POL Valuing Volunteering Research Design 09.08

8/4/2019 POL Valuing Volunteering Research Design 09.08

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Valuing Volunteering

VSO/IDS

Research Design

This research design sets out some of the main elements of Valuing Volunteering, including

the purpose, scope and methodology for the research; a description of how we will

approach both capacity issues and organisational learning throughout the process; thecommunication strategy; and, a description of the key roles and responsibilities within in the

project.

This document is based on extensive consultation with a range of people across VSO,

through individual meetings, email correspondence, and a workshop with wide

representation at which VSO staff were invited to provide feedback on key elements of this

project. In addition to these inputs from VSO, the document draws on the experience of the

IDS team in conducting action research with similar organisations and in similar settings; and

on our experience of facilitating approaches to capacity building and organisational learning.

Nonetheless, this document should not be read as a fixed statement of the research design,

as this is likely to evolve over the course of the project in response to the action researchprocess.

We have a chosen a systemic action research methodology1. This involves continuous cycles

of learning in which reflection informs action, and action informs the next round of

reflection, where the researchers are also part of the group carrying out the actions. This

cycle of action research is embedded in an analysis of the wider systems that may inhibit or

enable action (such as the nature of unequal power relations, including those of gender; the

local, national or global economic and political environment; the organisation, itself, etc.).

The implications for how VSO works will be drawn out throughout the research process, so it

directly contributes to organisational learning.The methodology was chosen because it:

y is consistent with VSOs values where people are the best agents of change and we

will work with them to create knowledge about how change happensy facilitates change happening within VSO and in the country contexts studied

y allows for diversity in multi-sited inquiry (in different countries, with different

methods, on different issues) while still providing the possibility for drawing more

broad conclusions

y has been used effectively by other similar organisations (British Red Cross) and to

ask similar questions (Welsh Assembly Communities First) (see boxes below)

1. What is the purpose of this research?There are four main purposes for this research.

y To critically assess VSOs approach to development by understanding the

consequences (both intended and unintended) of volunteering on povertyy To identify and draw outthe implications of this for how VSO works across

different layers of the organisation,

y To build capacity for action research within VSO in a sustainable way so that

future and further research will be more possible,

y To contribute to wider learning about volunteering as a development

intervention.

1See the methodology section for more detail.


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Valuing Volunteering has the potential to inform VSOs operations, strategy, and future

areas of work. Central to the purpose of this research is that the project should maintain

some independence from the impact assessment agenda in order to allow for critical

reflections on VSOs work in the form of high-quality and therefore credible research. Thus

this research will sit alongside other monitoring and evaluation work within VSO that

measures impact and value-for-money, but it will not be an impact evaluation.However, thisresearch should also be able to contribute to VSOs wider approach to impact assessment,

and should also provide insights into the relative strengths and weaknesses of different

kinds of VSO interventions.

Expected research results:

Research phase Outputs Outcomes

Inception (Mar

2011 Jan 2012)y Research design

y Literature review

y Action research training

y Partnership agreement

between IDS and VSO

y Closer links with other organizations in

the volunteering for development

sector internationally (eg UNV, IVR,

Forum, CEV) and at national level (eg

PNVSCA, Beijing Normal University)y Collaboration between IDS and VSO

y Community of practice established

(lead researchers, partner and VSO

Programme Office representatives,

steering committee, reference group)

y To build VSOs and its partners

capacity in systemic action research

Phase 1 (Feb

2012 Jan 2013)

Focussed on field

research and

communication

y Material for advocacy

at the country and local

level on the basis of

action-research

y Programme guidancefor VSOs work in the

countries undertaking

the research in relation

to the cases studied



y To build knowledge of how to

maximise the impact of volunteering

on poverty across a range of contextsand issues

y To interrogate VSOs theory of change

and other, linked theories of change

Phase 2 (Feb

2013 Jan 2014)

Focussed on field

research and

communication

y Material for advocacy

at the country and local

level on the basis of

action-research

y Programme guidance

for VSOs work in the


the research in relationto the cases studied

y Advocacy messages

related to volunteering

for development (at

national and

international level)

y A practical tool for

assessing whether

y Tangible organisational outcomes for

VSO and guidance for further strategic

change within the organization, for

example on how to make VSO more

accountable to its partners



y To build knowledge of how tomaximise the impact of volunteering

on poverty across a range of contexts

and issues

y To interrogate VSOs theory of change

and other, linked theories of change

y Lessons for VSO arising out of the

research process around

specificsectors and issues


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VSOs and other

partner organisations

work with volunteers

contributes to reducing

poverty and the role of

different volunteering

interventions in thisPhase 3 (Feb

2014 July 2014)

Focused on

communication

and advocacy

y Programme guidance

for VSOs work in the


the research in relation

to the cases studied

y Several academic

articles in well-known

journals

y A written output

synthesising lessons

from across all the

casesy Advocacy messages

related to volunteering

for development (at

national and

international level)

y A practical tool for

assessing whether

VSOs and other

partner organisations

work with volunteers

contributes to reducing

poverty and the role ofdifferent volunteering

interventions in this

y Tangible organisational outcomes for

VSO and guidance for further strategic

change within the organization, for

example on how to make VSO more

accountable to its partners



y To build knowledge of how to

maximise the impact of volunteering

on poverty across a range of contexts

and issues

y Changes in policy and practice relatedto volunteering for development at

national and international level

y Lessons for VSO arising out of the

research process around specific

sectors and issues

2. Research question,focus and approachWhat is the research question?

Given the multiple purposes of this research and the breadth of the contexts and types of

volunteering relevant to VSO, it is important to have a broad research question that can

encompass all these aspects. The question should be broad enough to encompass the

purposes as outlined above, but it also needs to draw our attention to what is most

important about doing this research. Therefore, the umbrella research question is:

How does volunteering affect poverty?

This is a big question. What is the actual research focus?

Given such a broad research question, it is important to specify the focus for the research

within this. This focus should set out clearly at what level the research will operate. So the

focus for the research is:


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To interrogate theories of change at local and strategic levels about the relationship

between volunteering and poverty

In other words, in thinking about how volunteering reduces poverty, this research will be

engaging with and interrogating VSOs theory of change about how development happens,

but also other theories of change that may operate in parallel or separateways at the local

level. In each of the cases involved, we will explore this relationship, trying to uncover whatkinds of differences VSOs work makes and how this relates to broader processes of social

change and development in each context.

This means that in addition to uncovering specific lessons about how VSOs interventions

function, this research will situate these lessons in relation to wider structural issues that

may limit or enable change in each context, such as the material conditions that may limit

volunteering by poor people, the structural barriers to participation, and the ways that

particular identities including gender inform this.

This broad question will be refined and deepened through sub-questions that are set in each

country as part of the action-research process. The sub-questions will allow for comparison

across context, around particular axes of inquiry and analysis that are most relevant to thosecontexts. The purpose of the sub-questions is to allow national level partners to define the

themes relevant to their country context, to help them to meet their own policy and

advocacy needs in the process of doing the action research. In this way, a consensus about

what the framework for action should be at national level will be developed and agreed by

all relevant stakeholders (e.g. civil society partners, national level government

representatives, in-country UN and donor agency policy makers etc.)The sub-questions

will also help to shed light on the umbrella question, as they begin to explore particular

avenues. Given the action-research approach that we will be taking, these sub-questions

will be subject to iteration as the process evolves.

How will we go about this research?

The approach to this research will have three main elements, and these are linked to thepurpose of the project as outlined above. We seek to answer this question:

y By exploring the pathways of different examples of volunteering, set within

specific issues or cases in particular settings,including their intended and

unintended consequences on poverty

y By building a learning architecture (i.e. a process for capturing learning and

mechanisms for how this learning can be translated into operational

implications and implemented where appropriate) to explore the implications of

this research for the organisational development of VSO

y By systematically working to develop capacity for action research across VSO, its

volunteers and partner organisations.


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influence the trajectories of issues and volunteers

y VSO systems implications

o See section below

o Accountability relationships (between volunteers and VSO, between VSO

and partners, and between volunteers and partners)

In all of this, it will be important to work towards a shared understanding about the keyterms involved (volunteering, poverty, development, etc.). To this end, one of the first steps

in the research process will be a desk-based literature review that maps the current thinking

in VSO and more generally in the literature about these terms and about volunteering as a

development paradigm. Over the course of the research, we expect that further lessons will

emerge about what each of the terms means, as we uncover more about how they are

related to one another in the contexts where the research takes place.

