Participatory Research on the Contributions of International Volunteerism in Kenya Final

7/28/2019 Participatory Research on the Contributions of International Volunteerism in Kenya Final

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PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF

INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERISM IN KENYA:PROVISIONAL RESULTS

By Benjamin J. Lough, PhD

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

International Forum on Development ServiceForum International du Volontariat pour le Dveloppement

www.forum-ids.org

Cover image: VSO Jitolee volunteer and colleagues. Photo: Lowell Traiso / VSO


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Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................................................3ResearchDesignandMethods.......................................................................................................4

DeskReview................................................................................................................................4

SingleCountryResearchStudy...................................................................................................5

ResearchDesign.....................................................................................................................5

Instrumentation......................................................................................................................8

Analyses..................................................................................................................................8

FindingsandDiscussion..................................................................................................................9

KeyContributions.....................................................................................................................10

CapacityBuilding..................................................................................................................10

ResourceAcquisition............................................................................................................13

DevelopmentGoals(MDGs).................................................................................................16

Added-valueofInternationalVolunteers.................................................................................22

Trust......................................................................................................................................23

AccountabilityandOwnership.............................................................................................25

Creativity..............................................................................................................................26

Optimism..............................................................................................................................28

CivicEngagement.................................................................................................................28

Sustainability........................................................................................................................29

Cost-effectiveness................................................................................................................30

Diversity................................................................................................................................31

HumanRightsOrientation....................................................................................................33

ContributingCauses.................................................................................................................34

ServiceActivity.....................................................................................................................34

InstitutionalAttributes.........................................................................................................37

VolunteerAttributes.............................................................................................................37

Limitations................................................................................................................................41

Conclusion....................................................................................................................................41

Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................44


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References....................................................................................................................................45

AppendixA:Participatingprograms.............................................................................................49

AppendixB:ParticipatoryWorkshopSchedule............................................................................50


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ParticipatoryResearchontheContributionsofInternational

Volunteerism

Introduction

Thevalueofinternationalvolunteer-drivendevelopmentisaquestionofdebateandoccasional

scepticism.Proponentsclaimthatinternationalvolunteerserviceisapracticalwaytopromote

globalunderstanding,whilemakingtangiblecontributionstothedevelopmentofindividuals,

organisationsandcommunities[1,2].Earlystudiessuggestthatinternationalserviceenhances

theeducation,employmentandparticipationofcitizensinhostcountries[3,4].Subsequent

studieshavesoughttoverifytheseoutcomes,whileuncoveringadditionalpositivebenefits[5].

Ontheotherhand,criticscontendthatmanyinternationalvolunteerprogramsare

imperialistic,volunteer-centeredandineffectiveattacklingtherealchallengesofdevelopment

[6,7].Thesecontrastingviewsbothhavemerit.Intruth,theimpactsofinternationalvolunteer

serviceasadevelopmentstrategyultimatelydependonwhetherprogramsrecogniseand

implementeffectiveinstitutionalpracticesbasedontheoutcomestheydesiretoachieve[5].

Unfortunately,researchhasnotkeptpacewithpractice,andeffectiveinstitutionalpracticesare

notoftenassociatedwithspecificoutcomes.

Overthepasttenyears,ahandfulofresearchstudieshavebeguntolinkpracticestooutcomes

forvolunteersandhostorganisations.Oneofthefirstpublicationstolinktheseareas,

commissionedbyUnitedNationsVolunteers(UNV),foundthatvolunteersmakeamore

substantialcontributioninruralthanurbanareas[8].Morerecentresearchfoundthat

internationalvolunteersmayincreasethecapacityofhostorganisations,buttheirsuccessis

dependentonthevolunteerslanguagecapacityandthedurationoftheserviceplacement[9].

Otherresearchhasfoundthatserviceduration,culturalimmersion,guidedreflectionand

reciprocalpartnershipsareallassociatedwithoutcomesonvolunteersandcommunities[10,

11].Likewise,researchusingarigorousquasi-experimentaldesignhasfoundthatvolunteers

withsignificantpreviousinternationalexperiencebeforevolunteeringreturnfromservicewith

higherinternationalawareness,interculturalrelationsandinternationalsocialcapital[12].

Despitetheserecentdevelopments,studieslinkingpracticestoimpactsarestillrare,andare

onlybeginningtoemergeasapriorityforthefield.

Thepurposeofthisresearchistoexploretheimpactsofinternationalvolunteerismatthe

individual,projectandprogramlevels.Theresearchwillfocusonansweringthreekey

questions.First,whataretheperceivedcontributionsofinternationalvolunteerstodiscrete

developmentgoals?Second,whatarethevalueaddedcontributionsofvolunteersto

developmentprojectsandprogramsbeyondothertechnicalandmanagerialapproaches?Third,

whatprogramcomponentsandpracticesseemtobeassociatedwithachievingthese

outcomes?Resultsfromthisstudywillillustratethecontributionsandchallengesofintegrating

internationalvolunteersindevelopmentprojectsandprograms,andwillhelptolinkthe


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practicesoftheseprojectsandprogramstodevelopmentoutcomesforhostorganisationsand

communities.

Theresearchconsistsoftwokeymethods.First,deskresearchcompilingForummember

documentsprovidesafoundationforunderstandingcurrentprogrampractices,andaggregate

outcomesacrossForummemberorganisations.Second,primaryresearchinasinglecountry

reflectsthevoiceofcommunityorganisationsandtheintendedbeneficiariesofthese

organisations.Althoughfieldresearchinasinglecountrycannotbegeneralisedtorepresent

theprogrammaticimpactofthesectoroverall,findingsfromthefieldresearchwillbelinkedto

aggregateddeskresearchtoclarifythebroaderimplicationsofthesefindingsforpractice,

policyandfutureresearchinthesector.

ResearchDesignandMethods

DeskReview

InordertouncoverresearchthatIVCOshadpreviouslygathered,aten-questionsurveywas

emailedtoForummemberorganisationstosolicitinformationaboutpriorresearchstudiesand

evaluationsconductedinternallyorexternally.Thesurveywasadministeredonline,andwas

approvedandsenttomembersbytheForumExecutiveCoordinator.Intotal,24organisations

weresolicitedforparticipationinthedeskresearch.Atotalof14representativesofForum

memberorganisationsrespondedtothesurvey.Eightorganisationsindicatedthattheyhad

completedsomeresearchorevaluationinthepast,andwerewillingtosharethesestudiesasa

contributiontothereview.Researchersreceivedatotalof124studiesfromtheseorganisations

inEnglish,French,Norwegian,GermanandSpanishlanguages.Theinterpretationandsummary

ofnon-EnglishreportswasfacilitatedbyUNV.Alistofcontributingorganisationsisincludedin

theAppendix.Incaseswhereorganisationsrequestedthatreportsremainanonymous,andwherereportswerelessrelevant,theyarenotincludedinthislist.

Toavoidduplication,researchersalsocollaboratedwithVSO/IDSValuingVolunteeringaction

researchersduringthecollectionofmaterialsfromForummemberorganisations.Itwasagreed

thattheliteraturereviewfromtheValuingVolunteeringstudywouldfocusmoreonpublicand

publishedliterature,whilethisreviewwouldfocusongrey-literature,orinformationthathas

notbeenwidelypublishedordisseminated.Consequently,thisreviewismostlyasummaryof

non-publicreportsanddocuments,includinginternalevaluations,partnerandbeneficiary

assessments,andthird-partystudies.Itincludesinformationgatheredfromthesesourcesto

identifyprogram-levelinterventionsthathavebeenassociatedwithoutcomesorimpactsattheindividual,projectandprogramlevels.Thereviewdrawsoutcommonalitiesanddifferences

amongthesevariousstudiestoproduceasummaryofresearchconductedbyForummembers

todate.

Inadditiontosummarisingthesefindings,thereviewalsoidentifiesthestrengthsand

weaknessesofpreviousdesignsandapproachesusedacrossorganisations.Italsocompares

theseapproacheswithsimilarresearchfromorganisationsoutsideofForum.Inadditionto


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reviewingoutcomes,theintentofthedeskresearchistocomparethequalityandquantityof

memberresearchwiththeexpectedstandardsinthefields,andtorecommendpotential

changesneededtomeetgrowingdemandsforaccountabilityandmeasurableresultsfrom

governments,funders,hostingcommunitiesorotherstakeholders.Whilethedeskreviewis

publishedasaseparatepublication,itislistedaspartofthemethodologybecauseitinforms

thisreport.

SingleCountryResearchStudy

AsaglobalnetworkofIVCOs,theInternationalForumonDevelopmentServicewaswell-suited

tomobilisememberorganisationstoengageincross-comparativeresearchonvolunteer

impacts.Usinginitialresultsfromtheorganisationalsurveyanddeskreview,researchers

conductedprimaryresearchinKenyatounderstandtheimpactsofinternationalvolunteerson

individuals,projectsandprograms.Kenyawaschosenasthesiteforthecasestudyduetothe

highnumberofvolunteersfromForummemberorganisationslocatedinthiscountry.Itisalso

oneofthecountriesincludedintheValuingVolunteeringactionresearchstudyledbyVSO.

Researchersspentonemonthincountryspeakingwithvolunteers,programstaffandintended

beneficiaries.Inordertotriangulatefindingsandmethods,meetingswithstakeholderswerea

combinationofstructuredinterviews,participatoryworkshopsandquantitativesurveys.

ResearchDesign

Theresearchdesignwasaretrospectivecasecontrolstudy:measuringoutcomesofsites

receivingvolunteersatonepointintimeandreflecting,posthoc,onthevolunteers

contributions.Researchoccurredat12differentplacementsitesacrossthreelocationsin

Kenya:Nairobi,KisumuandLari.

Becausevolunteersarehostedbyanimplementingpartnerorserviceorganisation,directattributionofdevelopmenteffectivenesstothevolunteersischallenging.Alonevolunteer

programispartofthemessyrealityinwhichasingleinterventionorprogramcannotbe

isolatedfromthevariousactors(e.g.partners,donors,governmentdepartments,communities)

withwhichitwillinteract[13].AsarecentDFIDreportconcluded,mostinterventionsarea

contributorycauseandpartofacausalpackage,makingitunusualforaninterventionto

causeadevelopmenteffectonitsown[14].Consequently,determiningthecontributionof

volunteersrequiresalevelofabstractionorindirectattribution,whichcanmeasurethe

volunteerismscredibleassociationwithorganisationalcapacity,staffmorale,skill

development,resourceacquisition,etc.

