Post on 14-Dec-2015
Volunteering as social assistance:pathways to well-being
Jody Akedj.aked@ids.ac.uk
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
volunteerinteractions
wellbeing
Presented to Post-Graduate Research ConferenceUniversity of Bradford 31st October 2014
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Study site
Carood watershed:6 municipalities, NGOs, Eskaya Tribe, national gov, private sector
Volunteer profile:VSO ICS youth volunteersFilipino and British 18-25 years old
3 month cycles8 cycles
Intervention:Volunteering
Outcome: Environmental management
VSO: “volunteering provides the means through which the essential pre-conditions for systemic and sustainable change – ownership, participation, empowerment and inclusion – can be realised”
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Conceptual lens
Good feelings
Good functioning
Personal resources
External conditions
Source: nef, 2008; Ryan and Deci, 2000
feeling able to make choices important to you
feeling a connectedness to others
feeling able to master challenges
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Intervention:Volunteering
Outcome: Environmental management
Focus
Interest: Interpersonal wellbeing
Well-beingSocial networks
AutonomyCompetencyRelatedness
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Questions• What kind of feedbacks does the
experience of autonomy, competency and relatedness create in the change process?
• Are there any particular contexts or patterns of behaviour associated with volunteering that support them?
• Can an understanding of well-being processes provide actionable insights that improve social protection efforts?
Reflect
Plan
Action
Observe
Reflect
Plan
Action
Observe
Reflect
Plan
Action
ObserveSystemic action research (SAR)
Cycles of learning
Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Methods
net-map.wordpress.comhttps://www.globalgiving.co.uk/stories/
1 2
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Autonomy
Relatedness
Competency
Self-direction
Trust
Contribution3
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Avoiding one-way relationships
The importance of distributing ‘doing’ roles to enable competence
power holders share
responsibilitiesmore self-directed
reciprocate trust
young people feel trusted
increased confidence and
trust in own work more
initiation & persistence“As they see I trust them, they feel appreciated.
And they use this appreciation as a tool, as an inspiration, to show their effort”
[Local youth volunteer]
"The doing role feels more of a contribution … it feels like the success is down to you”
[British ICS youth volunteer]
competence
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Well-being interplays in two-way relationships
Competence
mutuality
CompetenceBut …
Autonomy
Experienced self-direction
Experienced self-direction
COM
VOL
Mode of contribution more important than substance
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ISTR 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
The momentum of relatedness Trust
Trust
Trust
If the experience is positive, “the legacy can be used both by volunteers and people in the community to form new relationships”
If the experience is negative, “you have to build relationships from scratch”
HopeFalse expectations
Direct experienceShared goalsA personal touch
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
Relatedness enables autonomy & competence
Low competence
interacting with others
“laziness”
Feeling comfortable in
interactionsg
“We don’t feel close to them”[Local youth volunteer]
One strategy: ICS volunteers instil pride among local young people
Improved confidence
g
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Bradford 2014 Volunteering and pathways to well-being
ThanksThis research was generously funded by VSO International as part of the Valuing Volunteering project carried out in partnership with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
With special thanks to all the volunteers, community members, local officials and locally based VSO ICS programme staff who devoted their experiences and time to processing and interpreting research findings.
j.aked@ids.ac.uk