The desk-based review, along with inputs from

the IDS team, will help to situate this research in

relation to existing literature on poverty-

reduction, development and volunteering.

3. Methodological3 approach: SystemicAction Research

Action Research is a process which combines

reflection on issues/ situations/ problems, with

action. It is comprised of a continuous cycles of

learning in which reflection informs action, and

action informs the next round of reflection. This

sort of grounded learning process is now widely

established (Reason and Bradbury 200 ) and has

generated rich research material across a huge

range of issues. In this sense, this approachinterweaves the values that VSO stands for (e.g.

solidarity) into the research itself.

Its main weakness is that it has tended to focus on

a problem, with a group of people, in a locality.

The techniques ofsystemic action research that

have been developed over the past ten years

(Burns 200 ) provide us with tools to work across

large systems a country programme, a whole

NGO, a global chain etc. This requires the building

of learning architectures which can hold multiple

strands of inquiry, support learning betweenthem, and draw strategic decision makers into the

learning process. Systemic action research can

lead to structural change; it is not about making

comparisons; its about understanding how change happens.

3There is an important difference between methodology and method. A methodology is a system

for how to research, based on a set of principles and assumptions (such as quantitative, qualitative,

participatory action research, etc.). A method is a specific tool for conducting research (such as a

survey, a focus group, ethnography, participant observation, etc.)

British Red Cross used systemic action

research

Between 200 - , Danny Burns and

colleagues carried out an action research

project for the British Red Cross (BRC). The

focus of the project was on vulnerability.

BRC wanted to fundamentally review

whether it was reaching those who were

most vulnerable and how to do so. We

started by setting up inquiry groups across

the organisation including volunteers on the

one hand, and the chief executive and

trustees on the other. This produced a great

deal of data which was collectively analysed

in a large event. This in turn led to the

creation of a series of four pilots which were

testing out key propositions that had

emerged from the inquiry process. One, for

example, was that those who had been

supported by the Red Cross in a time of crisis

were the most effective at reaching the most

vulnerable when they became volunteers.

The action research pilot looked at what

would happen if the BRC developed a

strategy to actively recruit volunteers of this

sort, and at how their organisation would

need to change to support this process. The

outcomes from this pilot were also

collectively analysed and led to a

restructuring of the UK service strategy. By

the end of this 1 month process over 00

people had been actively involved in the

research which created significantownership for change in the organisation.


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A key underpinning assumption of this approach is that it is important to understand issues

in the context of systems. By systems we mean the network of people and organisations and

the relationships between them. If we acknowledge that issues lie within complex systems,

then we have to understand the dynamics of the system in order to understand how change

happens. This means understanding for example how:

y patterns of social norms impact on what is possible within systems

y unequal power relationship impact on what is possible

y changes in one part of a system impact on other parts

y simple interventions in systems can have unpredictable effects when they interact

with other simple interventions and actions

We can look at systemic action research as a meta-methodology which draws on a range of

methods in order to understand these systems. The methods that we employ on the ground

might include surveys, ethnographic data, analysis of quantitative data etc. What is critical is

this is interrogated by multiple actors within local systems and that action is constructed by

those actors.

In this work we need two types of inquiry:

(1) Inquiry which enables us to understand what is happening now

(2) Inquiry and action which enables us to test out our emerging theories of change,

and consequently practical action for change

Background inquiries:

The first stage of this process will be to run a series

of workshops with current and former volunteers

and staff, to build an early picture of perceptions of

the relationship between volunteering andpoverty, and the sorts of questions that those who

have been on the ground think that we will need to

ask. We will then move to country level inquiries

where we will want to work

We need to work in three domains and to

interconnect them:

(1) Track, explore and reflect upon

individual volunteer trajectories

(2) Understand the complex dynamics

of local issues and the ways inwhich volunteers interact with

them, and explore the ways in

which the wider system impacts on

local issues

(3) Explore the implications of this

learning for VSO

Systemic action research used to

evaluate Communities First

Between 2003- the action research

team at SOLAR (that Danny directed)

carried out a whole country

evaluation of the Welsh AssemblyGovernment Communities First

programme. This programme involved

an investment of c.1 million pounds

in each of 140 communities. The

original proposal was a fairly

conventional mix of household

surveys combined with qualitative

case studies. An action research

element was added. This proved to be

so successful that the survey was

abandoned and the resources re-

profiled toward action research. The

action research did not just take place

at ground level. An action research

group was created at the centre

which was attended by the senior civil

servant responsible for the

Communities Directorate, the director

of the Communities First Programme,

and the five implementation teams.