Becauseofthedifficultyisolatingdiscretecontributionsofvolunteers,thegoalsoftheresearch

designaretoassesswhetherinternationalvolunteersmakeadifference,andwhetherthey

provideaddedvaluetothehostingorganisationsandcommunitiesbeyondthedirectservice

providedbypartnerorganisationsandotheractors.Conceptualissuesrelatedtotheattribution

ofdevelopmentimpacttointernationalvolunteersareaddressedintheconclusionofthis

study,astheyarebestdiscussedincontextofthefindings.However,onemethodusedto

isolateaddedvalueistodirectlyaskintendedbeneficiariestocomparethecontributionof


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volunteerswiththecontributionsofothersworkingintheorganisations(i.e.paiddevelopment

workersorfull-timestaff).Subjectivecomparisonswereassessedusingsurveysand

participatoryinterviewswithintendedbeneficiaries.

Staffmemberinterviewstookplaceinparticipatingorganisationswithstaffmemberswho

couldspeaktopotentialcontributionsofvolunteersattheprojectandprogramlevels.Staffmemberswhohadfrequentinteractionwithinternationalvolunteerswereaskedtoprovide

theirfeedbacktoquestionsonasemi-structuredinterviewguide.Interviewsateachofthe12

placementsitesconsistedofbetweenonetofourstaffmemberinterviews,andlastedan

averageof45minutestoonehour.Intotal,researchersconducted24staffmemberinterviews.

Researchersalsoadministeredanequalamountofsurveystoparticipatingstaff.Allstaff

memberinterviewswerecompletedbytheprincipalinvestigator.Theageofparticipatingstaff

membersrangedfrom24to53yearsold,withanaverageageof37years.Additional

demographiccharacteristicsofthestaffmemberinterviewsareprovidedinTable1.Alistof

participatingpartnerprogramsisprovidedinAppendixA.

Table1:Demographicstatisticsofstaffmemberinterviews(n=24)

Frequency Percentage

City

Nairobi 16 66%

Lari 4 17%

Kisumu 4 17%

Location

Urban 14 58%

Rural 6 25%

Sub-urban 4 17%

Volunteerplacementdurationa

Short-term 13 54%

Long-term 11 46%

Gender

Male 13 54%

Female 11 46%aShort-termisdefinedaslessthanfourmonths;long-termisoneyearormore.Noorganisationsreportedhostingasubstantialnumberofvolunteersthatfellinthemid-rangeoffourmonthstooneyear.

Participatoryworkshopswithcommunitymemberswerealsousedtohelpunderstand

anticipatedandunanticipatedoutcomesofinternationalservicefromtheperspectiveof

intendedbeneficiaries.Byseekingthevoiceofcommunitymembers,theresearchaimsto

informacriticalquestionoftenposedbycriticsofdevelopmentprograms:impactforwhom?

Previousresearchwithcommunitymembershasfoundthatinternationalserviceisfrequently

supply-based(fromtheGlobalNorth)ratherthandemand-based(fromtheGlobalSouth)

[9,15].InconsiderationofParisDeclarationprinciples,researchwithcommunitymembers

seekstoclarifywhetherinternationalservicealignswithprinciplesofownership,alignmentand


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mutualaccountability,wherecommunitiesandpartnerorganisationsintheSouthareleading

developmenteffortsandpriorities.

Participatoryworkshopswithcommunitymemberswereconductedatsevendifferent

placementsitesinNairobi,KisumuandLari.Theformatoftheseworkshopslargelyfollowedthe

UNVAssessingthecontributionofvolunteeringtodevelopmentmethodology[16].ThescheduleandactivitiesoftheseworkshopsisincludedinAppendixB.Participatingcommunitymembers

werechosenbythepartnerprogrambasedonthefrequencyoftheirinteractionswith

internationalvolunteers.Incaseswhereotherexpatsworkedinapartnerprogramwith

communities,researcherswerecarefultoclarifytheserelationshipsattheintroductiontothe

workshops,aswellaswhenaskingrelevantquestionsthatmightelicitsomeconfusionduring

theworkshops.Intwoofthesevenworkshops,therewassomelevelofinitialambiguity

betweenfull-timeexpatsandinternationalvolunteers.Intheremainingfiveworkshops,these

relationshipsappearedtobequiteeasilydistinguished.

Duetooccasionallanguagebarriers,alocalresearchassistantwastrainedtohelpcomplete

interviewsandtoco-facilitatetheparticipatoryworkshops.AdoctoralstudentfromtheUnited

Statesalsohelpedtofacilitateparticipatoryworkshopswiththelocalresearchassistant.The

workshopslastedforthreetofourhours,followedbyaninteractivelunchdiscussion.

Participatingcommunitymembersalsoreceivedashortsurveytomeasurerespondents

perceptionsofchangesfollowingtheinterventionsofinternationalvolunteers.Intotal,

researchersconducted59communitymemberinterviews(inworkshopformat),and

administeredsurveystoanequalnumberofparticipants.Theageofparticipatingcommunity

membersrangedfrom18to61yearsold,withanaverageageof37years.Additional

demographiccharacteristicsofthecommunitymemberinterviewsareprovidedinTable2.

Table2:Demographicstatisticsofcommunitymemberinterviews(n=59) Frequency Percentage

City

Nairobi 34 58%

Lari 12 20%

Kisumu 13 22%

Location

Urban 24 41%

Rural 12 20%

Sub-urban 23 39%

Volunteerplacementduration Short-term 36 61%

Long-term 23 39%

Gender

Male 31 52%

Female 28 48%


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Instrumentation

Researchersadaptedexistingqualitativeassessmenttoolstoassesstheimpactsofinternational

volunteersonprojectsandprograms.Thesetoolsweredevelopedandrefinedthrough

previousfieldresearchmeasuringtheperceivedcontributionsofvolunteerstothe

developmentofhostingorganisationsandcommunities[9,17].Theyalsoaimedtomeasure

variationsinprogramsandpoliciesthatmayaffectoutcomes.Inrespectforprinciplesofownershipandalignmentofevaluationresults[see18],researchersadaptedversionsofthese

instrumentsincollaborationwithstaffmembersfromlocalpartnerorganisationsinKenya.

Beforesettingthefinalevaluationprioritiesandinstruments,multipleversionsofthesurvey

toolsandinterviewguidesweredraftedfollowingfeedbackfromlocalpartnersandtheForum

ResearchWorkingGroup.

Quantitativesurveyinstrumentswerealsodevelopedbasedonpreviousresearchstudies.

Theseinstrumentswerealsoadaptedfollowingconsultationsessionswithahandfulofpartner

programstafffromKenya,aswellasacademiccolleagues.Overthepasttenyears,anumberof

studieshavequalitativelyassessedtheperceivedcontributionsofinternationalvolunteer

servicebutfewhavequantitativelymeasuredvolunteerscontributionstodevelopment.The

surveysadministeredinthisstudyseektotestthemeritofpreviouslyidentifiedcontributions,

withtheaimofdevelopingandtestingpotentialhypothesesinfuturestudies.Surveyswere

administeredfollowingtheconclusionofstaffinterviewsandatthemidpointofparticipatory

workshopswithcommunitymembers.Althoughbasicdemographicdataweregathered,all

surveyswerecompletedanonymously.

Analyses

Descriptivestatisticswererunonallsurveydatatounderstandhoworganisationalstaffand

communitymembersperceivedtheuniquecontributionsofvolunteers.BarchartsarepresentedintheFindingssectionofthisreport,alongwithdescriptivestatisticstobetter

illustrateparticipantsperceptions.Ineachcasewhereastatisticallysignificantdifferencewas

evidentbyaprogramcomponent(seeordinalregressionmethods,below)barchartsare

presentedseparatelyaccordingtothisvariableofdifference.Incaseswherenosignificant

differenceisevident,barchartsarepresentedasasimplefrequencyofresponsestothesurvey

question.

Ordinalregressions(polytomousuniversalmodels)wererunoneachoutcometodetermine

anysignificantdifferencesbykeyprogrammaticelements.Specifically,thefollowingvariables

wereincludedasindependentvariablesinthesemodels:duration,location,genderofthe

respondentandageoftherespondent.Durationwasdichotomisedbyshort-term(lessthan

fourmonths)andlong-term(oneyearormore).Noprogramsreportedhostingasubstantial

numberofvolunteersthatfellinthemid-rangeoffourmonthstooneyear.Locationwassub-

dividedanddummy-codedintothreecategories:rural,sub-urbanandurban,dependingon

wherethepartnerprogramwasoperating.Resultsofthe33regressionmodelsarenot

presented.However,areasofstatisticaldifferenceareillustratedinthebarchartspresentedin

theFindingssection.


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Transcriptionandtranslationofalldigitallyrecordedinterviewsandparticipatory

workshopswerecompletedinpreparationforqualitativeanalysis.Forthemostpart,English

wastheprimarylanguagespokenduringtheinterviews.However,participantsinthe

workshopsoccasionallyspokeinSwahili,whichwasdirectlyinterpretedbythelocalresearch

assistantduringtheworkshops.Twolocalconsultantstranscribedandtranslatedalldigitalrecordings.

Qualitativeanalysishasonlyjustbeguninpreparationforthisprovisionalreport.Findingsin

thisreportarebasedonfieldnotesofkeypointstakenaftereachstaffinterviewand

participatoryworkshop.Codingofresponsesofthekeyquestionsfromtheinterviewguide

providesasenseofdirection.However,moreformalqualitativedataanalysisisstillunderway.

InitialcodingofkeyresponseswasperformedusingNVivo,aqualitativeanalysissoftware

package,touncoverkeythemesandfrequenciesofresponses.Alltranslatedtranscriptionsand

researcherfieldnoteswillbeincludedinthefinalanalysis.Althoughacodingplanof

anticipatedcodeswasinitiallydeveloped,basedonalimitednumberofpreviousstudiesonthis

topic,thefinalconceptualschemawillbedevelopeddirectlyfromthedatapost-hoc.Thus,

qualitativeanalysiswillbeamixtureofcodingdown,basedoninformationcontainedin

research,andagrounded-theory(codingup)approachbasedonnewideasobtainedfromthe

interviews[19].

FindingsandDiscussion

Asmentionedinthepreviousdiscussiononresearchdesign,aprimarygoalofthisresearchisto

assesswhetherinternationalvolunteersdeliveraddedvaluetothehostingorganisationsand

communities,enhancingtheservicesalreadyprovidedbypartnerorganisations.Outcomesare

assessedattheindividual,programandprojectlevels.Inaddition,theresearchseekstolink

individualandinstitutionalpracticestooutcomesinordertobetterunderstandhowprojects

andprogramscanbestructuredtoachievetheseoutcomes.A2008reviewofliterature

assessingtheeffectsofinternationalvolunteeringandservicefoundthatvolunteerattributes,

institutionalattributesandvariationsintheserviceactivityaffecttheoutcomesofservicein

differentways[5].Figure1providesacondensedconceptualmodelillustratinghowdifferent

helping(orhindering)factorsmayaffectoutcomes.


