Strengthening Civil Society: Linking theory, practice and policy to improve inter-organisational partnerships for international development
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Management School
Abstract
This research aims to generate knowledge and policy recommendations that can enhance the capacity of organisations to
establish and foster sustainable, interdependent and effective partnerships.
establish and foster sustainable, interdependent and effective partnerships.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Diane Burns (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Rosie Westerveld (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000746/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 1941063 | Studentship | ES/P000746/1 | 01/10/2017 | 31/01/2021 | Rosie Westerveld |
| Title | Autoethnographic self-reflexive journaling - diary template |
| Description | This diary template is used in qualitative research methods which seek to include researcher self-reflexivity and processing in the case of empirical immersion. It draws from the works of Coffey (1998) and LeCompte and Preissle. The template references different issues of immersed ethnography, and the personal experiences of the researcher in relation to the following issues: personal, participatory, advocacy, boundary and ethical issues. All issues are analysed drawing from critical, ethical and intersubjective paradigms. |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The use of this template has yielded number of data which can contribute to a complex and in-depth ethnographic analysis, shedding light on the role of the researcher in the production of knowledge. |
| Description | Overseas Fieldwork Experience (OFE) |
| Amount | £1,861 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 05/2019 |
| Description | Overseas Institutional Visit (OIV) |
| Amount | £1,386 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 04/2020 |
| Description | CSO-academic research collaboration in international development to study partnerships between NGOs |
| Organisation | PHASE Nepal |
| Country | Nepal |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Throughout the course of the award (leading to a doctorate in management studies), I have worked closely with the organisations involved in the collaboration (based in the UK and Nepal) and the networks they are a part of. The research carries on the modalities, practices and challenges faced by CSO partnerships in international development. I have researched the organisations and the partnership, co-producing empirical data from both sites, and have partaken in the daily experiences of the organisations, providing expertise in fundraising, organisational development, partnership development. I have provided intellectual input and made data and funding opportunities available to the organisations. I have presented the research findings and facilitated meetings and events. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners facilitated organisational and institutional immersion throughout the course of the fieldwork, both in the UK and in Nepal. Practically, they provided me with office space, interview location and staff time. They also supported the research by sharing experience, expertise and intellectual input. |
| Impact | This collaboration in interdisciplinary, drawing from management and organisational studies, development studies and political sociology. Outputs from the collaboration have been publications, presentations to academic and non-academic conferences and events, participation in working groups on international development. Outcomes from the collaboration consist of organisational development, involvement in regional, national and international networks. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | CSO-academic research collaboration in international development to study partnerships between NGOs |
| Organisation | PHASE Worldwide |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Throughout the course of the award (leading to a doctorate in management studies), I have worked closely with the organisations involved in the collaboration (based in the UK and Nepal) and the networks they are a part of. The research carries on the modalities, practices and challenges faced by CSO partnerships in international development. I have researched the organisations and the partnership, co-producing empirical data from both sites, and have partaken in the daily experiences of the organisations, providing expertise in fundraising, organisational development, partnership development. I have provided intellectual input and made data and funding opportunities available to the organisations. I have presented the research findings and facilitated meetings and events. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners facilitated organisational and institutional immersion throughout the course of the fieldwork, both in the UK and in Nepal. Practically, they provided me with office space, interview location and staff time. They also supported the research by sharing experience, expertise and intellectual input. |
| Impact | This collaboration in interdisciplinary, drawing from management and organisational studies, development studies and political sociology. Outputs from the collaboration have been publications, presentations to academic and non-academic conferences and events, participation in working groups on international development. Outcomes from the collaboration consist of organisational development, involvement in regional, national and international networks. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Civil Society, Development and Democracy WRDTP Pathway 'Studying Civil Society' Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented my current research and reflections at the Studying Civil Society workshop, titled: 'Beyond the liberal democratic narratives: how action-research engages with situated civil societies' This presentation broached on the use of the concept of civil society to narrow groups, interventions and conceptualisations in the field of international development. I argued that we need to reinstate complexity by recognising self-articulation and welcoming challenging/disharmonious definitions of civil societies, and how critical participatory action research might be one approach that allows for the singularity and complexity of field work. This was a useful presentation as it allowed me to narrow down a specific topic of interest and present it to a rather non-specialist audience. It sparked questions and discussions on the normative conceptualisations of boundary objects and the possible ways in which critical researchers might challenge these throughout the relations they develop with co-researchers across different settings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | DSA Business and Development Working Group/Workshop on "Partnerships in Practice: Issues of equality and power - has anything changed?" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was selected to partake in and present at the DSA Business and Development Working Group - Workshop on "Partnerships in Practice: Issues of equality and power - has anything changed?". My presentation carried on 'Exploring the divergent perspectives of not-for-profit organisations' to the selected participants and colleagues from the Development Studies Association. It sparked many questions on how to address issues around quantified measures, indicators and assessments made towards analysing relational success, often determined by Northern organisations without the involvement of their Southern partners. My critical underpinning sparked a vibrant discussion and many co-participants asked for literature recommendations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Nepal partner Bi-Annual Meeting in Kathmandu |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | 2 presentations at the Nepal partner Bi-Annual Meetings in 2019 and 2020 to outline the research aim and scope. The audience was composed of Board Members, senior management, Staff and Partners. Questions carried on the relations between Southern NGOs and their Northern partners, and the power issues between Southern NGOs and international donors. This led to the organisation of sessions on communication with donors within the organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| Description | Presentation at the 2019 QRS on Myths, Methods and Messiness |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The QRS events carried on myths, methods and messiness in qualitative research, and how these might inform analytical processes, or Processes of analysis. I presented a paper on 'critical participatory action research, embarking on an unpredictable journey' to +30 participants. The presentation outlined the different challenges that arise in using such an approach in a multi sited, transnational and transcultural ethnography with organisations embedded within issues of hierarchies, power, imbalances, asymmetries and control. I developed the conceptual theoretical and methodological frameworks and how these are inherently embedded within messiness and iterative reanalysis. It sparked a number of questions on how to navigate messiness in social research, and how to endorse methodological fluidity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation at the Sheffield Institute for International Development (SIID) PGR Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | During the 9th SIID PGR Conference, I presented my work on Multidimensional action-research - Journeying the enactment of participation through ethics and reflexivity as part of the Community Engagement panel chaired by Dr Simon Rushton. This 15 minutes presentation was followed by a Q&A session from the audience. I was able to prepare, articulate and present the complexity of my work and my focus on reflexivity and positionality through the conceptualisation of the 'ethics complexity' and 'ethics continuum'. I have received a Certificate of Participation. This can be considered 2/5 presentation over year 1 of my doctoral research - and in this case, the first one delivered in English on Action-Research. A large audience asked many questions related to the 'ethics continuum' that I have designed, and many participants asked that I outline how to address ethical issues during and after fieldwork. This was one of the most impacting presentations that I have given throughout the course of the doctoral journey. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation at the Sociological PGR Conference 'Researching Society, New Horizons' in Sheffield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented at the School of Sociology Sociological PGR Annual conference on current work titled: 'Empowering action-research? The challenges in aligning ethics and engagement in participatory approaches' It fitted under the stream 'Innovative research methods and approaches'. I focused on the epistemology and practice of participation in development, and the use of action-research and CPAR as a means to recognise the political nature of social and critical research. The presentation sparked a number of questions on the modalities of participation and the challenges with applied social research in developing settings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | School of Management Post-Graduate Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented my research titled "Civil Societies' Organisations Partnerships in International Development", discussing the CPAR methodology, the organisational and cross-continental immersions, and the theoretical underpinnings of the study. Presentation in front of SUMS academics and PGR/doctoral researchers provided an interesting discussion on the modalities and challenges of qualitative research in international development, and how to address issues of power in relation to organisational studies and post-colonial studies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | UK partner presentation and facilitation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | I presented at the UK partner board meeting and conference with preliminary findings on the relations developed by the 3 organisations involved in the partnership under study. I then facilitated a critical discussion and collaborative work session on how to improve communication across the organisations, how to negotiate with donors, and how to address issues and challenges within the partnership. This led to members of the boards and management staff from all 3 organisations to debate how to move forward with the partnership, and increased communications across the organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |