The Role of Humanitarian Aid & Development?
Question 60: “Please elaborate on your views about the future of humanitarian aid work.” The majority of respondents who have answered this question thus far seem to have focused their comments on things ultimately to do with technical delivery, implementation and efficiency. But a few have chosen take on what I consider to be probably the most important question facing the humanitarian aid and development industry today. “I think the aid industry is still figuring out what its role should be and how it should have an impact – and the people who can support that (taxpayers, donors, etc) still aren’t sure about its value. I am hopeful but somewhat skeptical that the aid industry will continue to grow and always have a positive impact, as a result.” This response hits it on the head. What is our role, as aid workers and aid organizations, vis-à-vis the bigger picture? Maybe…
Read More
FollowMore voices coming soon….
Non-English versions of the survey coming soon Though I don’t have any firm numbers to go by, a quick scan of available data is that English is not the first language of most humanitarian aid workers. While it is a fact of life that the default language of many (most?) organizations in the aid world industry is English (with French coming in a very strong second), of the over 300,000 aid and development workers globally I’ll repeat: for most English is at best a second language. This fact is perhaps reflected in our data in that we have attracted a very small number of local aid workers: Our main goal in taking on this project was to provide a space for more discussion about the lives and views of aid workers and so, toward…
Read MorePSA: Who should take the survey?
The humanitarian survey has been live for about two weeks, now, and so far we’re very pleased with the response. We’ve had over 500 respondents to-date, and yes, we know it’s not a statistically viable sample just yet, but nevertheless we’re seeing some fascinating trends already beginning to emerge. At this point, though, we need to pause and answer what is apparently a burning question in the minds of many: Who should take this survey? Or, put another way, who do we want to hear from? You’ve tweeted us, DM’d us, emailed us, Facebooked us, biting your bottom lips, voices wavering… wondering if… is it really… for you?! Should I take the humanitarian worker survey?! (hint: yes) The answer is, “Yes!” If you do now or have ever worked in the aid industry, we want to hear from you via this survey. Yep, we know. It says “humanitarian”, but…
Read MoreThanks for taking our survey….
Thanks for taking our survey…. and what was that all about, anyway? Don’t know what we’re talking about? Take The Survey! Thanks for taking the time to join this conversation. You’re probably wondering who are we are why are we doing this? First things, first. Meet the research collaborators: Dr. Thomas Arcaro, Professor of Sociology at Elon University. Founding Director of the Periclean Scholars Program, and lead researcher on this project. “J.” 20+ year aid industry veteran, co-founder/blogger at Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like, blogger at AidSpeak, and author of two humanitarian novels: This project, according to “J.” I’ve spent the better part of the past twenty years believing that something was wrong with me. I knew the cause, of course: I am a professional aid worker, and I have been for some time. And that fact alone seemed, for a while, to explain it all. Aid-work-induced weirdness was for…
Read More