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Figure1:Conceptualmodellinkingattributesandpracticeswithserviceoutcomes

ThisFindingssectionbeginsbelowbydescribingvolunteerskeycontributionstodevelopment

projectsandprogramsasarticulatedbythestaffmembersofpartnerorganisations.Itthen

describeskeycontributionstotheindividual,familyandcommunityasarticulatedbymembers

ofthehostingcommunities.Inordertobetterisolatetheuniquecontributionsofinternational

volunteerism,itfurtherexplorestheaddedvalueofinternationalvolunteerstodevelopment

programsincomparisonwithfulltimedevelopmentstafforlocalpartnerprogramstaff

members.Finally,itdescribesthevariouscontributingcausesorhelpingfactorsthatseemto

affecttheseoutcomes.

KeyContributions

Staffmembersofpartnerprogramsoutlinedalargevarietyofpotentialcontributionsresulting

fromtheworkofinternationalvolunteers.Giventhebreadthofcontributions,notallare

coveredindetailinthisreport.Forthesakeofbrevity,onlykeyoutcomesthosethatwere

mentionedinatleastsix(25percent)ofthe24interviewsarecovered.Thesefallunderthe

generalcategoriesofcapacitybuilding,resourceacquisitionandtheachievementof

developmentgoals.Becausequalitativedataanalysisisstillunderway,additionalthemesmay

yetemerge.

CapacityBuilding

Organisationalcapacityisdefinedasmanagementpracticesandorganizationalprocessesthat

helpvolunteerhostingorganisationsaccomplishtheirmissions[20].Buildingorganisational

capacityaddstotheabilityofdevelopmentorganisationstoachievetheirmissionandgoals,

andtomeettheneedsofintendedbeneficiaries[21].Accordingtofindingsfromthisresearch,

VolunteerAttributes

Education/skills

Race

Nationality

Age

Gender

Language

Culturalcompetence

InstitutionalAttributesMissionandgoals

Trainingandsupport

ServiceActivity

Duration

Group/solo

Directionality

Continuity

Projects

Programs

Individual

Outcomes


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internationalvolunteerspotentiallycontributetothesepracticesandprocessesinanumberof

ways.Theyhelpdevelophumancapitalandskillsincommunitiesandorganisations;they

promoteacultureofprofessionalismandtimemanagementthatappearstohavevalueto

hostingorganisations;andtheycontributeresourcesdirectlyoractasbridgestolinkpeople

ororganisationswithexternalresources.Therelationship-basedengagementinherentin

internationalvolunteeringhasbeenreportedasoneofthemostimportantfactorscontributingtothesuccessfulcapacitydevelopmentinitiatives[11,22].

IntheKenyancontext,itisimportanttonotethatcommentsoncapacitybuildingwereoften

embeddedwithinageneraldiscourseabouttheraceandthenationalityofvolunteersasWhite

Westerners.Thereseemedtobeastrongbelieffromstaffandcommunitymembersalikethat

manyoftheideastaughtandmodelledbyinternationalvolunteerswerenotonlynewand

innovativebutwerealsoperceivedasbetter.Thequotebelowillustratesthisconceptbriefly.

AlthoughracialandNorth-Southissuesarecoveredingreaterdepthlaterunderthediscussion

ofvolunteerattributes,itmaybeimportanttoconsiderthislensasreadersconsiderthe

followingperceivedcontributions:

Westernershavedifferentstyles;thewayofhowtheylookatthings....Youfindthatwelearna

lotofinformationfromtheseoutsiders.Whentheycome,youlistentotheirtopic.Whenwe

getpeopleliketheWhitescomingtoacountrylikeours,wethinktheyaremuchbetterthanus.

Researchoninternationalvolunteerservicehassoughttoidentifywhethervolunteersfillgaps

inlocalknowledgethroughtechnicalorspecialistexpertise[16,23].Previousstudieshave

foundthatvolunteersmaydevelophumanresourcesbycontributingskills,informationand

knowledgethatmaynototherwisebeavailableinthehostingorganisationsandcommunities

[24].Nearly70percentofcommunitymembersagreedthatinternationalvolunteersteach

skillsthatwouldnototherwisebeavailableintheircommunity.Anexamplebelowillustratesoneofmanysuchcontributions:

[Volunteers]haveengagedthecommunityinwaterprojects.Theyusetheirtechnicalexpertise

atthegroundleveltoshowpeoplehowtodigthecanals;howtomakethecommunitybased

damsandnowpeoplecanirrigatetheirfarms;peoplecangrowfood.[Referringtoaclose-by

ruraldistrict]Itwasabarrenland;nowpeoplearehavingabumperharvest.Soforacommunity

that,twoyearsago,wasbeingfedonrelieffoodcurrentlyasnowwearespeaking,ithasa

surpluswherebytheyaresellingsomeofthebumperharvesttotheotherdistricts.Sowhenit

comestopovertyeradication,Ithinktheyplayabigrolewhentheyengagetheirtechnical

expertise.

Withinorganisations,volunteerswereviewedasbeinghelpfulatteachingmanagement,

planningandmarketingskills.Findingsfromotherresearchcorroboratethesefindings[25-27].

Whilethereisnoquantitativemeasureofskill-buildingattheprogramandprojectlevelsinthis

study,thisoutcomewashighlyevidentinqualitativeinterviewswithstaffmembers.For

instance,oneofthemostfrequentlycitedcontributionsofinternationalvolunteersatthe

programlevelwasinstillingstrongerexpectationsforprofessionalismandtime

managementamongprogramstaff.Speakingwithvolunteers,thisoftenseemedtobean


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unintentionalcontribution,yetstaffmemberscitedthediffusionofaWesterncultureof

professionalismasaprominentadvantageofhostinginternationalvolunteersintheir

organisations.ThisfindingmaybeuniquetotheconceptionsoftimeusageinKenya,andmay

notbeviewedbysomeasauniversalimprovement.However,staffmembersmaintainedthat

thiswasasignificantcontributiontotheirorganisations.

Communitymembersperceptionsabouttheutilityofvolunteersforskillsdifferedsignificantly

betweenshorter-andlonger-termvolunteers.1Nearly85percentofcommunitymembers

interactingwithlong-termvolunteersagreedthatvolunteerstaughtnewskills,whileonly56

percentofthoseinteractingwithshort-termvolunteersagreedwiththisstatement(seeFigure

2).Interviewssuggestthatshort-termvolunteerswereperceivedasmostlyeffectivewhenthey

hadaspecifictechnicalskilltoteachduringatrainingsessionorworkshop.

*Note:placementdurationiscloselycorrelatedwiththeageandskilllevelofvolunteers

Examplesofskillslearnedduringworkshopsincludedtopicsrangingfrombookkeepingto

customerrelations,marketingandfundraising.Onefocusgroupcitedanexampleofa

successfulfive-dayintensiveworkshoponHIV/AIDSwithstudentsandteachers.Theyremarked

thatthisinformationwasofferedinanewandexcitinginteractiveformat,andtheywitnessed

studentstakingtheinformationbacktotheirschoolstouseineducatingtheirpeers.Otherscitedthatvolunteerstaughtinnovativetechniquesforfundraisinglocallyandabroad.There

wereeffortsbysomevolunteerstobuildorganisationalcapacityintheareaofgrantand

proposalwriting.However,therewasnostrongevidencetosuggestsustainableimprovements

1Anumberofadditionalattributesarecloselycorrelatedwiththedurationofvolunteerserviceplacements,

includingtheageandeducational/skilllevelofthevolunteers,thefundingpolicyofdonors,etc.Thus,timelength

isnottheonlyeffectofdifferencewhenconsideringplacementduration.

StronglyDisagree 2 3 4 StronglyAgree

Short-term 21% 18% 6% 32% 24%

Long-term 5% 5% 5% 10% 75%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Figure2:Internaonalvolunteersteachskillsthatwould

nototherwisebeavailableincommunity


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inthisareawhenvolunteersleft.Infact,anumberofstaffandcommunitymembersexpressed

anxietythatfundingwoulddryupfollowingthedepartureofvolunteers.Train-the-trainer

programsalsoseemedtobeprominentcapacity-buildingmethodsforlocalvolunteersandstaff

members.Thesetypeofprogramswereparticularlyvaluedinruralareaswereexpertisein

neededareaswaslow.

Whilemanyexamplesofskill-buildingwereprovided,thefocuswasoftenonnewor

innovativeconceptsandideas.Whenaskedwhetherpeoplewithintheircommunityor

countrycouldteachsimilarskills,somecommentedthatthiswaspossiblebutsuggestedthat

thiswouldbeexpensiveandwouldlikelyberejectedbycommunitymembers.Threemembers

inthreeseparateworkshopsandlocationscitedaphrasefromtheBiblethat,Aprophetisnot

recognizedinhisownland(Luke4:2),indicatingthatthisislikelyacommonperceptionamong

communitymembers.Communitiesseemtohaveaheightenedinterestin,andrespectfor,

trainingbypeoplefromoutsideoftheirlocalcommunity.

Financialmanagementwasanotherareawherecommunitymembersexpressedaspecial

appreciationforvolunteers.Volunteerstaughtseminarsonearningandsavingmoney,andon

theimportanceofbudgetingandspendingmoneyonpriorityitems.Theyalsointroducednew

ideassuchasmicrofinancingandotherentrepreneurialprojectsdesignedtoincreasethe

livelihoodofcommunitymembers.Asonecommunitymemberrecalled,microfinancewasa

conceptthatshebelievedwouldnothaveemergedorganically:

In2006,wehadavolunteertalkingabouthowwomencanorganizethemselvestolendeach

othermoney.ItwasaveryforeignthinghereAftershehadgone,thereistremendousprogress

inwomenthisday.Inthegroups,womenlikeit,anditisreallyimprovingthelivesofwomenin

theruralareasandinthetownhereitisaverygreatthingvolunteershavedone.

ResourceAcquisition

Anoft-citedcontributionofinternationalvolunteerswastheirabilitytoattracttangibleand

intangibleresources,includingmoneyandaid,networksofsupportandconcreteopportunities

forcollaboration[9,28-31].Inaddition,volunteersoftenpayfromtheirownpocketstoprovide

serviceswhenprogramsareunwillingorunabletohelp[32].Onestaffmembergaveapersonal

exampleofhowavolunteerprovidedresourceswhentheorganisationwasnotabletoassist:

[Thevolunteer]tookmeasherownson,whichtheorganisationdidnotdo,andagainshewent

toanextentofpayingmyrentforthreegoodmonthsandevenmydaughtercouldgotoschool

becauseofher.Yeah,aftershewentback,infactshewasreleasingmoneyeverymonth.

