IDS Bulletin: What is the unique contribution of volunteering to international development?

VSO and the Institute of Development Studies are delighted to announce the publication of the IDS Bulletin*, ‘What is the unique contribution of volunteering to international development?’ based on the research findings from the Valuing Volunteering research. It reviews the findings from Valuing Volunteering in the context of broader academic debates on these issues and covers a variety of different themes such as; what’s different about how volunteers work, the impact of politics and ethnicity on volunteering, the dynamics of formal and informal volunteering, and, how participatory practice can strengthen the role of volunteering in sustainable development. You can download the full Bulletin or individual chapters at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/what-is-the-unique-contribution-of-volunteering-to-international-development From January 2016 all Bulletin articles will be open access.

One of the peer reviewers for the Bulletin, Professor Matt Baillie Smith, has also written a blog post, ‘Volunteering for Development Research: time for a rethink,’ to coincide with its publication, as part of the blog series on the IDS website. Please visit the IDS website to read Matt’s post and contributions from our other bloggers.

* The IDS Bulletins are academic journals that bring together the latest thinking and research on development issues, to inform the work of development practitioners, policy makers and researchers. The Bulletin is the flagship publication of the Institute of Development Studies.