Data Intern

Your Role and Benefits to You

As a data fellow, you will support Merrick Community Services in setting up their PERC model and strategies by collecting and sharing existing data, and new data for evaluation. The ultimate goal of the data fellowship is to build data capacity within your community for the PERC initiative. This includes sharing what you are learning with the backbone organization, collaborative table, USI, and Urban Institute. Urban Institute will provide you with technical support, training, and mentorship. Through this process you will:

· Gain additional skills in process and outcome evaluation.

· Learn from other data fellows and Urban Institute staff on evaluation best practices.

· Contribute to the way that your community can use and access data.

Qualifications

There are two key components to this role: familiarity and commitment to your community, comfort and skills in data evaluation.

· This position requires an organized, highly motivated, creative, and self-confident individual who can work effectively and independently.

· Previous experience with process and outcome evaluations including quantitative and qualitative research experience.

· Understanding of the local context and willingness to commit to your city.

· Experience in using and analyzing data for program development and evaluation.

· Proficiency with spreadsheet and presentation graphics software skills, familiarity with data analysis software packages (such as Stata, R, SAS or SPSS), and experience with administrative data analysis.

Time Commitment and Compensation

As a data fellow, you will be PERC's local evaluator for your community. You will work with Merrick Community Services to fill their data needs, set up the data infrastructure needed to track progress, and measure the process and outcomes of PERC in your community. The time commitment will range from twelve to sixteen hours a week. And we estimate that you will spend a maximum of 64 hours per month on this project from December 2023 to May 2024.

Compensation: $4,160 every month. $65/hour with a fixed payment covering up to 16 hours a week.

Your Role

· Help build local data infrastructure

o Supporting Merrick identify evaluation metrics for continuous learning and to demonstrate progress towards stated goals

o Creating, collecting, and organizing data to inform strategies and for evaluation purposes

o Regularly sharing and reviewing data with MCS, USI, Urban Institute, and the collaborative table

o Orienting and/or guiding backbone organization staff and select Collaborative Table members on data collection and tracking processes

· Provide support to USI project managers on PERC national evaluation

· Lead PERC local evaluation

o Design and administer data collection instruments

o Perform statistical analysis as well as analysis of qualitative and quantitative data

o Complete weekly update of PERC process tracking spreadsheet

o Co-create system for tracking PERC output and outcome data

o Input data for PERC outcome tracking

o Collaborate with Urban Institute to design participatory evaluation plans, and implement evaluation tasks

· Perform as liaison between PERC backbone organization (MCS), Urban Institute, and USI

Support for the Role

· Technical assistance (provided by the Urban Institute, remotely)

o Onboarding and initial training(s)

o Monthly check-in with all data fellows/fellows for share outs and cross-learning

o Ad-hoc support (email, meetings)

o Mentorship pairs (between Urban Institute staff and Data Fellows)

Management (provided by Urban Institute, USI, and backbone organization jointly)