Methodology notes regarding our online survey of Filipino aid and development workers
Background Though in the coming days we’ll be posting more about the results I thought it might be useful for some to hear about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of our survey work on Filipino aid workers. Methodology notes One of the weaknesses of the survey that J (Evil Genius) and I circulated in spring 2014 was that only 5% of the total sample (n = 1010) self-identified as ‘local’ aid workers. After publishing a post describing a small survey of Zambian aid and development workers in February I was contacted by Arbie Baguios. We worked together to construct a survey the intent of which was to generate meaningful -but mostly suggestive and exploratory- data from Filipino aid and development workers. Included on the survey were, with some wording modifications, some of the same questions that were asked in 2014. We beta tested the survey with some of Argie’s Filipino colleagues and redrafted…
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FollowMaybe local aid workers could do most expat roles better and more cost-effectively
Maybe local aid workers could do most expat roles better and more cost-effectively by @arbiebaguios Tom and I recently launched a survey that solicited the perspectives of national and local Filipino aid workers on a range of issues within the aid sector – in particular, the (in)equalities that exist between expat and local staff. In a previous blog, we highlighted the ever-present issue of expat vs local staff salary. Our survey’s preliminary findings suggest that local Filipino aid workers think they are being paid less than their expat equivalent for doing the same work. Throughout the years, many blogs, articles and research have attempted to dissect this issue – and as the most recent Guardian piece from Tobias Denskus says, it’s complicated. His article is one of the most nuanced ones to date to discuss this: it recognises the increasing ‘localisation’ of aid; highlights the changing dynamics of labour in our…
Read MoreTweet explained
[updated 19-4-17] Tweet explained Tweet A few days ago I tweeted “Local aid workers more satisfied, perceive higher work impact than expats despite seeing compensation disparity.” Here’s some clarification. I based this statement on data from the survey J (Evil Genius) and I began in 2014 and more recent data from a survey focusing exclusively on aid and development workers in The Philippines. Elsewhere in this blog I wrote about the compensation disparity here and the job satisfaction and perception of making an impact here. I put those two posts together and composed the tweet. If you have time read these posts for detail and background. One size does not fit all What I did not do in the tweet -I am a symptom of the problem- is add any qualifiers and/or contextualizing modifiers. Hey, with a 140 character limit how much you can say? The bottom line is that I presented a generalization that raised…
Read MoreComparing Filipino data with (mostly) expat data from 2014
A quick look comparing new Filipino data with (mostly) expat data from 2014 Context In spring of 2014 25+ year veteran aid worker J (Evil Genius) and I launched a survey that ultimately had over 1000 responses from aid and development workers globally. Most who responded were ‘expat’ aid workers, and a majority of those from the global north. The results of that survey were the original basis for this blog and my book Aid Worker Voices. In this short post I compare the responses from the 2014 data and the responses now coming in from aid and development workers in the Philippines where we currently have well over 100 respondents. For the most part I will present the ‘what’ and not the ‘why’, leaving deeper analysis for when we close the current survey in a couple weeks. What difference am I making? Though the question and response option wordings were slightly different in…
Read MorePreliminary results from survey of aid and development workers in the Philippines
Preliminary results from survey of aid and development workers in the Philippines The gap Among the questions addressed in our survey is the much discussed pay gap between local -in this case Filipino- aid workers and their expat counterparts. Other researchers have begun to drill down into this question, and the work teams based at Massey University/University of New Zealand (MU/UNZ) provide very useful data and insights specifically on the question “Are Development Discrepancies Undermining Performance?” In a recent research note based on data generated by the MU/UNZ Project Add-up, Carr and McWha-Hermann said, “Expatriates are often quick to dismiss dual salary systems as a non-issue. But local workers told us a different story. They said disparities created significant feelings of workplace injustice. They felt less valued than their expatriate colleagues.” Our current research in the Philippines is beginning to provide support for this statement. As you can see below, most -77%- agreed that “Filipino aid…
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