I have recently been thinking about what it means to be on a volunteer placement in terms of how we can make the most of how we work with partner organisation. We often work with more than one organisation in our day to day lives, and I thought I might give some time over to thinking about how we can

make this work the best for us as individuals.

My experience as a volunteer with Development in Action was as an independent, skilled person working with not only DiA, but also my placement Barli Development Institute for Rural and Tribal Women. Each member of this partnership has a different aim, and this is a common factor for multi-agency working. For me, I wanted experience working in an entirely different setting, experience of development work, of India, community, working with women, delivering projects. Barli want volunteers to assist in the day to day running, to experience the community and tell people about it, to offer another insight for the young women. Development in Action facilitates volunteers and organise placements to create global citizenship and encouraging interaction with global issues.

So how do we respond to each others needs and make a success of the partnerships that we are creating? Working together in what the UK, we would call ‘joined up thinking’ is an important part of the placements and this element of multi-agency working is not to be undermined.

Multi-agency partnerships consist of two or more organisations working together to achieve their goals, which may or may not be similar. All partnerships are unique due to a wide range of factors including type of organisations involved and their background, the time allocated to fulfil projects and the power structures to name a few. Generally, the idea of ‘joined up thinking’ is that it is ‘deliberate and coordinated planning and working which takes account of different policies and practices within the different partner agencies’. Partnerships are about allowing a greater amount of communication between people, building relationships and utilising resources so that greater needs can be met for the communities and partners we work with.

As a community worker, as this is what you become as a volunteer, it is essential that you go in to a partnership with a focus, discuss potential projects and work that you will under take before you go. In all partnerships, there is a time bound element. Most volunteers find that there is more to be involved with than there is time for! It is therefore important that both partners, both the placement and volunteer have at least some idea, if not a clear focused plan about what they want out of each other and how this will be carried out. Each volunteer is chosen for their skill base and their ability to work with others in a culturally sensitive yet personable way. The focus for each individual on each placement will therefore be different, and one must be aware of what they can achieve in the time that is allowed and the part that Development in Action, as an independent organisation, plays.

Some things which volunteers would benefit from are considering what kind of relationship they are establishing with their partner organisation. What role can you play? What skills can you offer that would support the particular organisation? Have you worked within a partnership before, and if so, how do you work or expect to work? Have you got ideas that you feel strongly would work? One of the difficulties with working in another country, especially for short term placements, is that there is very limited time to become acquainted with the way the organisation works, your environment, and what the needs of the community you are working within are. The time goes by so quickly that a strong focus is necessary to get the most out of the placement. However, much of the information required about the partner organisation is available through Development in Action.

Barli Development Institute is a successful organisation with a top down management structure. It is continually succeeding in its goal to empower “young rural and tribal women to become agents of social change” (www.barli.org). Barli draws in young women from Indore’s surrounding communities and skills up to 180 young women per year in areas such as literacy, health and hygiene, personal development and solar cooking. The volunteer placement offered coincides with only a proportion of the placement undertaken by the young women and the day is structured and full. As I arrived at Barli, I was unsure of what roles I would be fulfilling as I had had little contact with the organisation before I went. This was partly due to it became clear that I had a focus, how I was going to be managed and how I would carry out my role. I fitted under the management like other staff and was given the same level of involvement and scope to carry out independent projects which I undertook with varying success.

Multi-partnership working is a major part of the way we develop our relationships and work within the voluntary sector. For the partnership to be effective, issues such as what is achievable in the time allocated, what we want to achieve and what is needed by the partner organisation need to be given true consideration. This way, we as volunteers, Development in Action, our partner organisations and our wider communities will benefit from our experience and participation in global citizenship.

Steph Champion