By Stephan Bren, MAYF
July 2006

WASHINGTON: Mgbala Agwa Youths Forum (MAYF) participated in a survey conducted by Jayne Cravens, who was director of the United Nations (UN) Online Volunteer and manager of the Information Technology Service Service initiatives.

Her research was undertaken to assess current common practices among organizations successfully involving international online volunteers; to explore the role online volunteering may play in building a more cohesive global community; and to assess the relationship between involving online volunteers and building organizational capacities.

This research sought to shed some light on what factors may have contributed to the success of involving international online volunteers and to identify how these volunteers were thought of in relation to an organization’s onsite staff.

In performing this research, Cravens surveyed organizations that involved online volunteers named as “Outstanding” in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 by the United Nations Volunteers program (UNV), part of the UN Development Program (UNDP).

Her research work was presented at the Institute for Volunteering Research November 2005 conference, Volunteering Research: Frontiers and Horizons, and recently published in the July 2006 issue of the International Journal of Volunteer Administration.