Case study of IIE’s 10-Year evaluation of IFP

• In Event: Engaging Youth and Program Participants as Partners in Evaluation Research: Approaches and Insights from two International Scholarship Programs

Proposal

This presentation explores learnings from the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP). IFP was a groundbreaking fellowship program furthering leadership and social change across 22 places of origin in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The Fellowship was funded by the Ford Foundation from 2001-2013. In 2013, upon the end of the program, the Ford Foundation commissioned the IFP Alumni Tracking Study implemented by the Institute of International Education.

The impact journeys of IFP alumni since the Fellowship began in 2001 were paired in the publication Weaving Journeys of Social Change and Impact with the journey of IIE’s research team, which implemented the IFP Alumni Tracking Study from 2013 – 2024. With the research study’s purpose to measure the impacts of IFP on the alumni, their organizations, communities, and social change more broadly, the volume serves as a testament to what we learned from IFP’s impact and the research process of measuring global leadership and social change. The weaving of these two journeys inspires reflection on international fellowships and scholarships for social change, and the research that furthers the field in knowledge and practice.

The methodology discussion includes an overview of the three main research questions examined throughout the 10-year study (impact on alumni, contributions to social justice of alumni, and reflecting the original vision of IFP on linking higher education to social change). IIE’s analytical framework–originally the adjusted Kirkpatrick model, which allowed for analysis of multiple levels of impact from individual (internal) to community/national/international levels (external)--will also be presented. The presentation provides a summary of the data collection points, methods of analysis, and dissemination of findings, and will reflect on the limitations based on the learnings of the study team throughout the duration of the study.

Our dual goal in administering the Alumni Tracking Study was to tell the stories of the IFP alumni in a comprehensive way, speaking to the vast changes they were making as a group, and to capture the nuance of each IFP alum and their potential for impact. Through our data collection, IFP alumni reflected on their decisions and progress over time, as well as the link between their work and the IFP Fellowship. Through the process of longitudinal research, they continuously reflected on their arcs of change.

The presentation addresses how, through collaborative writing, an IFP alum and an IFP study team member crafted each chapter’s content, working together virtually across languages and time zones to provide joint reflections for the publication. It highlights how reflection guided the study, its alumni, and researchers. It will delve into the learnings gained around the study’s arc of change and lessons that can inform other researchers who conduct longitudinal impact research, sharing our understanding of how to administer a study of this size and scope across geographical boundaries. Finally, the presentation will reflect on effective practices in measuring impact over time, alumni engagement in longitudinal studies, the importance of equity and access in global research, and the value of including local context in the analysis.

Author

• Leah Mason, Institute of International Education