Editorial

Growth of aid and the decline of humanitarianism

This paper examines the challenges of leveraging big data in the humanitarian sector in support of UN Sustainable Development Goal 17 “Partnerships for the Goals”. The full promise of Big Data is underpinned by a tacit assumption that the heterogeneous ‘exhaust trail’ of data is contextually relevant and sufficiently granular to be mined for value. This promise, however, relies on relationality – that patterns can be derived from combining different pieces of data that are of corresponding detail or that there are effective mechanisms to resolve differences in detail. Here, we present empirical work integrating eight heterogeneous datasets from the humanitarian domain to provide evidence of the inherent challenge of complexity resulting from differing levels of data granularity. In clarifying this challenge, we explore the reasons why it is manifest, discuss strategies for addressing it and, as our principal contribution, identify five propositions to guide future research.

This paper investigates empirically the effect of competition between microfinance NGOs seeking subsidized capital from individual social investors. Although NGO behavior in competitive environments is often subject to controversy, there is little formal empirical evidence to illustrate theoretical findings and inform policy. Using data from Kiva, an online peer-to-peer (P2P) microfinance platform, we find that competition has a sizable negative impact on projects’ funding speed and that the effect is stronger between close substitutes. This is important because competition for subsidized capital implies organizational pressures similar to those faced when NGOs compete for donations.

Over $100 million of Canadian overseas development assistance (ODA) is channeled through international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) (CIDA, 2006). Although INGOs appear to be successful at circumventing many challenges in international development (Sachs, 2007), empirical research attesting to their international human resource management (IHRM) challenges is sparse, particularly in regard to secular, Northern INGOs. This paper responds by investigating the IHRM challenges facing Canadian INGOs as they implement ODA-funded projects in the field, and by exploring how such challenges may vary in different types of INGOs. The methodology involved semistructured interviews with 31 managers in three different Canadian development INGOs. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.