Within six months the programme

was being run through the action

research meetings.


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Track, explore and reflect upon individual volunteer trajectories: This will involve working

with a cohort of individual volunteers over a period of x months. We will use a variety of

techniques to support this work including rivers of experience mapping; volunteer diaries

(written and digital), in country co-operative inquiry groups, regular interviews with

individual volunteers and the stakeholders that work with them.A wiki research diary could

be a way for immediate reporting of sessions, using colour-codes to reflect different aspects

of the research.

Understand Local and broader system dynamics.Here we will engage multiple local actors

in interviews, stakeholder group discussions and action research meetings. The early data

collection process will lead to the construction of large system maps which can be

interrogated both to develop deeper understanding and to identify opportunities for action

to test that understanding. The on-going action research meetings will iteratively develop

the actions, support collective reflections on those actions, draw in new data and new

participants as needed. Analysis is not a process detached from the specific stakeholders and

the context. However, there is another level of analysis across cases (also may involve

diverse actors from specific cases), and this will be facilitated through collective analysis

workshops/writeshops at key points along the research cycle.

Explore the implications of this learning for VSO: This part of the work will involve creating

learning groups at country level and at global Headquarters level to explore the strategic,

policy and systems implications for the organisation. The action research process here will

be designed to test out new system innovations. We anticipate that this will involve a series

of large workshops in which we collectively analyse the data that has been generated from

the ground. This will enable us to set up learning groups around key organisational

innovations which can be piloted and continually assessed. We have developed a similar

type of process with the British Red Cross.

Capacity Development for Action Research

The design of this research puts the emphasis on volunteer researchers as the corefacilitators of the process. There are two phases in the capacity development process:

(1) Training and supporting the volunteer action researchers (VARs) for this project

Training for volunteer action researchers will happen in three ways. Firstly we will

run a five day workshop for volunteer action researchers. Documentation is so

important that at least half a day of the training should be dedicated to it.

Secondly by embedding ourselves in at least one of the countries and carrying out

some of the action research we will model the process. Volunteer Action

Researchers will be able to be engaged with the ways in which this process evolves.

Thirdly we will accompany the process in all countries and provide ongoing advice

and support to the volunteer action researchers

(2) Embedding an action research process VSO as a global organisation, through linking

the on-going research findings and reflections into internal processes.

In the context of systemic action research, what is high quality and rigorous research?

The quality and rigour of this research depends on incorporating multiple stakeholder

perspectives, multiple contexts, and multiple methods and using the knowledge generated


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from each of these to interrogate the other. As such, documentation (of the research

process and of knowledge generated and of cycles of research) is absolutely crucial, because

it is through the documentation process that the quality of the research is made clear.

This requires rigorous documentation of every interaction, process, and activity that

constitutes the research, from the micro to macro level. For example, notes from every

group session should very detailed, dominated by direct quotes, and include other products(drawings etc). Documents are then made available for scrutiny and analysis, locally as well

as at other organisational levels within VSO.

4. Selection of cases and researchersSELECTION OF COUNTRIES

The current budget allows for six countries to participate in the project. Currently, the

Philippines, Mozambique, China and Kenya are confirmed as countries that will participate.

The criteria for selecting the remaining two countries includes:

y Rich mix of VSO volunteering interventions

y Engagement of the Programme Office

y Potential for advocacy on volunteerismy Fit with country strategic direction

y Strength of in-country partner that can host lead researcher

y Proven impact of volunteering for development (e.g. enough of an

y evidence base)

y Diversity of contexts and issues

SELECTION OF CASES

At least two cases or issues should be selected for each country. These may be interrelated

to quite separate, depending on the capacity of the volunteer, country office/federation

member, and partner organisation. The key is to include a diversity of issues and types of

volunteering across the universe of cases. The issue selection should be steered primarily bycountry office.

RESEARCH TEAM IN COUNTRY

This research project is dependent on capacity of one international volunteer researcher per

country for 1 months. In order to achieve a wider action research process, there would

need to be a local coordinating group of those actively involved (various volunteers, VSO

staff, VSO partner staff). Team composed of:

o Country office with some staff involvement, (also mobilising local organisations and

other volunteers)

o Research volunteer partner organisation (what sort? Probably not universities,

probably already VSO partner)o Volunteer researcher (more of a facilitatory role, with other volunteers, CBOs/NGOs

and VSO country staff making things happen)

o Issue-related local organisations, some with VSO volunteers and some without

o Other volunteers

SELECTION OF RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS

Lead researchers will be recruited as long-term international volunteers through VSOs

systems, with an option of their Valuing Volunteering placement counting towards a PhD


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with IDS. They will be selected through VSOs usual process. However, to make certain of

their suitability for the project they will have to undergo an additional group-based

facilitation exercise assessed by IDS staff.

Lead researchers will undergo the usual VSO training, but in addition they will attend a

separate training course on systemic action research delivered by IDS.

5. Building a collective research communication strategyThis document will not set out the research communication strategy but rather will outlinethe key steps necessary to build a collective research communication strategy as part of the

process of the project.

The starting point for the research communication strategy should be to identify what kinds

of changes we could like to achieve, based on the perspectives of the volunteers, partner

organisations, VSO country offices and the Steering Group. Once that set of change goals is

articulated by those involved, the next step is to analyse what needs to change in order for

these results to occur; how these changes could occur; and, who needs to be involved for

that to happen. This will allow the researchers and other key stakeholder involved to

prioritise particular audiences for the research, identify ways to engage with those groups,

and determine what kinds of research outputs will be most appropriate.

For example, if an agreed change goal is to shift the framework for volunteering on an

international level so that higher standards are used across the sector, then this may lead

the group to decide that the main thing that needs to happen for this to occur is to create

buy-in for a set of standards on international volunteering. As part of the communication

strategy, the group would then analyse who specifically would need to endorse such

standards, how the research could contribute to them, and in what format material from the

research would be most useful.

Approaching the research communication strategy in this way can help avoid the potential

pitfalls for trying to do everything for everyone through the research. The list of potential

audiences, based on input from across VSO, is long, including:

y VSO

y Other development players

y Volunteers

y Partners

y Communities

y Funders and corporate bodies

y Other organisations that work with volunteering

y Academic research community

y Diaspora

The research communication strategy should help to narrow this list by focusing on wherethe research is likely to be able to make a difference, how this will happen and therefore

who will need to be involved.

Some types of expected changes as a result of the research have already been identified:

y Advocacy on volunteering at regional and global level (e.g. already helpful in

advocating to AU about the value of volunteering)

y Use research for partners advocacy and/or making the case for a place for


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volunteering in national government policy

y Linking with youth volunteering and how government policies engage with

youth volunteering

The research communication should expand this list by engaging the researchers and

research groups for each country as well as the steering group in articulate a clear set of

change goals, which can then be developed into the strategy. This should happen early inthe research process.

6. Project managementThe project will be located and led jointly by the VSO Policy Group and the IDS

Participation Power and Social Change Team, based on a formal Memorandumof

Understanding between the two organisations.

The steering committee will contribute to most day-to-day project management tasks,

operating through working groups of 3-4 people. A smaller management group will have

the overall responsibility of keeping the project on track. This will include the project

manager as well as 3-4 other IDS and VSO staff (yet to be confirmed).

The reference group will be composed of experts in volunteering from a range of

organisations that VSO has links with and who are interested in the outcome of the

research (e.g. UNV, IVR, University ofPhilippines, CEV) and other interested individuals,

from inside and outside VSO. The role of the reference group will be advisory, but it is

possible that some of the stakeholders from the reference group will choose over time

to join the steering committee depending on their level of involvement.

Financial management will be overseen by the project manager, while financial decision

making will rest with the Director of the VSO Policy Group.

