ABSTRACT
This chapter examines what individual-level traits or characteristics increase the likelihood of volunteers having a positive impact on their host communities and organisations. In one sense, the distinction between international and other forms of volunteering is relatively straightforward. Since moving away from studies of Peace Corps volunteers, expatriate literature has been largely neutral on the professions of international workers. Overall, the literature on overseas performance continues to stress the significance of social factors in appraising successful work. The data for the chapter were originally collected in 2012 by Dr Benjamin Lough in collaboration with the International Form on Development Service (IFDS), a global network of International Volunteer Cooperation Organisations (IVCOs). Interviews were conducted with selected staff members of local organisations that had extensive experience hosting international volunteers from IFDS-member IVCOs. Participatory workshops – or more specifically structured focus groups – were conducted with members of the benefiting communities who had frequent contact with volunteers placed in their localities.
