Developing Partnerships: How Local Development Organisations can Empower Themselves through the Integration and Management of International Volunteers; A Case Study with Aspire, South Africa

<p>International partnerships between developed and developing country agencies are typically presented as a way of working toward specific development goals that will benefit the local, developing country partner. Sending international development volunteers from developed country agencies to assist, or build the capacity of local partners is an increasingly common practice within these international partnerships. Yet research about international partnerships and international volunteer sending is typically focussed on the perspective of developed country agencies or the returned (developed country national) volunteers. There is a silence in the literature where the perspective of the local 'undeveloped' country partners' voice should be heard. By overlooking the voice and perspective of local partners, who host international volunteers, the success and worth of international partnerships cannot be ascertained. This research addresses the topic; 'Developing Partnerships: How local development organisations can empower themselves through the integration and management of international volunteers, a case study with Aspire, South Africa'. In addressing this topic the research aims to build a better understanding of how host organisations experience international partnerships. Field research was carried out over a three month period and centred on an in depth organisational case study with Aspire; Amathole. Aspire is a rural development agency in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa which has a cosmopolitan and diverse staff team of local and national employees, and international volunteers. This research topic was developed in collaboration with Aspire to build a better understanding of the Aspire experience of international volunteer hosting within its international partnerships. By better understanding local partners' perspectives, wider lessons can be drawn relating to the principles of ownership, partnership and local empowerment which may influence future development practice. The research was underpinned by a participatory ethos, and utilised a mixed methodology with a qualitative emphasis including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analyses. The research found that the 'Aspire approach' of fully integrating and managing international volunteers into a single, unified, staff team, and managing international volunteers within Aspires own employee systems is a strengths-based and assertive approach. This study of the 'Aspire approach' identifies tangible day-to-day measures that local partners in development can take to empower themselves and to promote and assert their ownership of international volunteer hosting partnerships. The 'Aspire approach' ultimately provides a positive model for future development practice and partnership relations.</p>