Whileotherinterviewsdidnotciteasimilarlevelofresourcesupportfromvolunteers,many

recalledreceivingatleastminimalresourcesupportfromvolunteers,particularlyfromthose

whowereonlyinthecountryforashorttime.Itisnotclearwhetherthesecontributionscanbe

considereddevelopmental,assuchcontributionsareoftenviewedaspaternalisticand

furtheringadependencymindset.Whilesuchcontributionsarecharitable,theyarenot

typicallysustainable,andthusmaynotbeconsideredadevelopmentimpact.


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Inadditiontoresourcesdonateddirectlybyvolunteers,theyoftenusedtheirsocialcapitalto

leverageadditionalresourceswhileincountryandaftertheyreturnedhome.Asastaff

memberexplained:

AvolunteerfromAustraliamanagedtogetsomeconsignmentofusedclothes.Itwasalotandwespreaditalloverthecountry.Throughthat,wewereabletotell[thecommunitymembers],

yousee,someofthevolunteersweworkwith,whentheygobacktotheircountries,theysee

thechallengeswegothroughandtheyareabletogolobbyforsupportandwhatever

resources.

Manycommunitymembersalsobelievedthatvolunteerscouldprovidesupervisionofprojects

thatthegovernmentwouldnototherwisefund.Thus,havingavolunteerintheorganisation

mayindirectlyincreaseresourcesfortheorganisation.Thisisrelatedtoaperceptionofhigher

accountabilityandtrustofinternationalvolunteers,whichisdescribedlaterinthisreport.2

Tothedegreethatinternationalvolunteersprovideresourcesandlinkpartnerorganisationswithadditionalsourcesofaid,theymaycontributetodevelopmentoftheorganisation.While

itisunknownwhetherthisleadstosustainabledevelopmentoverthelongterm,diversification

ofresourcescanprovidegreaterflexibilityandmayhelpcombatresourcedependence[33].On

theotherhand,whenvolunteersbecomeaprimarysourceoffunding,partnerorganisations

maybecomedependent,thusincreasingrelianceoncontinuedphilanthropy.

Volunteerswerealsoviewedasalabourresource,andasameansofmotivatingcitizensand

localvolunteersashumanresources.Asstatedbytheadvocacyofficerofanorganisationthat

hostsyoung,short-termvolunteers:

BecauseofAfricakindofperception,wheneveryouseeaWhite,thereisthisfeelingthatprobably...thereseemstobealotofenthusiasmandalotofinterestthatisdevelopedby

communitiestoreallylearn,andalsocooperate...sowhenwehavesomeoneextracomeon

boardthenthatmeansweveincreasedthenumberofpeopleworkingdownthecommunity.So

weareabletoatleastincreasethenumberofactivitiesandprogramswearerunning.Soyou

getextrapeopleandweareabletodoalotofworkwithinagivenperiodoftime.Thathasbeen

verycriticalinourwork.

Despitetheperceivedvalueofvolunteersasgeneratorsofresources,only33percentofstaff

membersbelievedtheyhadgreateraccesstoresourcesthanpaiddevelopmentworkers(see

Figure3).Thus,resourcecontributionsfromvolunteerservicewerenotnecessarilyviewedasofferinggreatervaluethanstandarddevelopmentprogramswithoutvolunteers.Thismaybea

positivefinding,however,asitmayhelptopromotelocalownership.AsDevereux(2010)

explains:

2Socialcapitalislistedasasub-conceptofresourcesbecausesocialcapitalisoftenassociatedwithresource

mobilisation,andtheeconomicvalueofthesenetworksascapitalisrelatedtovolunteersabilitytocoordinate

actionandgenerateadditionalresources.


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IVCOshavefrequentlyusedacommunitydevelopmentmodelofhavingavolunteerwithina

localorganisationbutnotwithpoweroverwhatthatorganisationdoes.Thispotentially

providesgoodlevelsoflocalownershipandaccountability...Thisalsomeansthevolunteersare

atthemercyoflocalresource,managementandotherconstraintsoverwhichheorshehasvery

little,ifany,control.

Thissuggeststhat,althoughtheslowerpaceofvolunteersmayleadtogreatertrustand

sustainability,theymayalsohavelesspowerandfewerresourcestodrivechange[2].Perhaps

asaresult,thismaypromotelocalchange,ownershipandhome-growncapacitydevelopment

[3].Inaddition,manyrespondentsrecalledcontributionsmadebyvolunteersafterthey

returnedhome,whichwasnotmentionedwhendescribingthebenefitsofpaiddevelopment

workers.

Communitymembersexpressedsomefrustrationthatvolunteerswerenotabletoprovideor

obtainaccesstoneededresources.Anumberofcommunitymembersremarkedthattheyhad

askedvolunteersforassistanceinfindingdonorsandfunding,orforprovidingresources

directly.However,commentssuggestthatvolunteerswerenotalwaysmeetingtheir

expectationsinthisregard,asthefollowingcommentsillustrate:Ifvolunteerscanhaveaway

tohelpthegroupstohavedonorsbecausewewewouldliketohavethedonorsbecausewe

relyonourselves;Iwouldalsoliketoallthosegroupscomingtoberememberinggirlsinthe

schoolprovidingsanitarytowelsalltheonbehalfofallthegirls;Wewouldlikemoregroups

tocometosupportthehandworkcraftwork,please.

Theseexpectationsseemtoposeachallengeforpartnerprograms.Manyexpressedconcern

thatmembersofthecommunityoftenlosetrustinstaffmemberswhoworkcloselywith

volunteerswhentheyfailtoproducemoneyorresourceswhensolicited.Staffmembersoften

havetoworkhardtomanagetheexpectationsofcommunitymembers:

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Less

resources

Thesame More

resources

Figure3:Comparedtopaid

developmentworkers:Howmanyresourcesareavailableto

internaonalvolunteers?


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WhensomebodyseesaWhitethisishowwecallthem,mzungu3andthatmeansaWhiteso

thecommunityexpectstobegiven,toexpectsomepayments,somemoneyoralotofhandouts

fromtheseWhites.Ormaybewheneverwecallforameeting,thereisabeliefthatallthose

guyshavecomewithalotofcash,soyouneedtogiveusmoney.Astheorganisationwehave

grapplewithitalot.

Althoughtheperceivedvalueofvolunteersresourcecontributionswasasignificantoutcomein

boththestaffinterviewsandcommunityworkshops,theyconsistentlyassertedthatmanyof

thecontributionsofinternationalvolunteerscannotbemeasuredmonetarily.Infact,oneof

thequestionsposedtostaffmembersintheinterviewswas,Giventhechoicebetween:(1)

receivinganinternationalvolunteeror(2)receivingdevelopmentaidthatwouldotherwisebe

usedtosupportthevolunteer,whichwouldyouprefer?Everystaffmemberinterviewed(100

percent)statedthatgiventhischoice,theywouldchooseavolunteer(althoughactual

amountsofaiddisbursementswerenotindicated).Whenaskedwhytheywouldmakethis

choice,somebelievedthatvolunteerscouldleverageadditionalmoney,whichwouldlikely

exceedtheinitialallotment.However,manyalsostatedthattherelationships,capacitybuilding

andlearningreceivedfrominternationalvolunteersishardtoputavalueon.

Theinterviewsalsoaskedaboutthechallengesofhostinginternationalvolunteers.Previous

researchsuggeststhathostingvolunteersrequirestraining,supportandresources,and

thereforemayconsumescarceorganisationalresourcesandtime[34].Staffmembersindicated

thatsomevolunteersdidcomewithoutmeansofsupport.Hostingthesevolunteersappeared

torequireextraorganisationalorcommunityresources:

Attimesweareforcedtostretch,becauseattimestheycomeasvolunteersasyou

understandandtheyhavenotbeenallocatedsomefundstohelptheminmovementand

maybeintransportandmaybelunchanyotherthings.Soweareforcedtoreallydigintoour

pocketsandtoreallychipinandsupportthem.Ah,thatagainhasbeenaverybigchallengeto

us.

Inadditiontofinancialresources,organisationsalsoreportedchallengeswithallocatingstaff

timetosupportvolunteers,aseachnewvolunteerrequiresorientation,trainingandgreater

attention.Becauseorganisationshostinglonger-termvolunteersdidnotcitethesechallenges,

thismaybeparticularlyapplicabletoorganisationshostingshorter-termvolunteers.Thisisnot

anexclusivelynegativefinding,however.Organisationsthatcontributesomeresourcesmay

havegreaterbuy-intodevelopmentprojects,leadingtomorelocallyownedefforts.

DevelopmentGoals(MDGs)

AsstressedinarecentDFIDreport,thereisatrade-offbetweenthescopeofaprogramand

strengthofcausalinference.Itiseasiertomakestrongcausalclaimsfornarrowlydefined

interventionsandmoredifficulttodosoforbroadlydefinedprograms[14].Asdescribed

earlierintheresearchdesign,thebroadvarietyofprogramssampled,incombinationwiththe

3Literallytranslatedasanaimlesswanderer,buttypicallyreferringtoWhitepersonorapersonfromtheWest.


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smalln-sizeoftheseprograms,makesitdifficulttoassessthecontributionsofvolunteersto

discretedevelopmentgoals.However,inordertobetterunderstandthepotentialcontributions

ofinternationalvolunteers,communitymemberswereaskedtosubjectivelyrankvolunteers

contributionstotheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(seeAppendixB,fullgroupexerciseD:

internationalvolunteerscontributionstodevelopment).Alistofthe15participatingprograms

isprovidedinAppendixA.Consideringthestatedgoalsandprioritiesoftheseorganisations,reviewingthislistmayhelpilluminatewhycertaingoalswererankedhigherthanothers.

Findingsfromthesampleofprogramsincludedinthisstudysuggestthatvolunteerscontribute

themosttopromotinggenderequalityandempoweringwomen(73percent)anddevelopinga

globalpartnershipfordevelopment(66percent)seeFigure4.Communitymembers

perceptionsofthesegoalsaredescribedingreaterdetailbelow.ApartfromspecificMDGs,

volunteersalsocontributetopeacebuildinginitiativesinKenya.Additionalcontributionswill

likelyemergefromparticipatoryworkshopsfollowingin-depthqualitativeanalysesofthese

data.

*Theserankingsarenotconsideredgeneralisable.Theyrepresenttheopinionsofasampleof54community

membersservedbysevenpartnerprograms.

Povertyandhunger

Althoughvolunteerscontributionstopovertyreductioncameupfrequently,itwastypically

couchedwithinadiscussionofcapacitybuildingorresourceacquisition(seeabove).Itwasalso

frequentlylinkedtooneormoreoftheotherdevelopmentgoals.Forinstance,community

membersdescribedhowvolunteerswouldfacilitateorteachworkshopsrelatedtoagribusiness

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Count:Communitymemberpercepons

Figure4:PerceivedContribuonsofInternaonalVolunteersto

MillenniumDevelopmentGoals*


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18

orwouldhelpsupportmicrofinanceorentrepreneurialenterprises.Othersdescribedhow

educationenhancespossibilitiesforemploymentandlivelihoods.

