The Spectrum of Motivations, Experiences and Attitudes in Technical Development Cooperation

Abstract

This article examines the motivations and experiences of persons working in different technical cooperation roles within international development cooperation, analysing how they differ, yet contain a common thread. The study consists of interviews and a questionnaire directed to volunteers, NGO staff, junior professional officers, technical advisors, researchers and donor staff – as well as personal reflections. I consider the literature on motivations and gift theory, including binary positions applied to development work, such as work/career–volunteer; selfish–altruistic motivations. An element of altruism was common for many, but was more frequently vocalised by the older respondents, while career imperatives appeared to be more important for the younger cohort. I found considerable fluidity of movement of individuals between the categories of technical cooperation, and no matter their starting point, a tendency to stay in development throughout their career and identify with a development culture or habitus.

Keywords:

• technical cooperation
• development culture
• altruism
• motivation
• development cooperation

Notes on contributors

Pamela White is a generalist, working with rural development, water and sanitation issues, and gender and human rights. She works with a consulting company in Finland (FCG International) and carries out short-term consultancies globally, but with a particular focus on Nepal. She is also currently working on a Ph.D. in Development Studies with the University of Helsinki, focusing on the role of technical assistance. She began her work in international development in Nicaragua, where she spent three years working as a veterinarian cooperant. She has also worked with NGOs and solidarity organisations – in other words, throughout the ‘spectrum of technical assistance’.

ORCID

Pamela White http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1659-5507

Notes

¹The posts of interviewees at the time of interview were: Finnish embassies (three respondents), the MFA (two), junior expert in a bilateral project (one) and multilateral JPO (one), consulting company home office staff (seven), NGO staff (five) consultant in a long-term project (one) and independent short-term consultant (one), researcher/academic worker (three), volunteer (one) and non-aid-related business (three). Of the 28 interviewed in total, 6 were aged less than 34 years at the time of the interview, 10 were men and 18 were women, and 3 no longer worked in development cooperation at the time of the interview.

²For instance, http://stuffexpataidworkerslike.com/.