Volunteers, development workers and experts

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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
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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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The journey

• From solidarity to technical assistance?
• From inputs to outcomes?
• From voluntarism to professionalism?
• From mission to commodity?
• A diversity of models

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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

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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)

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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

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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?

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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

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The JICA Model how it works

• JICAs 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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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 ?

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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

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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

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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?