Situationswherepovertyreductionwasdescribedinisolationreferredtoworkshopsor

trainingsaboutself-reliance.Forinstance,onecommunitymemberstated,Whenyouteach

peoplehowtodependonthemselvesyoueradicatepovertyfromthem.ThatiswhyIgive[thevolunteer]thispointbecauseshehastaughtushowtomanageyourself;howyoucanrelyon

yourselfwithoutsearchingforotherhelpfromoutside.Commentssuchasthisonewerenot

common,however.Itwasmorecustomaryforcommunitymemberstoassociateinternational

volunteerismwithreceivingadditionalresourcesfromtheoutside,therebyhelpingtoaddress

povertyanddeprivation.Asdiscussedearlier,whilesuchresourcesareviewedashelpful,their

contributionstodevelopmentaresuspect.

Primaryeducation

Teachingchildreninschoolswascommonlyreferencedinrelationtovolunteerscontributions

toprimaryeducation.However,manyofthecommentsinthisareaalsoreferredtovolunteers

abilitiestogarnerresourcestosupportschoolsandstudents.Somespokeoffundraisingeffortsofvolunteersaftertheyreturnedhome,whileahandfulprovidedexamplesofvolunteers

assumingfinancialresponsibilityforachild.Asonecommunitymemberillustrated,Theyalso

sponsorsomechildrenintheirowncapacities,yousee.Theygivepromisesandthentheywork

onthosepromises...sothatisalsofortheupliftingofuniversalprimaryeducation.Thus,

volunteerscontributionstoprimaryeducationseemtobedirectaseducatorsandhelpersin

schoolsaswellasindirectaspatrons/sponsorsofschoolsorschool-agedchildren.

Genderequity

AsnotedinFigure4,genderequitywasviewedasoneofthegreatestcontributionsof

volunteerstoMDGs.Volunteersseemtopromotegenderequitybybothinstructionandby

example.Anumberofcommunitymembersstatedthattheylearnedmuchfromvolunteers

aboutnotdiscriminatingagainstwomen.Theygaveexamplesabouthowtheirperceptionsof

whatpeopleofdifferentgenderscanorshouldaccomplishhadchangedfollowingtheir

interactionswithvolunteers.Asonecommunitymemberstated,Onpromotionofgender

equality,volunteerscomeinbothgenders,andthatmakesusbelievethatbothcandothe

sameandthenweareempoweringwomenbecause,Illsaythatwhatamancandoawoman

cando.Otherdescriptionsweregivenabouthowmaleinternationalvolunteersperformed

whatistraditionallyconsideredwomenswork,therebychallengingstereotypesand

traditionalgenderroles.

Inadditiontoaffectingopinionsandperceptionsaboutgenderrolesandcapabilities,theworkofvolunteersmayalsochangebehavioursastheypushforgenderequity.Adescriptionfroma

malecommunitymemberbelowdescribeshowhisbehaviourschangedfollowinginteractions

withinternationalvolunteers:

Atourgrassrootslevelweliveinamendominatedsociety,sothemajorityofour

engagementweusedtooverlook[women].nowitcametoengagementwiththe


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volunteerstheyusedtoinsist,wherearethewomen?Wherearetheladies?SoIhad

toengagetheladiesinwhateveractivitythatweweredoing.sosincethen,whatever

wedoyouhearthatpeoplecallingandconsidergenderthereisnothingwecando

withoutbalancinggender.

Interestingly,therewassomeconcernthatvolunteersemphasisonequityforwomenmightactuallybeswingingtoofar,therebyunbalancinggenderequityforboysandmen.Asdescribed

byonecommunitymember,becausewomenarenowover-empoweredthemenareleft

behind.Thisisanotherissuethatiscoming.Amajorityofthegirlsaresoempoweredandwe

haveforgottentheboys.Thissentimentwasexpressedbythreedifferentcommunity

membersintwoseparateworkshops.Therefore,furtherinvestigationmaybeneededtobetter

understandhowinternationalvolunteersteachandportraygenderequity.

Health

Healthimpactsappearedtobethelowestareaofcontributionbyinternationalvolunteers

amongthesampledprograms.Asmentionedearlier,thisfindingmayonlyvalidlyapplytothe

partnerprogramscoveredinthisstudy.Ontheotherhand,thismayalsoreflectvolunteerstraining,skillsandpriorities.Onecommunitymemberremarkedhowtheirorganisationplacesa

focusonhealthbutsuggestedthatvolunteerswithlittlehealthtrainingcouldnotcontribute

substantiallytothisgoal:

MostvolunteerswegetfromEuropearestudents.Theyarespecifictoaparticulararea,like

socialwork.Insocialwork,youllfindthattheyonlyfocusontwoofthesemillenniumgoals.Like

maybetoeradicateextremepovertyandhunger[and]genderequalityandempoweringof

women.Butthingstodowithreductionofchildmortality,improvedmaternalhealthcareeven

thoughtheorganisationispreparedtogowiththosemillenniumgoals[volunteers]arenot

positioned[tohelp]accordingtothecareersthattheyhavetaken.

Insituationswherevolunteersdidpromotehealth,however,theyseemedtoprioritisethe

followingareas:HIV/AIDS,malaria,handwashing,sanitationanddruguse/abuse.Again,

however,thismayberelatedtotheprogramssampledandthusmaynotbegeneralisabletoall

internationalvolunteerprogramsinKenya.Volunteerstaughtaboutcommunicablediseases,

providedtrainingsontheuseofcondomsforwomenandmen,thedangerofusedneedles

duringdruguse,sexualabstinence,andotherissuesrelatedtopreventionandspreadingof

disease.Muchofthiseducationappearedtotakeplaceinschools,thoughsomewerealso

organisedincommunityforumsandplacesofbusiness.Afewpeoplecommentedonhow

volunteerswerehelpfulinconfrontingculturalissuesortraditionsthatoftenpreventedpeople

fromgettingtestedforHIV/AIDSorothercommunicablediseases.

Environment

Environmentalsustainabilitywasacoremissionofoneofthepartnerprogramsparticipatingin

thisstudy.Thus,manyexamplesweregivenaboutvolunteerscontributionstothe

environmentthroughtreeplanting,forestmanagement,communitytrainings,etc.However,it

wasnotclearhowtheeffortsofvolunteersweredifferentfromotherpaidstaffor

developmentworkers.


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Membersfromotherorganisationsthatwerelessfocusedontheenvironmentstatedthatthey

alsolearnedabouttheimportanceofenvironmentalissuesfrominternationalvolunteers.One

communitymemberexplainedhowthevolunteersencouragedhertoreduce,reuse,and

recycle,laterdescribinghowshereusedlardbucketsforothertasksaroundthehome.

Anotherdescribedhowvolunteerswouldorganiseandimplementtrainingsonenvironmentalissuesandcommunityclean-upcampaigns.Onecommunitymemberdescribedoneofthese

trainings:

Thevolunteerscomewithvastknowledgeonissuesofenvironment...Theycomewithdifferent

technologiestotrainourcommunitymembersonissuesofsustainingourenvironmentSofora

longtimeKenyahasnothadenvironmentaliststoworkinourcountry.Itismajorareaandthey

havehelpedus,thevolunteers.

Globalpartnerships

Volunteerscontributionstoglobalpartnershipsfordevelopmentwerethesecondmost

frequentlycitedcontributiontodevelopment.Partnershipswereoftenviewedasimportantforthebridgingsocialcapitaltheyprovide,asdescribedaboveunderthediscussionofresources.

Communitymembersviewedpartnershipsascloselyconnectedresources,asdescribedbya

fewcommunitymembers:

Definitelyweneedthepartnership[withvolunteers],itisveryimportantforustodevelop;

becausewithoutitthereissomuchthatwemaynotbeabletoaddress;becausesome

countries[i.e.Kenya]lackresources.Sothatpartnershipisveryimportantastheresourcesit

tiestous.Whentheyengagetheirfellowfoundationswithintheircountriestocomeandwork

withus,thatsaglobalpartnershipthatbuildscapacity!

Volunteersoccupyasomewhatuniquepositioninthedevelopmentsector.Theyareconnectedtodevelopmentorganisationswhilealsoworkingdirectlywithcommunitymembersandlocal

organisations.Becauseofthisposition,theyoftenserveaslinkagesbetweenthesetwo

stakeholders,communicatingtheinterestsandneedsofcommunitiesatthegrassrootslevelto

governmentsorotherfundingorganisations.Thecommentbelowillustratesthatcommunity

membersrecogniseandvaluethevolunteersrolesasintermediaries:

Throughavolunteerinthecommunitygrassrootslevelwewereable,orshewasable,tobring

Germanygovernmentdelegation...inapositiontofund,tosendtheirmoneyknowingthat

whereverthemoneyisgoingitisgoingforanoblecause.SowhenitcomestoKenyaand

Germanpartnership,itwasaplusthroughtheeffortsofavolunteeratthegrassrootlevel.

Asdescribedingreaterdetailbelow,manystaffandcommunitymembersbelievethathavinga

volunteerworkintheorganisationorcommunityincreasesexternaltrustoftheprogramand

project.Consequently,theybelievefundersaremorelikelytosupportprojectsandprograms

thatinvolvevolunteers.Whetherornotthisistrueempirically,thisseemstobeacommon

perceptionamongthoseinterviewed.


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Toassessthecounterfactual,researchersaskedhowthingswouldbedifferentifvolunteershad

notcometotheorganisation.Inresponse,manypeoplesaidtherewouldbeafeelingof

isolationandlesslifeintheirprojectsandprograms.Asonecommunitymemberarticulated:

IfIheartherearenovolunteers,itwouldimpactmeandfeellike,Oooh,nowweareleftalone;

wedonthaveanyfriends;wedonthavenothing.butwhentheyarehere,Iseethemworking.Ifeel,Oohwestillhavefriendssomewhere.

Individualandorganisationalpartnershipsbetweenvolunteersandtheirhostsseemtoreach

beyondtheinstrumentalvaluetheymightprovideassocialcapital.Theyappeartoprovidea

feelingofglobalsolidarityandconnectionthathasrealvaluetohostcommunitiesand

organisations.Theyencourageinternationalunderstandingastheysharetechnicaladviceand

expertise.

