There is no denying that interns can become valuable staff members who contribute greatly to overall productivity when successfully integrated into the office. Taking on valuable interns when there is not an official intern program set up, however, can be a daunting proposition that often precludes taking on reliable interns who can contribute to office productivity. The following is a list of resources with tips for developing internship programs compiled from resources across the Knowledge Network.

• For those unfamiliar with the fellow-intern distinction, the finer points are clarified in a recent user-generated discussion, titled “Fellowship vs. Internship.”
• “Sedgwick County Management Internship Program,” outlines Sedgewick County, Kansas’ development and implementation of their internship program and serves as a strong outline for on-boarding an internship program. 
• “Volunteer Internships Benefit Local Governments and Students,” by Robin Popkin, provides some tips to help get an internship program started, and offers a strong argument some reasoning to help get local officials on board with the idea.
• Read through the opinions of a few management professionals on ideal practices for internships, which were offered as responses to a question called “Intern programs.”
• ICMA’s “Management Internships: A guidebook for local governments” holds a wealth of information on developing the appropriate type of internship, attracting the best talent, compensation of workers, and supervising, among other best practices for internships.
  
  

For more resources related to local government management internships, head over to the Internships topic page on the Knowledge Network. If you have any helpful tips or documents related to developing an internship program, please share them in the comments section below!

Aloha,

James Davidson

James Davidson is an intern for ICMA’s Knowledge Network. You can reach him for questions and comments atjdavidson@icma.org.