The First Branch Intern Project and Internapalooza: A Case Study in Institutional Adoption as a Key Success Indicator
“Internapalooza” — a four-year civil society-led effort to provide a welcome and orientation experience for Congressional interns — demonstrates the success of an approach to “de-risk” institutional change through prototypes and collaboration. Internapalooza shows what is possible when outside groups respond to institutional needs by bringing people to experiment with new approaches (even on a tight budget!), create clear impact, share credit, build consensus for institutional adoption, and support its implementation.
Summary
Internapalooza, created in 2021 by POPVOX Foundation and the First Branch Intern Project in collaboration with the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (ModCom) and the Committee on House Administration (CHA), was a significant civil society-led effort to welcome and train Congressional interns. Following these successful efforts, in 2024, Congressional intern orientation became a key element of the newly formed House Intern Resource Office (HIRO), successfully sunsetting outside efforts with the institutional adoption of what started as a “pie-in-the-sky idea” among nonprofits looking to support interns as Congress went remote during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This four-year collaboration is a shining example of civil society rapidly responding to institutional need, de-risking a new approach or idea, demonstrating success, and helping the institution (in this case, the House of Representatives) adopt the innovation.
Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Internapalooza ensured House interns had a positive onboarding experience even as Congress operated remotely, and became a must-attend in-person event in subsequent semesters. Internapalooza provided opportunities for networking, community building, and professional development. Since its inception, eight Internapaloozas were held, with thousands of interns from hundreds of Congressional offices in both chambers participating, both in-person and virtually. The final event in January 2024 saw over 400 registrants.
More than forty current and former staff and representatives of civil society served as speakers, providing training on effective communication, networking, and career planning. Keynote speakers, including several current and former Members of Congress, shared their formative internship experiences and how those experiences led them to public service.
Internapalooza demonstrates the power and potential of collaborative efforts between governmental bodies and civil society organizations to respond to changing conditions, seize opportunities, and work toward building a more effective, efficient, and representative Legislative branch.
Background
Responding to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of Congressional internships was uncertain. As offices faced the need to transition to remote work, some offices viewed internships as both an afterthought and a complication. At that time, many internships were still unpaid, meaning that interns were not technically employees of Congress, and therefore, not able to take home official devices or access House and Senate networks remotely. Offices dealing with their own continuity of operations challenges viewed managing remote interns as a lower priority and some discontinued internships altogether.
Several civil society organizations joined forces to create the First Branch Intern Project to share information about how offices were managing internships in the midst of a crisis that upended normal operations. They held regular virtual meetings where they strategized on how to act as a support hub for interns, sharing information about workarounds for device access or tips on accessing the new House paid internship fund. Several of the groups (like College to Congress and Pay Our Interns) had a mission to increase access to internships. Some, like the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, viewed internships as essential points of entry to create more workplace fairness in Congress. Others, like the Congressional Management Foundation, Bipartisan Policy Center, and POPVOX Foundation saw the continuation of Congressional internships as essential to ensuring continuity of the talent pipeline for future Congressional staff. In collaboration with Hill staffers and Members — including the tireless Modernization Staff Association — the First Branch Intern Project began to take shape: providing letters of support and recommendations, publishing op-eds, developing resources — including a weekly newsletter for interns that continues to the present day — and hosting webinars to relieve some of the training burden from individual offices, so that they would be better able to maintain their internship programs.
Members of the First Branch Intern Project
Filling the “Orientation” Need
During a April 2021 ModCom hearing on “Professionalizing and Enriching the Congressional Internship and Fellowship Experience,” Members of Congress noted a need to broaden access to Congressional internships, the need for standardized training, and a lack of data to help Congress understand intern backgrounds, demographic representation, and experiences. In summer of 2021, when it appeared that the pandemic was receding, the organizations of the FBIP discussed a “far-fetched idea” to celebrate a back-to-Congress milestone with an in-person welcome for the incoming Fall 2021 intern class. That idea became “Internapalooza.”