Peaceandconflict-resolution

InadditiontotheMDGs,communitymemberswereaskedwhethervolunteerscontributein

othersubstantialareasofdevelopment.Volunteerscontributionstopeacebuildingwerediscussedafewtimesbycommunitymembersparticipatinginthisstudy,thoughthiswasonly

akeyobjectiveofoneofthesampledprograms.Incaseswherepeacebuildingwasmentioned,

volunteerscontributionsweremostevidentwhendiscussingthepost-electionviolencein

2008.Onecommunitydescribedhowvolunteersareengagedinareaswhereethnicconflict

maymakeitdifficultfornativeKenyanstomediateconflict:Volunteersinviolenthotspotsare

engagingtheNGOsinthecommunityinconflictmanagementandpeaceresolution

mechanisms,andtheyaredoingacommendablejob.

Theinvolvementofvolunteersinpeaceandconflictisalsofrequentlymentionedinother

research,whichsuggeststheymayplayaneutralorunbiasedroleinconflictsituations,and

mayreduceconflictbybringingdiversegroupsofpeopletogether.Thishasalsobeen

documentedinrecentresearchonvolunteerisminEasternAfrica[35,36].

TherealsoseemstobealinkbetweenvolunteersfromtheNorthandeducationforpeace

building.Asonecommunitymemberstated,referringtovolunteersfromGermanyandthe

UnitedStatesspecifically,Sinceournationwenttosomeviolence,intopost-election...weve

seeninternationalorganisationswhobringinvolunteerstopromoteandeducateespeciallythe

communitiesonhowtolivepeacefullyandharmoniouswitheachother.Becausevolunteers

donothavestrongbiasesforapreferredethnicgroup,theymaybeabletospeakmore

objectivelyaboutissuesofconflictbetweengroups.

Quantitatively,peacebuildingwasnotamajorcontributioncomparedtootherareas,

particularlyforshorter-termvolunteers(seeFigure5).However,around40percentof

membersworkingwithlonger-termvolunteersagreedthatinternationalvolunteershelpto

solveethnicdisagreementsintheircommunity.


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Communitymembersprovidedexamplesnotonlyofhowvolunteerscontributetointer-ethnic

peacewithintheregion,butalsohowtheycontributetoglobalpeaceaspeoplefromdiverse

nationscometogether.Asonecommunitymemberstated,Apartfrombeingvolunteers,they

arealsoambassadorsoftheircountriesbecausewetendtoknowmoreabouttheircountries

throughthemsoitalsocreatesthatpartnership.Anotherrecalledhowhisperceptionswere

changedthroughhisdirectinteractionswithWhiteinternationalvolunteers:Weweretold

thatmanyWhitesareracist.Butwhen[volunteers]comehere,Idontseethatinthem.What

weeatiswhattheyeat,whatwedoiswhatwedo.Sotheperceptionistakenaway.

Volunteerspromotionof,andengagementin,sportswasalsobroughtupoftenincommunity

workshops.Althoughsportsmaynotstandoutasasignificantcontribution,theywereoften

describedaspotentialavenuesforpeacebuilding.Interpersonalcontactthroughsportscanbe

aprecursortomutualunderstanding,aspeoplefromdifferentbackgroundscometogether.As

acommunitymemberdescribed,Sportscanbeusedasanavenuetoreach[peace].People

werefightingin2007...footballissomethingthatcanbringpeopletogetherandnotjust

footballbutentiresports.Othercommunitymemberscitedhowvolunteershelpedtoorganise

runnings,marathons,thingsliketheseactivitiesthatbringcommunitiestogether.

Added-valueofInternationalVolunteers

Isolatingthedevelopmentimpactstointernationalvolunteersisdifficult.Theareaslistedabove

werefrequentlycitedaskeycontributions.However,theyarenotnecessarilydistinctfromthe

contributionsofdevelopmentorganisationsthatdonotusevolunteers.Usingonlythe

informationabove,itisunclearwhetherthecontributionsofvolunteersashumanresources

woulddifferiftheywerepaidstaffratherthanvolunteers.Althoughinterviewingcomparison

Strongly

Disagree2 3 4

Strongly

Agree

Short-term 59% 12% 6% 3% 21%

Long-term 16% 11% 32% 16% 26%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Figure5:Internaonalvolunteershelptosolve

ethnicdisagreementsincommunity


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organisationstoassesscounterfactualevidencemighthelp,thisissueisnotnecessarilysolved

bycomparison,giventhatprogramsarelikelytohavedistinctoperationsandpractices.This

sectionattemptstoisolatethecontributionsofvolunteersbydirectlyaskingintended

beneficiariestocomparetheworkofvolunteerswiththeworkoffull-timedevelopment

workersorfull-timestaff.Whilethismethodisnotastrongmeansofdeterminingattribution,it

canhelpidentifyareaswheremorerigorousinvestigationmaybefruitful.

Allelsebeingequal,moststaffmembers4reportedthattheywouldratherhavealong-term

internationalvolunteerthanapaiddevelopmentprofessional.Adistinctionbetweenlong-

andshort-termvolunteersisnecessarybecausemostofthestaffmembersworkingwithshort-

termvolunteersdidnotviewthemascomparablewithdevelopmentworkers.5Givenstark

differencesintheactivitiesperformedbypaiddevelopmentprofessionalsandshort-term

volunteers,manystaffmembersmarkedthisquestionasnotapplicable.Despitethese

differences,staffmemberswereabletolistanumberofdistinctadvantagesthatvolunteers

bringtodevelopmentprojects,regardlessofthedurationoftheirservice.

Previousresearchhasidentifiedanumberofareaswherevolunteershypotheticallyprovide

addedvaluetodevelopmentprojects[9,11,37].Basedonpriorresearch,surveyitemswere

usedtoverifyandmeasurethestrengthofpriorhypotheses.Additionalareasthatwerenot

measuredquantitativelyemergedduringtheinitialqualitativecoding.Themainareasof

volunteerscontributions(incomparisonwithpaiddevelopmentorlocalprojectstaff)include

greatertrust,accountability,ownership,creativity,optimism,anincreasedmotivationforlocal

volunteerstoengage,greaterdiversityinprojectmanagementandadministration,astronger

humanrightsorientation,relativecost-effectivenessofdevelopmentprojects,andslightly

highersustainabilityoftheirwork.

Trust

Greatertrustwasoneofthemostfrequentlyreferencedcontributionsofvolunteers.Nearly

halfofthecommunitymembersindicatedhavingmoretrustofinternationalvolunteersthan

paiddevelopmentworkersorlocalprojectstaff.Researchonvolunteershasobservedsimilar

outcomes,particularlyforvolunteerswholiveincloseproximitywiththecommunity,andwho

speakthelocallanguage[11,38].Whilepaiddevelopmentworkersarereportedlymorelikely

tospeakKiswahili,theyareperceivedaspreferringtoworkinofficesandwithprograms,rather

thandirectlywithcommunitymembers.Theyalsotendtoliveoutsideofthecommunity,

wherevolunteersaremorelikelytoresideinhome-stayswithcommunitymembersortolivein

closeproximity.

4Althoughfieldnotesindicatenearunanimousagreementonthispoint,theprecisepercentagewillnotbeknown

untilcompletionofqualitativeanalysis.5Asdescribedearlier,ageandeducation/skilllevelofthevolunteersiscloselycorrelatedwiththedurationof

volunteersservice.Thus,differencesextendbeyondservicedurationandmayreflectvolunteercapacity.


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Interviewssuggestpossiblereasonswhytheremaybelowertrustamongshorter-term

volunteers(seeFigures6,7).Asnotedinfindingsonresourceacquisition,communitymembers

oftenexpectresourcesandcontributionsthattendtobeforthcomingfromshort-term

volunteers.Whentheseexpectationsarenotmet,communitymembersmaycometotrust

volunteersandpartnerprogramsless.Ontheotherhand,volunteerswhostayinthe

communitylong-termarereportedlylesslikelytoprovideresourcesdirectly,andhavemore

timetomanagetheexpectationsofcommunitymembersandtobuildtrust.Interviewssuggest

thatthisexpectationisnotashighamonglonger-termvolunteersbecausepeoplelearnnotto

expectresourcesastheycometoknowvolunteersovertime.

Trustvolunteers

lessThesame

Trustvolunteers

more

Short-term 6% 50% 44%

Long-term 0% 21% 79%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%70%

80%

90%

Figure6:Comparedtopaiddevelopmentworkers:

Howmuchdoyoutrustinternaonalvolunteers?

Trustvolunteers

lessThesame

Trustvolunteers

more


Long-term 0% 15% 85%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Figure7:Comparedtolocalprojectstaff:

Howmuchdoyoutrustinternaonalvolunteers?


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Highertrustforinternationalvolunteersoverlocalstaffseemstobecorrelatedwithhigh

relativepoverty.Accordingtorespondentsperceptions,somecommunitymembersbelieve

thatlocalworkersmaybemorepronetopettycorruption,givenhighlevelsofpoverty.

Communitymembersalsomentionedthattheywillcontinuetoseelocalworkersformanyyears,andthusmaybelesswillingtodivulgesensitiveinformationthatmayspreadinthe

community.

Discussionsabouttrustwerebothpositiveandnegative.Manycommunitymemberswhowork

withvolunteersassertedthatothersinthecommunityassumetheyarereceivingmoneyand

helpfromthevolunteers.Whilethissometimesappearedtobetrue,inmostcases,community

membersassertedthattheydonotreceivemoneydirectlyfromvolunteers.Theyexpressed

concernthatothermembersofthecommunityoftenhavelesstrustforlocalstaffwhowork

withvolunteersbecausetheytypicallyfailtoproducemoneyorresourceswhensolicited.

AccountabilityandOwnership

Becausepaidworkersareoftenpartofadevelopmentinfrastructurewithspecificmandates,

theyareoftenviewedasbeingprimarilyaccountabletolargedevelopmentprograms,funders,

andmultilateraltechnicalorganisations,andlessaccountabletothelocalcommunity.Although

volunteerswhoservewithadevelopmentorganisationmayhaveasimilarmandate,theyare

oftenviewedasmoreflexibleandresponsivetolocalcommunityneeds[2].Thisstudy

substantiatedthisclaim,findingthatnearly90percentofcommunitymembersviewedlong-

termvolunteersasbeingmoreaccountabletotheircommunitythanpaiddevelopment

workers(seeFigure8).Thisfindingwasdampenedsignificantlyamongcommunitymembers

workingwithshort-terminternationalvolunteers(56percent);short-termvolunteersweremoreoftencitedasfollowingtheirownagenda.

Whenprobedaboutthedifferencesbetweenpaidworkersandunpaid(orunderpaid)

volunteers,volunteersmotivationsseemedtobeakeydriveraffectingdifferences.Paid

workerswereperceivedascaringlessaboutrelationshipsandmoreaboutaccomplishinga

giventask,oraboutproducingaspecificproduct.Inaddition,manystaffandcommunity

membersbelievedthevolunteershadmorefrequentinteractionsandmaintainedstronger

relationshipswithlocalpeople,thusheighteningtheirknowledgeoflocalneedsandinterests.


