Our Impact

What’s the Impact of Princeton in Africa?

Princeton in Africa staff and board members have been working together to find the best answer to this complicated question.

We believe that by fostering productive work-based fellowships for recent graduates from colleges and universities accredited in the U.S., we will develop a broad network of individuals who:

• Contribute positively to the work being done in Africa by Princeton in Africa’s fellowship organizations.
• Better understand the opportunities that exist in Africa, the needs of African communities and the organizations working in Africa in a range of sectors.
• Are more likely to have careers focused on Africa, give money and time to organizations working in Africa, and find other ways to remain committed to the advancement of Africa beyond their fellowship year.

We are developing improved ways of measuring these and other outcomes.  The information collected will help us improve our fellowship program and be more accountable to the supporters and friends of PiAf.

In order to become a more evidence-based organization, PiAf has increased the level of data collected on current Fellows, supervisors and alumni, through biennial alumni surveys conducted since 2011 and annual Fellowship Organization/Supervisor Surveys and End of Fellowship Surveys conducted since 2012. A big thank you to all of the alumni and organizations who took the time and effort to respond to these surveys.

For our most recent Alumni Survey and Fellowship Organization/Supervisor Survey, we received responses from more than 90 alumni (from Fellows in 2000-01 all the way up to our 2014-15 Fellows) and more than 30 supervisors from 27 of our 2014-15 fellowship organizations. Here are some highlights:

Fellowship Organization/Supervisor Survey 2015

• 93% of supervisor respondents described the quality of their PiAf Fellow’s work as “excellent” or “good”
• 93% of supervisors said their Fellow had a “very positive” or “positive” effect on their organization
• 97% of supervisors were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their relationship with PiAf
• 100% of supervisors would recommend hosting a PiAf Fellow to other organizations, 97% would want another Fellow in the future (if funding were available), and 71% would hire their current Fellow as a permanent staff member if possible (e.g., if funding were available)

Alumni Survey 2015

• 97% of alumni respondents are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their experience as a Princeton in Africa Fellow.
• 82% of alumni “strongly agree” or “agree” that skills, awareness, and experience gained during their fellowship year helped them acquire a job in their field of interest.
• 96% of alumni “strongly agree” or “agree” that their fellowship had a positive influence in shaping their career trajectory
• 70% of alumni who are currently working (e.g., not in graduate school) reported having job responsibilities either directly or indirectly related to Africa
• 76% of alumni who pursued graduate studies reported having studies directly related (i.e., discipline, fieldwork, dissertation, or certificate) or indirectly related (i.e., coursework, readings, or case studies) to Africa
• 65% of alumni have returned to Africa since their fellowship year
• 52% and 74% of alumni reported having volunteered or donated, respectively, in the past two years to organizations based in Africa or affiliated with Africa

Princeton in Africa has also surveyed Fellows at the end of their fellowship year since 2012. Of the 2014-15 fellowship class:

• 37% stayed on the continent after the conclusion of their fellowship year, and an additional two (2) secured jobs that require travel to the continent.
• 23% secured a position with their fellowship organization and an additional two (2) secured short-term contracts
• 24% began a graduate degree in the year following their fellowship
• More than 40% secured a full-time job or another fellowship