient Training Knowledge, Attitudes, & Beliefs
Assessment Pilot Study
• Situational Analysis of McCord Hospital’s HIV/Aids Counselling
Programme
• Psycho-social Screening Tool Additions to Trak Health on-line
data base
• Sinikithemba Counselling Programme Situational Analysis & Training
Needs Assessment
• Sinikithemba Forms & Training Materials Evaluation
• External Research & Evaluation Proposal Form
My final advice to the Clinic Staff:
• This work should be utilized wholly at the discretion of
those who are charged with implementing these projects and studies.
• This work should be reviewed by more than one person and that as
time permits, discussions take place as a collective so any resulting
decisions about the use of these materials are mutually agreed upon.
• Any one project or study is likely to impact multiple areas across both
Sinikithemba and McCord so involvement of the many will be more
beneficial than involvement of the few.
My final advice to you:
• Leave western attitudes and thinking at home.
• Fit in, acculturate quickly, don’t stick out.
• Be open to thinking in different ways and be ready for challenges to your
preconceived notions and assumptions.
• Be open to doing things in a different way than you are used to,
and especially be patient because events will not always happen
when you want them to.
• You may know more applied research and evaluation methodology than
the people you will work with, but you won’t know more about the
context in which you are working so listen twice and speak once.
• Working in your host country and with your host institution is a privilege,
not a right.