Internapalooza
When COVID cases later began to rise again in fall 2021 and it became clear that Hill offices would continue remote work, the planned live event was recast as a virtual event, and “Internapalooza Fall 2021” was held online. And it was a success! Members of Congress provided messages of welcome and encouragement for incoming interns. A diverse group of 230 remote interns participated from around the country, and speakers offered insights on a variety of topics, including:
Historical perspective from the US Capitol Historical Society
Approaching your internship for success
Orienting to the political, physical, and digital Capitol
Working as part of a Congressional team
From “Far-fetched Idea” to a Calendar Hold
Building on the success of the initial online event, POPVOX Foundation and the organizations of the FBIP continued to hold Internapaloozas every subsequent season — and moved to in-person events as soon as the Capitol reopened.
The first four (Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Summer 2022, Fall 2022) were held in collaboration with the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (which sunsetted in December 2022). The next four (Spring 2023, Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024) were held in collaboration with the Committee on House Administration. The last Internapalooza organized by POPVOX Foundation and the FBIP was held on January 18, 2024 — but it would not be the last such event to welcome and orient Congressional interns to Capitol Hill.
For many offices, Internapalooza was an event they came to expect would be available to welcome and orient their interns each semester. Organizers could tell that they had addressed a need when they started hearing from intern coordinators even before the next Internapalooza had been announced, asking for dates so that they could arrange their intern scheduling around the event. And with the frequent staff turnover on Capitol Hill, many current intern coordinators don’t remember a time before Internapalooza existed.
A Labor of Love and Collaboration
For POPVOX Foundation and the FBIP, Internapalooza has been a labor of love, a chance to support future generations of Congressional staff, and a way to help the new and increasingly diverse classes of interns feel welcome on Capitol Hill and empowered about the idea of public service. None of the organizations involved received dedicated funding for their work on Internapalooza. Costs were kept low thanks to a civil society and government collaboration: Congressional committees secured event space, Congress provided A/V support, FBIP partners pitched in to spread the word and host complementary receptions, and POPVOX Foundation covered the organizing costs, technology, printing, and catering for the general reception from its general operating budget. Many events included a resource fair supported by FBIP partners, staff associations, and internal support offices where interns could meet organizations available to support them in one convenient place, encouraging greater uptake of resources and trainings.
Success and Institutionalization
Internapalooza and the collective efforts of the First Branch Intern Project raised the profile of interns on Capitol Hill. Event speakers, including Members, committee staff, and teams from Legislative branch offices like the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, contributed their wisdom and saw for themselves the impact of addressing an auditorium full of nearly 500 young professionals from all over the country who recently arrived in Washington eager for their experience in public service. During its existence, the events reached thousands of entry-level workers, deepening their professional development and their psychosocial or “soft” skills to help them excel in any workplace; something that was often lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The success of Internapalooza by the First Branch Intern Project not only enriched the intern experience for thousands of Congressional interns, but also set a precedent for future initiatives aimed at empowering the next generation of public sector professionals. Their experiences contributed to efforts to offer more resources for interns within the institution, with the creation of a House Intern Resource Office (HIRO) — a suggestion that originated with the FBIP and resulted in an official ModCom recommendation. In FY23 Appropriations, HIRO was approved and funded. The office has been established and a director hired. It will institutionalize many of the experimental approaches of the First Branch Intern Project/Internapalooza, including collecting and publishing data on Congressional internships and supporting intern coordinators. And one of its first orders of business was to establish its own officially sanctioned intern orientation event.
On June 10, 2024, the newly formed HIRO welcomed hundreds of interns from both chambers to Congress’ first official “Capitol Intern Summit” orientation event which the organizations of the First Branch Intern Project supported as speakers, collaborators, and outside cheerleaders.