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Creativity

Volunteersarehighlyvaluedforthenewideastheybringtoprogramandprojects,aswellasto

community-ledinterventions.Long-termvolunteersreportedlybringmoreknowledgethan

short-termvolunteers.Thisislikelybecauseprogramssupportinglonger-termvolunteersoften

recruitthosewhoareolder,moreeducatedandmoreskilled.Bydefinition,longer-term

volunteersmayalsohavemoretimetounderstandthecomplexityofproblemsandtoprovide

viablealternativesolutions.70percentofcommunitymembersworkingwithlong-termvolunteersstronglyagreedthatinternationalvolunteersbringnewknowledgethatwouldnot

beavailableincommunity,comparedto20percentworkingwithshort-termvolunteers.An

additional26percentofthoseworkingwithshort-termvolunteersstronglydisagreedwiththis

statement(seeFigure9).

Less

accountableThesame

More

accountable


Long-term 6% 6% 89%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

90%100%

Figure8:Comparedtopaiddevelopmentworkers:

Howaccountableareinternaonalvolunteersto

yourlocalcommunity?


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Asforvalueadded,82percentofcommunitymembersbelievethattheideaspresentedby

internationalvolunteersaremorecreativethantheideaspresentedbypaiddevelopment

workers.While18percentbelievethecreativityamongstthesetwogroupsisthesame,no

communitymembersreportedthatpaiddevelopmentworkersaremorecreativeintheir

solutions.

Strongly

Disagree2 3 4

Strongly

AgreeShort-term 26% 9% 9% 37% 20%

Long-term 5% 5% 3% 17% 70%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Figure9:Internaonalvolunteersbringnewknowledge

thatwouldnotbeavailableincommunity

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Lesscreave Thesame Morecreave

Figure10:Comparedtopaiddevelopment

workers:Howcreavearetheideas

presentedbyinternaonalvolunteers?


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Optimism

Thequestforadventureisaprimarymotivationformanyinternationalvolunteers[29,39].

Consequently,theyoftenbegintheirworkwithanexcitedandoptimisticattitude.This

perspectiveoftencontrastswithlocalorpaiddevelopmentworkers,whooftenlabourwitha

specificproblemareaformultipleyearsandmaybecomejadedovertime.Althoughpreviousstudieshavehypothesisedthatshort-termvolunteersmaybemoreoptimisticthanlong-term

volunteersbasedonthenewness,excitementandnoveltyoftheirexperience[29],thisstudy

didnotfindasignificantdifferenceinperceivedoptimismbydurationofservice.Acrossthe

board,73percentofstaffmembersbelievedthatinternationalvolunteersaremoreoptimistic

thandevelopmentworkers.

Inadditiontothecomparisonwithpaiddevelopmentworkers,internationalvolunteersmay

alsoexudealevelofoptimismandcommitmentbeyondwhatlocalvolunteerscanprovide.

However,becauseinternationalvolunteersoftenreceiveastipendandmayhavehigher

personalresourcestodrawuponcomparedtolocalvolunteers,theymayhavecausefor

greateroptimismandcommitment.Asonestaffmemberwhoworkswithbothlocaland

internationalvolunteersexplained:

They[internationalvolunteers]aresomuchenthusiastic,verymuchzealousafteryouveseen

themgetholdofajob.Actuallytheyevengobeyondourexpectations,comparedtoourlocal

volunteers.Theydoextrawork,yourealizeavolunteerthatwehaveheremayonlyworktoday.

Buttheotherwhocomesfromaninternationalorganisationwouldbeabletoalmostworkdailyandgotoanyactivityanddontexpectanypaymentsorsomethinglikethat,becausetheyknow

whatbroughtthemhere.Ihaveseenit,andIhavehandledalotofvolunteers.

CivicEngagement

Volunteersmaysupportthegrowthofastrongcivilsociety,whichisrecognisedasessentialfor

goodgovernance,democraticaccountabilityandvibrantsocialactivism[40].Findingsfromthis

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%80%

Lessopmisc Thesame More

opmisc


developmentworkers:Howopmisc

areinternaonalvolunteers?


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andotherresearchsuggestthatlocalvolunteerismandengagementseemtobedirectly

inspiredbytheinvolvementofaninternationalvolunteerindevelopmentprojects[3].Many

examplesofthiscorrelationwerecitedbystaffduringtheinterviews,andnearly80percentof

staffmembersagreedthatcommunitymembersseemmoreinterestedintheorganisation's

activitieswheninternationalvolunteersareinvolved.

Anumberofthecommunitymembersparticipatinginfocusgroupswerelocalvolunteers,and

providedexamplesofhowtheywerepersonallyinspiredtoengageintheircommunities

followingtheexampleofinternationalvolunteers.Asonestaffmemberexplained:

Peoplewillseeaforeignvisitorandafterseeingtheylltalkaboutit.Theyllsay,ifamzungu

canbeavolunteer,whynotme?ImAfrican.WhyamInothelpingmypeople?Ifsomebodycan

comefromabroadtohelpushere,whydontIstartwithme?

Sustainability

Despiteassociatingvolunteerswithhightrust,creativityandlocalaccountability,lessthanhalf

ofstaffmembersbelievedthatthecontributionsfromvolunteersaremoresustainablethan

theworkofpaiddevelopmentworkers.Onthedownside,someassertedthattheworkof

volunteersisseasonalandlackscontinuity.Althoughtherewasnoquantitativedifference

betweenshort-andlong-termprograms,thiscritiquewasparticularlyevidentindiscussionsof

volunteerplacementsofafewmonthsorless.Othersviewedvolunteersasfallingoutsideof

formaldevelopmentprograms,andthusbelievethereislowerinstitutionalcommitmentand

resourcestosustaintheirwork.Ontheupside,theworkofvolunteersoftencontinueswellbeyondtheirreturnhome.Manystaffmemberscitedexamplesofvolunteerswhocontinueto

communicatewith,anddirectresourcestoward,theorganisationorcommunity,evenyears

aftertheirdeparture.Thisdidnotemergeasacommonbehaviorforpaiddevelopment

workers,althoughthisquestionwasnotdirectlyassessed.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Disagree Neither Agree

Figure12:Communitymembersseem

moreinterestedinorganisaon'sacvies

wheninternaonalvolunteersareinvolved


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Cost-effectiveness

Responseswerealsomoreevenlymixedregardingperceptionsofthecost-effectivenessof

internationalvolunteers.Slightlymorethanhalfoflocalstaffagreedthatusinginternational

volunteersreducesthetotalcostsofdevelopmentprojects.The20percentwhodisagreed

remarkedthatsubstantialamountsoftimeandmoneyareusedtotrain,orientandhost

volunteers,inadditiontotravelandotherlogisticalcosts.Afewbelievedthatvolunteerswere

helpfulandusefulbutwerenotentirelyconvincedthatvolunteersofferedgoodvaluefor

money.Itwasalsopossiblethoughunstatedthatsomerespondentstookthisquestionat

facevalue,agreeingthatvolunteersarenotcost-free.Someofthoseagreeingwiththe

statementthatvolunteersarecost-effectivesawvolunteersasfillingarolethatotherwise

mightbefilledbyamorecostlydevelopmentworker.Othersreiteratedthatthecontributions

ofvolunteersarehardtoputamonetaryvalueon,andthusofferedgoodnon-monetaryvalue

todevelopmentpartners.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Less

sustainable

Thesame More

sustainable


developmentworkers:Howsustainable

istheworkofinternaonalvolunteers?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%


Figure14:Usinginternaonal

volunteersreducesthetotalcosts

ofdevelopmentprojects


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Diversity

Communityandstaffmembersinthisstudycitedmanywaysthatvolunteersdifferences

inspireopen-mindednessandrespectfordiversityintheircommunitiesandorganisations.

Becauseinternationalvolunteerscomefromoutsidethecommunity,theytendtoincreasethe

diversityoforganisationsandcommunities.Assuch,volunteerscontributenewideasbuttheymayalsobringindiverseperspectivesthatcontributetoincreasedtoleranceandrespectfor

difference.Thishasalsobeennotedinotherstudiesoninternationalvolunteering[39,41,42].

Internationalvolunteersmayhavelowawarenessofhistoricalethnic,racialandclassbiasesor

otherlong-standingprejudicewithincommunities.Thus,volunteersmaybemorelikelyto

involvemarginalisedpeopleorminoritieswhomayotherwisebesociallyexcluded.

Only42percentofstaffmembersbelievedthatinternationalvolunteersincludemore

minoritiesinprojectsthanlocalstaff(seeFigure16),while55percentbelievedtheyweremore

likelytoincludewomenindevelopmentprojects(Figure17).Anevenhigher62percent

believedthatinternationalvolunteerspromotegenderequalitygenerally(Figure18).This

finding,pairedwithearlierassertionsthatvolunteerspromotegenderequality,reinforcesthe

conclusionthatinternationalvolunteersmayhaveamoderateimpactonpromotinggender

equalityandempoweringwomenintheKenyancontext.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Figure15:Usinginternaonal

volunteersincreasesthediversityof

projectmanagement


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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Include

minoriesless

Thesame Include

minoriesmore

Figure16:Comparedtolocalproject

staff:Howmuchdointernaonal

volunteersincludeethnicminoriesin

projects?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Includewomen

less

Thesame Includewomen

more


Howmuchdointernaonalvolunteers

includewomeninprojects?


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HumanRightsOrientation

Inlinewiththeperceptionthatinternationalvolunteerspromotediversity,advancinghuman

rightsalsoappearstobeacommonactivityamonginternationalvolunteers.About65percent

ofcommunitymembersbelievedthatinternationalvolunteerspromotehumanrightsmore

frequentlythanlocalstaffmembers.Thiswasnotalwaysperceivedasapositivecontribution,

however.Forinstance,onefocusgroupcitedanexamplewherevolunteersheldtrainingsinan

attempttohelpreducegender-basedviolence.Communitymembersassertedthatthe

volunteerswerenotwellreceivedbythecommunitybecausetheyhelddifferentvaluesand

perspectivesonhumanrights.Consequently,theywerenotabletoconnectwellwithcommunitymembers,andthuswerenotnecessarilyeffectiveatreducinggender-based

violenceinthisarea.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Promoteless Promotethe

same

Promotemore



promotegenderequality?

0%

10%

20%

30%40%

50%

60%

70%

Promoteless Promotethe

same

Promotemore



promotehumanrights?


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ContributingCauses

Consistentwithpriorresearchontheoutcomesofinternationalvolunteering[5],respondents

listedanumberofcontributingcausesorhelpingfactorsthatultimatelyaffecttheimpacts

ofinternationalvolunteerserviceonintendedbeneficiaries[14].Variousdimensionsofthe

serviceactivity,alongwithindividualandinstitutionalattributes,helptoexplainwhatworks

forwhom,whyandunderwhatcircumstances[43].Althoughonlyahandfulofhelpingfactors

wereevidentinquantitativefindings,qualitativedatarevealedanumberofkeyvariablesthat

appearedtochangethemechanismsofimpact.

