http://www.rwjf-evaluationfellows.org/
DEADLINE EXTENDED to AUGUST 29!
The Program
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evaluation Fellows program seeks to diversify the evaluation field by providing individuals with the necessary skills and training to become program evaluators. During the one-year full-time fellowship, emerging professionals will be placed in an organization that specializes in evaluation and work on real-world evaluation projects. Each fellow will be paired with a mentor at his/her placement site who will provide ongoing guidance and support. We will require fellows to participate in four training workshops throughout the year, including the American Evaluation Association’s (AEA) annual conference. The workshops will provide fellows with intensive training in evaluation approaches and methodology to compliment their placement experience. The program will cover travel expenses to attend all training workshops and the AEA conference. Fellows will work full-time during the one-year program.
The program’s ultimate goal is to infuse the evaluation field with well-trained individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to meet the increasing diversity of programs and communities that the profession serves.
Background
Program evaluators and researchers play an important role in helping foundations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations advance effective practices. These organizations increasingly hire program evaluators to analyze the results of the programs and services they support before they make additional investment decisions.
Program evaluators use diverse methodological approaches to analyze practice strategies and their impact on populations and communities. Their results are then used to improve and/or reshape service delivery.
The skill set needed to effectively interpret public health, social service, community and organizational social patterns depends on the presence of authentic and diverse experiences within program evaluation teams. Programs and services that are often evaluated traditionally work with underserved and disadvantaged communities, which are becoming more diverse. However, the program evaluation field is becoming less diverse due to a lack of training and placement opportunities for graduates from master’s and doctoral programs who come from underserved and disadvantaged communities. This creates a problem for the field, because more often than not, diverse perspectives are critically important to produce high quality evaluations.
The RWJF Evaluation Fellows program is open to applicants from any group that has been historically disadvantaged or underrepresented in program evaluation. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals from ethnic and racial minorities historically underrepresented in program evaluation. It also includes persons of all races and ethnicity who come from groups that have historically been disadvantaged or underrepresented in program evaluation, such as first-generation college graduates and people from low-income communities. These examples are intended to be illustrative, not exclusive. Applicants who do not fall within one of these categories but who believe they are from a historically disadvantaged or underrepresented background should explain their individual circumstances in their application.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the program, emerging professionals must:
- Have completed a master’s or doctoral degree within the last three years (obtained August 1, 2005 or later);
- Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its territories at the time of application;
- Have limited professional experience and training in evaluation; and
- Be from a group that has been historically underrepresented in the evaluation field, such as individuals from ethnic or racial minority groups, those from low-income communities, and first-generation college graduates.
Selection Criteria
We will select up to seven emerging professionals to enter the program. An advisory committee comprised of staff from RWJF, OMG, Duquesne University and other professionals with evaluation expertise will review the applications. We will use the following criteria to evaluate applicants:
- Potential to contribute to the program evaluation field;
- Commitment to a career in program evaluation;
- Commitment to serving diverse populations;
- Demonstrated critical thinking and writing skills; and
- Recommendations from individuals with whom the applicant has studied or worked.
