The well-prepared international development worker

Abstract

The requirements for effective international development have evolved in recent years toward a greater emphasis on capacity building, integration of entrepreneurship and economic models, and recognition of the role of faith-based NGOs and community groups. Faith-based development work, which parallels missions, must address these emphases in addition to faith-specific requirements. In response to this, the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College and the Center for International Development at Point Loma Nazarene University initiated a project to describe the training requirements for international development workers necessitated by the changing priorities in development. A set of recommended competencies were developed from three different constituencies including employers, academics, managers, and front-line staff within the Christian international development community. First, a group representing six different development organizations and four colleges with development-related programs convened to discuss the question of what do development organizations expect from a well-prepared development worker. The group identified 11 categories for skill development which were then used to create a survey of Christian nonprofit representatives with hiring responsibility. The survey results were then used in a focus group with Christian nonprofit representatives. The results of these three data sets were integrated into a set of desired competencies. The implications for training and development are discussed along with recommendations.