Tag Archives: Aid work

Stop reinventing the wheel, you tool!

Posted in: Alternatives in development, Self-help | May 20, 2013 at 9:38 am , by Guest Author/s

How big should a per diem be so that it covers costs without bribing participants? What’s the best way to write a focus group guide? How can you write survey questions that people will answer honestly? A new initiative is your one-stop-shop to help you in your day-to-day work in...

Are development workers foxes or hedgehogs?

Posted in: Career Advice, Education, Study | May 6, 2013 at 12:11 pm , by Rowan Emslie

One comment

Are you a fox or a hedgehog? A George Clooney or Sonic? Are development workers better off being one or the other? Rowan Emslie unpacks what it means to be both, and suggests that one is better than the other in the aid and development sector. ...

Professionalising aid work: the missing links

Posted in: Ethics in development, Humanitarian Relief & Post-Conflict, Research | April 29, 2013 at 8:00 am , by Brendan Rigby

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Two recent surveys shined the spotlight on the current state of professionalism in the aid and development world. Brendan discusses the findings and more broadly the current state of professional development for aid workers. The same issues plaguing development efforts also affect professional development. ...

Beasts of the Global North and South

Posted in: Career Advice, Self-help, Volunteering | April 15, 2013 at 8:45 am , by Brendan Rigby

3 comments

When did you do something that required you to be tough, resourceful, hungry and committed? Brendan Rigby describes how tapping into our inner Beast can make us better humanitarian workers. ...

Why your non-profit CEO needs to be the M&E officer

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, M&E | April 11, 2013 at 9:00 am , by Emanuel Souvairan

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CEOs shouldn't just have a great smile, good business sense and a keen nose for fundraising; they need to be masters of monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Emanuel Souvairan of DevEd describes how M&E relates to NGO communications, donor relationships, and even organisational culture....

Monitoring, evaluation and the search for ‘impact’

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, M&E | April 3, 2013 at 11:00 am , by Emanuel Souvairan

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Committed to saving lives or doing good but not yet daring enough to tackle the analysis required for monitoring and evaluation? Emanuel Souvairan, the Director of DevEd, describes the importance of good monitoring and evaluation along with some advice on how to determine what your impact is....

Patience in development work is more than a virtue: it’s a necessity

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Alternatives in development, Self-help | March 21, 2013 at 9:00 am , by Aidan Craney

2 comments

Many of us are from countries that where impatience is the norm. As Aidan Craney explains, this can put us at a disadvantage working in places where values and sense of time are different and require us to learn patience....

The silent alarm sounds… again

Posted in: Humanitarian Relief & Post-Conflict, Media | March 14, 2013 at 9:00 am , by Gregory Pellechi

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The IFRC and ECHO have just launched a campaign to raise awareness of the world's silent disasters. Gregory Pellechi discusses his experience of the silence in Cambodia on such disasters and examines the culpability of the media, governments and us....

Making the world better does not make you better

Posted in: Career Advice, Self-help | March 6, 2013 at 9:22 am , by J.

8 comments

It his first post for WhyDev, writer, aid worker and brewer of beer, J. (of Tales from the Hood), gives somes much needed advice to those working in aid/development: get a life and be a good person....

A picture is worth 1000 words: what does aid/development mean to you?

Posted in: Coaching, Reflection | February 28, 2013 at 9:45 am , by Brendan Rigby

2 comments

Brendan asked the participants of WhyDev's Peer Coaching Pilot to respond to the following question with an image: What does aid/development mean to you? This post showcases the submissions that have been received and opens this call to action to everyone....

Hey aid worker! It’s not about you

Posted in: Career Advice, Humour, Reflection, Self-help | February 21, 2013 at 12:02 pm , by Weh Yeoh

39 comments

You're either going to love this post or hate it. You're either going to see it as nothing more than an extended rant, or you'll think it makes a valid point or two. Either way, Weh Yeoh hopes that it makes you reflect before you update your Facebook status. ...

Goals are good, but do the MDGs need to be simplified?

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Alternatives in development | February 11, 2013 at 4:00 pm , by Scott Weathers

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This week we present three posts around the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are eight MDGs that need to be met by 2015. Given the unlikely even that all will be met, Scott Weathers suggests we condense the MDGs into something simpler....

Bringing sexy back: the state of HR in development work 2013

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Career Advice | February 8, 2013 at 1:12 pm , by Brendan Rigby

3 comments

People In Aid recently published their latest report on ‘The State of HR in International Humanitarian and Development Organisations’ for 2013. Tobias Denskus and Brendan Rigby break down the report and discuss what the most pressing needs are for HR in the aid/development sector is for 2013....

8 things I wish I knew before I started working in development

Posted in: Career Advice, Reflection | January 9, 2013 at 12:44 pm , by Rachel Kurzyp

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To kick off the new year, and to get those of you starting out in development to think ahead, here are 8 things Rachel Kurzyp wishes she knew before she started working in development (number 9 being WhyDev of course!). ...

How volunteeering in development became “Duchessed”

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Volunteering | January 8, 2013 at 11:31 am , by Guest Author/s

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Old time leftists used the term 'duchessed' to describe comrades neutralised of their radicalism when drawn into the system they opposed through flattery, rewards, promotions and other such enticements. Dr. Nichole Georgeou uncovers how development volunteering as been royally 'duchessed'. ...