My first lesson that I have learnt is that things and projects change! The output that I have created is still similar, but has some strong differences from what I proposed in my research proposal. Upon sitting down to start assessing data and formulating the evaluation report, we realized that instead of doing the report based on a rigid log frame and monitoring and evaluation matrix (both of which did not exist), it was better to do more of a ‘narrative’ evaluation report. This gave me the freedom to accurately assess the results based on Amnesty’s goals and the data, as well as make an M&E matrix one of my firm recommendations for Semester 1, 2018. As a result, I produced an evaluation report, recommendations in the form of a revised course syllabus, and a M&E framework to be used from the beginning of the project in 2018.
My second lesson is that time IS of the essence. This is something that should be embedded by final year Masters, yet working in a professional environment skews this. As the dead-lines were not strict for Amnesty, I approached the industry output thinking I had more time than I actually did. As a result, my output was completed a little later than I would have liked in the semester, and it means that there has been less time than I would have liked to work on the RRR.
My third lesson is the importance of industry standard. I worked quite hard on producing a draft that was of high-level industry standard, and after consultation with Robbie, I still have more to go. Presenting an industry-standard means that you are also able to show the organization your capacity and why you would be a fantastic potential employee or volunteer. Also, they are assisting you by letting you do this placement, and the last thing you want is to thank them with an output that is not up to par.
I am now looking forward to my RRR- which is definitely going to be interesting and challenging. I have steered away from my initial idea of looking at why it is hard to have an NGO presence in TAFE, and looking at the othering. This stems from the students all picking to work on the Indigenous Campaign, although none of them identified as Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander. I found this problematic and wanted to explore this and expand it to a larger scale.
So my RRR question is going to look something like that:
The ‘Othering in Development’: What are the manifestations of the ‘othering’ (eg. What is it and who does it/set the scope), Why is othering a problem (who else is seeing it as a problem and who isn’t, am I looking at just a human rights perspective etc.) and how have people addressed this (conceptual approaches, institutional and individual)