Volunteers, development workers
and experts
Programme Models
Cliff Allum
Chief Executive Officer, Skillshare International
President, International Forum on Development Service
Presentation to Study-Visit for NMS-NGDOs on Expert-
Sending
3 March 2008
About Forum • We facilitate the sharing of information, through our
website, news updates, sharing of knowledge and experiences.
• We commission and undertake research, as well as facilitating members’ involvement in research into issues around international volunteering.
• We organise an annual conference known as IVCO. This conference is primarily concerned with issues of change, redefining International Volunteering and offering opportunities to learn about new models of activity.
About Skillshare International
• One of four UK based long term volunteer
agencies
• Geographical focus on Africa and Asia
• Key focus of social change
• Uses a variety of international volunteering
models as well as range of other development
inputs
• Annual turnover around E7million
The Origins of “International
Volunteering”
A view from the 1960s: the two year model
– Low cost philanthropy
– Aid for development (including technical
assistance)
– Public relations between countries
– Education for the volunteers
Low cost philanthropy
“It is possible to think of volunteer
programmes in terms of sending
philanthropic people to places where they
can do charitable jobs – and maintaining
them there at minimal cost “
ODI - 1966
Aid for development (including
technical assistance)
• International Volunteering as a “valuable
and inexpensive addition to other technical
assistance programmes.”
• a two year model for volunteers providing
technical assistance, a subsidised benefits
package, training and adaptation prior to
placement
Aid for development (including
technical assistance)
A move to greater technical “expertise”
– Demand led by local partners
– Poverty focus and economic development
objectives
– Supply side - broadening opportunities to
“volunteer” at different stages of our life cycle
– Is it volunteering or a job? – a range of
motivations
Public relations between countries
• Long term programmes are very often state led
or state funded and are located as part of the
relationship between nation states
• Can be understood in the context of colonial and
“cold war” history
• Can be understood in the context of economic
co-operation
Education for the volunteers
• Building the leaders of the future – the
historic elite model of Peace Corps in the
USA
• Raising awareness back in the “home”
country – the role of those returning in
public engagement
The journey
• From solidarity to technical assistance?
• From inputs to outcomes?
• From voluntarism to “professionalism”?
• From mission to commodity?
• A diversity of models
Breaking the Mould
“In the past, International Volunteer
Co-operation Organisations (IVCOs) typically
focused on volunteer sending. Today
however this mould has been broken and
IVCOs are now engaging in a wide range
of activities”
Development Initiatives 2006 survey report
Programme models - how they
have changed and developed
• Refining the technical assistance model
– Agencies as capacity builders of development rather than senders of volunteers or experts (widespread)
– Integrated forms of technical assistance with other agencies (DED)
– Development or relief?
• Beyond North South models
– Breaking down the nationalism in programmes
– South-south as an emergent model (UNV, VSO, Skillshare, Progressio)
Programme models - how they
have changed and developed
• Exchange / partnership model
– Principle of reciprocity (FK Norway, CCI)
• Exchanges for young people – development or global
understanding?
– Canada World Youth,
• Bringing in young people – global understanding rather
than development?
- German and UK Governments
Programme models - how they
have changed and developed
• Short term / leave franchise – Retired executive professionals
– Welcome to the corporate sector, career and personal development
– Supply side realities
• Online volunteering – UNV leading the way
– An alternative or an additional model?
The JOCV Model
• Part of JICA, so essentially a
governmental run programme
• Has a strong resemblance to the
traditional two year model
• Strategic agreement between JOCV and
Peace Corps since 2005 for joint co-
operation
The JICA Model – how it works
• “JICA’s volunteer programme is designed
to optimize volunteers’ knowledge,
technical know-how and valuable
experience for the benefit of local people
in developing countries while they live with
locals” JICA promotional leafet
Japan Overseas Cooperation
Volunteers (JOCV) programme
• 2,500 people between the ages of 20-39
working in 77 countries in 120 different
fields
• They are mainly assigned to governmental
organisations
• Term is basically two years
• Short term can be from one to ten months
Volunteers for Japanese
Communities Overseas • Assigned to support the development of areas where
local Japanese communities are located, living and working with Japanese immigrants and their descendents in overseas communities
• Usually work in education, culture and health care/social welfare
• Japanese language education takes up most of the posts
• 50 people in 6 countries
• Has a senior volunteer programme (mainly south America) with 36 people in 6 countries
Senior Volunteers (SV) programme
• Age range 40 – 69
• 650 assignments in 53 countries
• Assigned to government organisations for 1 to 2 years
• Short term programme also applies to the SV programme
• System engineering, computer engineering, organic farming, wood processing, judo and karate… (nine assigned fields)
How it works
• Requests made from partner governments
through their partnership with the Japanese
government
• After requests accepted, recruitment and
screening process, “pre-dispatch training” and
volunteers sent
• On return debriefing sessions and training
• Living expenses and airfare costs met by JICA
How it works – some reflections
• The volunteer is pitched at the practical or
community level and has a relationship
with the experts at higher or central levels.
There are parallels with the Korean
agency – Koica
• This is a simple uncomplicated model that
has not changed much over a long period
of time
Recruitment and Selection of
personnel • Assessment of placement and drawing up person
specification
• Two key components:
– Technical
– Personal - will they make a development worker?
• Assessment centre or interview(s)?
• Ongoing process during per placement phase?
• Reviewing diversity – are you recruiting a wide enough range of people ?
Briefing, training, learning
• Pre departure
– Knowledge base of where the development worker is going and the partner organisation. Direct contact?
– Dealing with expectations and cultural adaptation – the “six month rule”
• During Placement
– Orientation and familiarisation
– Ongoing professional development
• Post placement
– Preparing to return
– On return – public engagement
Key Future trends
• International Voluntarism in a post – colonial period:
– Technical assistance provider
– Capacity builder
– Facilitator of partnerships
– Development at the door of emergency relief
• Flexibility and diversity in models
• Global citizenship
• Shifting geographical focus of the sources of volunteers
International voluntarism
in the future
• Will the nation state model decline?
• Will international voluntarism become global in its
thinking?
• Will the consumerist model become more dominant?
• Will future generations engage more with “virtual”
volunteering?
• Will IVCOs become multi-national?
