The Community Internship Programme is administered by the Community Development Group of the Department of Internal Affairs and provides grants for the placement of experienced people from the public, private or community sectors, on six-month internships with host community organisations.
The internships are aimed at strengthening the organisational capacity of the community sector; nurturing improved relationships between the public, private and community sectors; and adding to the experience, skills and knowledge of individuals.
The 2001 funding round was the pilot year for the Programme. Twenty internships were funded that year. It is that first funding round for the Programme that is the subject of this evaluation report.
The data collection for the evaluation began in May 2002 in order that the data could be analysed and presented in a report within the specified time frame. As at 1 May 2002 interns had been in position for between one week and six months, with the majority having been in place for around three months.
Purpose
The objectives of the evaluation were to:
1. Examine the implementation of the Programme and explore whether it may have affected the outcomes.
2. Examine whether the explicit and implicit objectives and intentions for the Programme were realised through the internships.
3. Identify any unanticipated outcomes, either positive or negative.
Methodology
The primary sources of data for the evaluation were in-depth, face-to-face interviews with all host organisations, interns and home organisations. Postal surveys were conducted with unsuccessful applicant host organisations and unsuccessful applicant interns, and community organisations and individuals who expressed an interest in the Programme but did not apply.
As the evaluation was being conducted by the section of the Department of Internal Affairs responsible for implementing the Community Internship Programme, the Department sought the assistance of Social Audit New Zealand to ensure that the evaluation had integrity; that the report was an accurate representation of the data; and that the processes were conducted in accordance with the six social audit principles .