BY CAMILLE SACHS
Camille Sachs is a second-year International Development student from Colorado. She is passionate about improving gender equity in the development space and spending time in the mountains.
Perspectives: Where did you intern this summer?
CS: This summer I interned, remotely, with International Development Enterprises (iDE). iDE is a non-profit based in Denver, Colorado that is dedicated to combating poverty in the developing world by helping rural households access the tools they need to improve their economic and living situation. They focus primarily on creating sustainable markets to deliver products and services related to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and agriculture. I interned with their Evidence and Analytics (E&A) team and the newly formed Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) team.
Perspectives: How did you find this internship, and what was the hiring process?
CS: I found this internship as the result of an informational interview with a SAIS alum. When I returned to Colorado because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a SAIS professor connected me with a recent graduate at iDE. I reached out in early April to set up a call to learn more about the organization and her role.
During the informational interview, I discussed what I was hoping to gain from a summer internship experience – namely experience with data analysis and work in gender inclusion. She mentioned that she was looking for an intern to split their time between the new GESI policy and the E&A team. After that we went back and forth on the scope of work for the internship, discussed my goals for the summer and the needs of iDE, and finalized a summer internship contract.
Perspectives: What were your primary responsibilities? Please describe the projects you worked on.
CS: I split my time between two main areas – GESI and E&A work. For the E&A team, I conducted an evidence audit of the organization’s programs to see which programs were lacking key impact evidence. I worked with country offices to identify missing evidence and update the evidence library throughout the summer. Additionally, I carried out data analysis for two program studies – a midline assessment for a multi-year project in Cambodia focused on latrine sales, and a pilot assessment for an irrigation program in Vietnam.
My other role was helping to implement key elements of the new GESI policy. I developed a strategy and timeline for each of the 13 commitments in the policy. The majority of my time in this role was focused on forming working groups focused on Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Integration as well as developing an audit tool to measure the gender inclusivity of the organization’s programs.
Perspectives: Was there previous coursework or work experience that you found especially useful during the internship or the application process?
CS: On the technical side, the Intro to Stata workshop was particularly useful. I used the platform to analyze data from two impact assessments over the summer. I also found my course on Multiculturalism and Human Rights for Women to be particularly helpful for navigating the complexities of gender equality and social inclusion policy. Furthermore, Rural Development, Gender and Social Inclusion prepared me to think about how projects in rural spaces should approach inclusion and the key challenges they face.
Perspectives: What were some of your key takeaways from this internship for your academic and professional interests?
CS: This internship highlighted the challenge of measuring complex ideas such as gender equity or inclusion of minority groups. Together with the E&A team, I spent a lot of time thinking through how measurement could be modified to include GESI indicators.
Additionally, I was reminded of the importance of adaptability. When I began this internship, Black Lives Matter protests were sweeping the US in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. These movements initiated a conversation on the role of iDE as a locally-based organization in a historically black neighborhood in Denver. Furthermore, it pushed the organization to engage in a conversation around decolonizing development with like-minded organizations. The GESI team worked to include these two perspectives – local citizenship and decolonizing development - in the rollout of the new GESI policy. I enjoyed the adaptability of the organization, and I hope to bring that type of responsiveness to future roles.
Perspectives: What should future SAIS students interested in this internship know?
CS: I would recommend any SAIS students looking to intern with iDE to be very clear about what they would like to gain from the internship. The organization was great at matching my learning goals to their needs and ensuring the experience was beneficial to us both. However, I feel that if a student were to go into an internship without much direction, it would limit their experience. It is also worth noting that IDEV internship funding was only available for this internship due to the COVID-19 exception as the organization is based in the United States.
PHOTO CREDIT: “Girls seated in a classroom at Nakaywe Basic School, Mongu, Western Zambia” by Felix Clay on Flickr