Because of Her Story Internship Program Evaluation

Overview 

In 2021, we worked with the Smithsonian Institution’s American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI) to design and implement a baseline study that would measure the long-term impacts of the Because of Her Story (BOHS) internship program on participants. The program is a cross-Smithsonian initiative that matches interns with museum projects meant to amplify women's stories to tell a more complete American history, reach a diverse audience, and empower and inspire people from all walks of life.  

Together, we articulated clear and measurable mid- and long-term outcomes for internship alumni to be evaluated in the study and delivered baseline data that can serve as a guidepost for future programmatic changes.

 Approach

Kera used a mixed-method approach to explore the impact of BOHS on interns: remote in-depth interviews, an online survey, and a longitudinal diary study. These methods provided a complementary balance of methods–quantitative data from surveys that can be easily accumulated and analyzed over time, rich qualitative data from interviews that provide detailed and nuanced responses, and longitudinal data from the diary study that show how intern alumni apply lessons and skills from their internship in their lives now. 

Client Takeaways 

Unsurprisingly for a baseline study, we found that the internship is excelling at most of the mid-term outcomes but has room for growth in the long-term outcomes (which will continue to emerge as time passes for past interns). In particular, we found that the internship is preparing interns to be changemakers in their own communities and helping them amplify diverse women’s stories in their lives and work. However, the evaluation also revealed areas for growth–for example, helping intern alumni see themselves as mentors to future generations.

Based on conversation with AWHI staff about the results, we developed a Theory of Change that would illustrate links or gaps between program activities and desired mid- and long-term outcomes for interns.