POPVOX Foundation Director of Government Capacity Taylor J. Swift (left) and House Intern Resource Office Coordinator Bisher Martini (right) at the Inaugural Capitol Intern Summit in June 2024
As the newly created HIRO is House-focused, the FBIP organizations are successfully pushing a similar effort in the Senate. During hearings examining Legislative branch appropriations needs, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms signaled the Senate’s intent to create a similar office when they asked for funding to hire two full-time employees to staff an office that would offer support and standardized programming to Senate interns.
Conclusion
For POPVOX Foundation and the organizations of the First Branch Intern Project, Internapalooza represents a best-case example for institutional change:
Recognize a need
Take action, in collaboration with the institution
Demonstrate demand and troubleshoot execution
Build the case for institutionalization
Partner with the institution for smooth transition
Tell the story
This is the POPVOX Foundation formula: prototyping novel approaches to improve capacity, innovation, and engagement that government can adopt as its own and supporting that adoption.
What People Are Saying
“The Modernization Staff Association has been thrilled to participate in Internapalooza and see it grow into an institutionalized event. The convening is an amazing way to make connections and to partner with the Capitol Hill Intern Association as a kickoff to our mentorship program, pairing interns with junior staffers. Interns are the backbone of Congressional offices and essential to their effective functioning, especially through constituent services. They enable Members to carry out their representational duties through constituent correspondence. Internships are also incredibly important because they are a pipeline for careers on Capitol Hill. Today’s interns are tomorrow’s Chiefs of Staff, and Internapalooza provides the tools and connections to set them up for success.”
“Interns are key to a functioning Congress. The more diverse group of interns Congress has, the better they can help Congress run and represent the American people. The historic recent developments like paid Congressional internships, training sessions like Internapalooza, and now the House Intern Resource Office (HIRO) within the CAO, help build today’s interns into tomorrow’s public servants throughout our federal, state and local governments.”
“Creating Internapalooza was an amazing collaborative experience. We at the US Capitol Historical Society are delighted that we could add the historical perspective. We continue to be part of the Capitol Hill internship summit as the House Administration Committee takes on the responsibility. Establishing an onboarding system for Capitol Hill interns as a permanent part of the experience is a real accomplishment.”
“Internapalooza is such an impactful way of getting interns a solid foundation of what it means to work on Capitol Hill. Many interns are in Washington for the first time and far away from their support system and network. Being in this room they connect with their peers while learning the unwritten do’s and don’ts. Building those relationships during the short window of the internships can be the real decision-maker on whether or not the intern returns as a staffer.”
Appendix
Data on Congressional interns
The First Branch Intern Project collected survey data from Internapalooza registrants over the eight Internapalooza events. Notable findings from this data include:
2,061 current and prospective interns registered for Internapalooza events since Fall 2021
Interns identifying as racial/ethnic minorities or mixed-race have been the majority of Internapalooza participants at three out of the five previous Internapalooza events
A majority of interns have reported being paid by their employing offices at seven out of eight previous Internapalooza events. Employing Offices emerged as the predominant source of financial support, with its proportion significantly increasing from 45% in Fall 2021 to nearly 70% by Spring 2024.
Interns’ top identified barriers to a Congressional internship are consistently:
Affording moving costs/DC cost of living, with the proportion of respondents indicating this issue increasing from 55.2% in Fall 2021 to 60.7% by Spring 2024 This suggests the cost of living and moving expenses remain a persistent challenge
Lack of mentorship/no one to ask questions about interning for Congress
Getting through the competitive selection process
Interns’ top identified worries about succeeding in a Congressional internship are consistently:
Finding friends and mentors in their internships
Getting up to speed on Congressional operations and procedure
Learning new procedures/tasks quickly
Getting up to speed on Congress
Building up confidence in a busy office environment
Registration for Internapalooza was designed in consultation with academic researchers to capture not only intern demographics, but also aspects of the internship experience like barriers to entry and goals of the experience. This dataset currently represents the only available long-term data on Congressional interns.