ServiceActivity

Internationalvolunteerserviceisnotamonolithicactivity.Becausevolunteersengageinwidely

differingactivitiesunderdifferentservicemodels,itisnotpossibletomakefirmconclusions

ofimpactwithoutconsideringhowthesedifferencesaffectoutcomes.Forinstance,thefindings

outlinedaboveclearlyillustratehowdurationofserviceandtheskill-baseofvolunteersaffect

beneficiariesperceptionsofimpact.Inadditiontoservicedurationandskills,beneficiariesdiscussedanumberofotherfactorsrelatedtoserviceactivitythatseemedtoaffectoutcomes.

Amongthese,directionality,grouporsoloplacement,andcontinuityemergedasdominant

helpingfactors.Thesefactorsaligncloselywiththeoreticalandempiricalfindingsfromprevious

studies[5].

Duration

Durationofservicewasthemostwidelycitedvariableaffectingthecontributionsof

internationalvolunteers.Asonevoiceamongmanyasserted,thosewhohavebeenherefor

quitesometimetheyhavebeenreallyproductiveandgivenusagreaterimpact.Although

durationisoftenthemanifestvariable,timelengthisonlyafragmentofthecontributing

factor.Anumberofadditionalattributescoincidewithvolunteeringfordifferentlengthsoftime.

Longer-termvolunteersaretypicallyafewyearsolderthanshorter-termvolunteers,andare

oftenrequiredbythesendingorganisationtohaveadegreeoraspecificskill.Amongthe

programsinterviewedinthisstudy,nonereportedhostingalong-termvolunteerwholackeda

collegedegreeoraspecialisedskill.Short-termvolunteersmayalsobeskilledandareoften

professionalvolunteers.However,theyaremorecommonlyyoungpeoplewhomightnot

havehighereducationordevelopedskills.

Whiledurationoftenhasasignificanteffectonoutcomes,evenaftercontrollingforageandeducation[44,45],itshouldnotbediscussedinisolation.Infact,manyprogramstaffinthis

studyassertedthatshort-termvolunteerscanbehighlyeffectivewhentheyaretechnically

skilledorwhentheyleadatrainingorworkshop.Onestaffmemberworkingforanorganisation

thathostsbothshort-andlong-termvolunteersestimatedthattheyvalueshort-termyoung

andunskilledvolunteersatabout80percentfortheresourcestheyprovideandatabout20

percentforothercontributions,whileskills-basedshort-termvolunteerscontributionsarethe

opposite:80percentcapacitybuilding,and20percentresources.


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Astrongmessagethatemergedfrominterviewswithprogramstaffandcommunitymembersis

thatshort-termvolunteersarehighlyvaluedfortheresourcesthattheycanbringtothe

organisationandcommunity.Withtheexceptionofshort-termprofessionalvolunteers,this

appearedtobeoneofthemostobviouscontributionsofshorter-termvolunteersto

development.Infact,asonestaffmemberasserted,hostingvolunteersforlessthanafewmonthsisoftenviewedasaservicethatthepartnerprogramprovidestothesending

organisationinordertomaintainafunctionalworkingpartnership.Inthissense,theyoften

viewshorter-termvolunteersaslearners,notnecessarilyascontributors.However,other

programstaffmentionedless-tangible,butstillimportant,contributionsfromyoung,short-

termvolunteerssuchasmutuallearning,cross-culturalunderstanding,relationships,diversity,

andinspirationalongwiththechangesalreadyoutlinedabovesuchasaperceivedhigher

engagementoflocalvolunteers,andamoreenthusiasticworkingenvironment.

Shorter-termvolunteersalsoappearedtomorecommonlyengageindirectworkwith

communitymemberswhilelonger-termvolunteersappearedtoworkinorganisationsatthe

program-orproject-managementlevel.Inmanyways,longer-termvolunteersweremore

comparabletopaiddevelopmentstaff.Whenaskedabouttheideallengthoftimefor

volunteerstoserve,themostcommonresponsefromprogramstaffwasoneyearormore.

However,amongcommunitymembers,thedurationofserviceneverseemedtobequite

adequate.Forinstance,thosehostingvolunteersforthreemonthsstatedthatoneyearwould

bepreferred,whilethosehostingvolunteersfortwoyearsormorestatedthatfiveyearswould

bebest.Ifvolunteerscometoteachorpracticeaspecificskill,toholdatrainingworkshop,or

tootherwisesharetheirexpertise,thenshort-termserviceisperceivedasquitehelpful.

However,forothercapacitybuildingorprogram-levelinterventions,oneyearormoreis

preferred.

Directionality

Thetermdirectionalityrefersinthiscontexttothedifferencesinthedirectionorflowof

internationalvolunteersacrossnations.SupportforSouth-NorthandSouth-Southvolunteer

placementsisagrowingtrend,asanalternativetothedominantNorth-Southflowof

internationalservice.Moststaffandcommunitymembersdidnotperceiveanysubstantial

differencesbetweenvolunteersfromtheGlobalNorthandtheGlobalSouth.However,many

assertedthattheywouldpreferavolunteerfromtheNorthifgiventhechoice.Twostaff

membersfromoneorganisationassertedthattheywouldratherhostavolunteerfromthe

South.

ThechiefreasongivenforpreferringNorthernvolunteersisabeliefthatvolunteersfrom

higher-incomecountriesmayhavegreateraccesstoresources.Inaddition,thereisalsoabelief

thatexternalfundinganddevelopmentorganisationsmayhavemorerespectforvolunteers

fromtheNorth,andmayaddresstheirrequestsandideasmorequicklythanvolunteersfrom

theSouth.ThisperceptionisillustratednumericallyinFigure20,where91percentofstaff

membersbelievethathostinganinternationalvolunteerfromoutsideofAfricaincreasestheir

likelihoodofreceivingfunding.Incontrast,only53percentbelievehostinganinternational


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volunteerfromanothercountryinAfricaincreasestheirlikelihoodofreceivingfunding.This

alsotiesbacktotheissueoftrust.Althoughhavinganinternationalvolunteerfromanycountry

tendstoincreasethetrustothershaveofthepartnerorganisation,trustisslightlyhigher

amongvolunteersfromtheNorth(96percent)thantheSouth(82percent)(seefigure21).

ThehandfulofstaffandcommunitymembersindicatingapreferenceforSouthernvolunteers

statedthatvolunteersfromtheSoutharemoreaccustomedtomanuallabour,andtendto

workharderwhenmanuallabourisrequired.Theyalsosuggestedthatitiseasiertotalkfrankly

andopenlyaboutdevelopmentplanswiththevolunteersfromtheSouth.Whiletheymayalso

discussplanswithNorthernvolunteers,thereisaperceptionthatneitherpartytendstobeas

openinthesediscussions.TherewasalsoareportedprecedencethatNorthernvolunteershad

beenlesslikelytoimplementplansdevelopedincollaborationwithcommunitymembers,and

viceversa.

Decreased

likelihoodNochange

Increased

likelihood

IVsfrom[other]Africa 6% 41% 53%

IVsfromoutsideofAfrica 0% 9% 91%

0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Figure20:Howdoyouthinkinternaonalvolunteersaffectyourorganisaon'slikelihoodtoreceivefunding?

Decreasetrust Nochange Increasetrust

IVsfrom[other]Africa 0% 18% 82%

IVsfromoutsideofAfrica 0% 5% 96%

0%

20%

40%60%

80%

100%

Figure21:Howdoeshavingavolunteerworkinorganisaon

affectthetrustothershaveofyourorganisaon?


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Groupsize

Differencesinthepracticeofsendingvolunteerstoservealoneorinagroupwerenotexplored

indepthintheseinterviews.However,ahandfulofcommentsrevealthatthecollectivenature

ofaplacementmayactasahelpingorhinderingfactor.Groupplacementsmaybemore

structuredandmayrequirealowerinvestmentbylocalstaff,whereasindividualvolunteers

oftenneedsspecifictasksandassignmentstokeepthembusy.Asonestaffmemberasserted:

Thosewhocomeingroupsusuallyhaveverycommonobjectivesandreallymorestructured

work.Inthesensethat,whentheycomehere,theyareabitmoreorganizedandtheygo

throughsometrainingofwhatworks.Theyhavebeenassignedtocomeanddo.Yourealizeitis

wellcoordinatedandisveryeasy[forthem]tounderstandthework.Ascomparedtoan

individualwhohasjustcome,manytimesthosewhocomeasindividualsjustfittowhatever

workweareexposingthemto.

Continuity

Thecontinuityofvolunteerplacementsappearedtobeofgreatestconcernamongcommunity

membersworkingwithlong-terminternationalvolunteers.Manyexpressedworryaboutwhatwouldhappenwhenthevolunteersleft.Theirmostpressingconcernwaslosingfundingfor

community-basedprograms.However,theyalsoexpressedconcernaboutlosingthe

volunteersexpertiserelatedtoprojectmanagement.Thoseworkingwithshort-term

volunteersseemedtotakeitforgrantedthatvolunteerscomeandgo,anddidnotexpress

unsolicitedconcernaboutvolunteersleaving.However,thiswasnotanexplicitquestioninthe

interviewguide.Thus,continuitycouldalsobeaconcernamongthosehostingshort-term

volunteers,asthisissuehasbeennotedinpreviousresearchwithshort-termvolunteers[9].

Thisquestionmaybeexploredingreaterdepthinfutureresearch.

InstitutionalAttributes

Theoretically,differentattributesofthesendingandhostingorganisationsaswellasthe

partnerprogramswouldaffectoutcomes[5].Thisareahasreceivedthegreatestattentionin

previousresearchasitrelatestothemanagementcycleandmonitoringandevaluationof

specificprograms.Hence,theseattributeswerenotfeaturedhighlyintheresearch.Fewstaff

membersbroughttheseissuesupspontaneously.However,whendiscussionsofinstitutional

attributesdidarise,theymainlyfocusedontheimportanceoflanguagepreparation,in-depth

culturalorientationandscreeningofvolunteerswithpotentialpersonalityissues.Someof

theseissueswillbecoveredbelowunderthediscussionofvolunteerattributes.Otherswillbe

coveredingreaterdetailfollowingfurtheranalysisofqualitativedata.

VolunteerAttributes

Alongwithserviceactivitiesandinstitutionalattributes,intervieweesdiscussedanumberof

individualvolunteerattributesassociatedwithdevelopmentimpacts.Althoughsomeoft

Documents

Participatory Research on the Contributions of International Volunteerism in Kenya Final