Responsive evaluation of college students-in-residence rural community competition

The Soil and Water Conservation Bureau, Council of Agriculture, Taiwan implemented the College Students-in-Residence Rural Community Competition Program in 2011 in Taiwan. The program provides incentives through competition, encourages young students to travel to rural communities during their summer vacations, and provides government funding, human and material resources for counselling and coordination. The program brings students with expert knowledge and new ideas to rural communities. Thus far, most research on the benefits of the program has been based on the results of quantitative questionnaire surveys. However, these do not provide insight into the experiences of individual participants in the program. Therefore, this study adopted a responsive evaluation approach to qualitative policy evaluation and conducted in-depth interviews to learn about the participants’ understanding of and views on the program through accounts of their participation experiences and impressions. The results of this study can help to address the shortcomings of current quantitative policy evaluations and provide a reference for related agencies to improve policy management and event planning of College Students-in-Residence Rural Community Competition Program.