Doctoral Dissertation Research: Impacts of Transnational Volunteerism on Economic Development and Labor Dynamics

University Of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation research improvement project will examine how the rise of volunteer tourism (a vacation with volunteering) alters the work of people connected to development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Such diversity includes both the social position of the worker and type of work they do. The research will examine how diverse workers interact with volunteers in their efforts to reduce poverty. The research will examine the extent to which such interactions influence NGOs to change their project goals, and will examine the new kinds of work these interactions produce. Volunteer tourism is a rapidly expanding transnational phenomenon, and this study will provide insights into how it transforms volunteers who travel abroad, NGO operations, and development project outcomes. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will also provide support to enable a promising student to establish an independent research career. This project will apply a geographic analysis of transnational voluntourism by shifting the scale of development research from the typical macro level analysis of policies or trade to the micro level, with a focus on people, homes, and offices. The study will use an ethnographic approach to examine how daily work by diverse workers at an NGO shape how such organizations function at multiple scales including institutional, interpersonal, and at the project scale. The research will seek answers to the following questions: (1) what is the relationship between labor dynamics, NGO practices, and funding?; (2) what are the experiences of volunteers, workers, and beneficiaries of NGOs?; and (3) how do the labor dynamics and experiences impact both livelihoods and development outcomes of poverty reduction projects?. The student will collect data through a multi-faceted approach including participant observation, semi-structured and informal interviews; content analysis of annual reports; and post-trip email surveys of volunteers. While this research focuses on development projects in Guatemala, it will provide new insights regarding the impacts of American volunteer tourism on people and development NGOs, with implications for improving volunteer tourism and development practices both in the US and elsewhere. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.