There will be regular updates to VSOs Global Leadership Team and to the whole

organisation, via participation at GLT meetings, through VSO information meetings andby using VSOs intranet.

The project will use a web-based tool for discussions and documentation. This may be

the VSO collaboration tool developed by the VSO volunteer journey project.

7. Roles and responsibilitiesy Steering committee of up to 1 people, tasked with decision-making

(excluding financial decisions). Most of the time, the steering committee will

operate through smaller working groups.

y Wide reference group (self-elected) with an advisory role

y Project manager from within VSO Policy Group

y Project sponsor (Director of VSO Policy Group) with financial decision

making powers

y Lead Volunteer researchers

y In-country research steering committee, comprising of lead researchers,

VSO Programme Staff, in-country partner staff and others

y In-country research collective, to be convened in each location once lead

researchers have started their placements

y IDS team


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Key elements of the roles and responsibilities for the IDS team include:

y Participation in steering group and reference group as necessary, contributing from

experience of action-research processes, global collaborative research networks,

and organizational learning

y Support to selection process for volunteer-researchers, countries and cases through

constructing criteria and reviewing candidates

y Design and conduct action research training for the selected volunteer-researchers

(December 2010), working with VSO staff to integrate this with other elements of

VSO training and ensuring it builds on existing VSO tools for action-research

(Barefoot Guide, etc.); help develop the capacity within VSO for action-research

training

y Accompanying process for the entire project including responding to questions and

comments from VSO staff about the work, interacting and supporting the volunteer-

researchers as necessary, contributing to the fundraising strategy, helping to build

institutional support in VSO, advocating the work through our networks, etc.

y Immersion in particular countries and cases, through the close accompaniment of

one or more countries projects (depending on the budget). This immersion will help

the IDS team to be more engaged and aware of how the research unfolds, but can

also contribute to quality control and credibility

y Helping to ensure the high quality of the research and therefore its credibility,

through the design of the research and the methodology, and by playing a strong

role in accompanying how the research is carried out

y Linking the work to academic debates, by supporting the desk based research and

by incorporating elements of existing literature and debates into the analysis and

writing about the research

y Facilitating learning processes within VSO for organizational change, and within the

research as part of the action-learning dimension of the worky Supporting the production of written outputs, which will be agreed with the

researcher-volunteers and the steering group

8. Timeline see annex

Prepared by Danny Burns, Peter Clarke, Violeta Vajda, andJoanna Wheeler

IDS experience using action research processes to support capacity development

y Coordinated a 10-year collaborative knowledge network of researchers and activists working

on issues of citizenship, participation, and accountability;

y Provided training in action research methods for community groups, NGOs, donors, andstudents

y Supported a network of community radio stations in Ghana to develop action research

expertise;

y Supported the development of childrens participation in Nicaragua;

y Carried out systemic mapping followed by action research in a major UNHABITAT capacity

building programme around water and sanitation in the small towns surrounding Lake

Victoria;

y Carried out a systemic inquiry process in the Kalangala islands where AIDS/HIV rates are

currently 2 %.


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Valuing Volunteering Timeline

VSO stakeholder

meeting

Country Selection Research design

7th June 2011 Jun-Aug 2011 July 2011

June-July 2011 Jun - Nov 2011 End July 2011

VSO programmes sign-

off and funding

proposal

Volunteer

Researcher

Selection

VSO senior

management sign-off

Preliminary desk

research

Centrally and in-

country

Team building,

research

development and

researcher training

workshop

Communication and

discussion at

relevant

conferences and

other fora

Oct 2011 Jan 2012

(p/t)Jan 2012 Jan 2012 onwards

August 2011 Jan 2012 onwards Jan 2012 onwards

Local partner selection

and placement

development

Additional desk

research in-country

Discussion and

communication on

web-based forum

Building

community of

practice

First write-shop +

intermediate

results

Final write-shop +

final results

Feb - Mar 2012 Jan 2013 Early 2014

Jul 2012 Jul 2013 2014

Review 1 Review 2Advocacy based on

recommendations


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POL Valuing Volunteering Research Design 09.08

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Transcript of POL Valuing Volunteering Research Design 09.08