Transforming Volunteering in Development

The climate emergency, decolonisation, reduced aid budgets and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic are challenging the ideas and practices of development organisations whose work has been structured around sending volunteering from the global North to the South. At the same time, there has been growing attention to the role of volunteers within their own communities, particularly in the global South, and innovations in the ways international volunteering is understood, structured and supported within and across global North and South.

This collaborative PhD between the International Forum for Volunteering in Development (Forum) and the Centre for Global Development (CGD) at Northumbria University will develop research that explores the changing relationships between volunteering and development at this critical juncture. By analysing how organisations working with volunteers are responding to these challenges, the PhD will also contribute to wider academic debates around the present and future of humanitarian and development thinking and practice, including in relation to the roles of civil society organisations, ideas of knowledge and expertise, and understandings of agency and citizenship.

Through a collaborative approach between Forum and Northumbria University, the research will provide an opportunity to work closely with leading volunteering and development organisations, developing critical insight that will directly support policy and practice, as well as developing new conceptual knowledge of volunteering and development.

Short Bio of the PhD Researcher: Janet Clark is a researcher in the Centre for Global Development (CGD) at Northumbria University. Her research experience spans volunteering, development, inequality and social justice. She has recently worked in the Volunteering, Climate Adaptation and Disasters (VOCAD) research activities, part of the UKRI-GCRF Living Deltas Research Hub wider collaborative project. This project explores the ways in which individuals and organisations mobilise labour in their approaches to crisis response and adaptation. Prior to this role, Janet has previously worked for VSO, Saferworld and the UK Ministry of Justice, as well as a range of UK statutory and civil society organisations. Her research has been used to inform the design and development of volunteering programmes and interventions, and in some instances to inform policy. Janet has conducted volunteer-focused research in community, clinical and prison settings in many contexts and has expertise in engaging marginalised and excluded groups in research processes in the UK and in a range of countries in Africa, South Asia and Asia Pacific.

To find out more, please contact Janet Clark (PhD Researcher), Prof Matt Baillie Smith (Northumbria University) or James O'Brien (Forum).