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Research and Evaluation

Finding a Window to Reach In

An Evaluation of the Volunteer Program in the Middle East; 2001 - 2011

AVI Program Partnerships & Development Effectiveness Unit

This evaluation covers ten years from 2001 – 2011, during which Australian Volunteers International (AVI), in partnership with the Australian Government, supported 54 volunteers to work with 20 host organisations in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Since 2011, this support has been through the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) Program.

Through desk-based review of documented monitoring and evaluation (M&E), a survey of returned volunteers (RVs) and interviews with host organisations, volunteers, Australian Embassy staff and AVI personnel, the evaluation identified strengths, challenges and lessons learnt in the areas of programmatic outcomes (contribution to development) and program management.



Right Person for the Job

International Volunteering and the Australian Employment Market

by Jennifer Brook, Bruce Missingham, Russell Hocking and Dimity Fifer

This study is the first in Australia to document the skills developed by
Australians who volunteer overseas and examine how these skills match the
needs of Australian employers. It shows that time spent volunteering overseas
should be seen as an investment in developing critical skills, rather than a break
from the workforce.

This study has been a research partnership between Australian Volunteers International (AVI) and Monash University's International Development and Environmental Analysis Program, with funding by the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements.