Participant perspectives on organizational factors influencing their decision to engage with a nonprofit: A mixed methods study in Vietnam

• In Event: Centering participants in third sector research

Abstract

Building on recent work by Benjamin (2020; 2021), which identifies a gap in research centering the perspectives of nonprofit participants, this paper seeks to develop a fuller picture of nonprofit impact by studying the expectations and experiences of individuals and communities a nonprofit sets out to serve. Given that most evaluations of nonprofits reflect funder priorities, the goal of the study is to understand how potential service recipients evaluate nonprofit service providers. This paper is based on an exploratory, multi-phased, community-engaged study that applied Q methodology and took place in Vietnam, where nonprofit organizations are not well known and often viewed with suspicion.

This research focused on the participant’s first encounter with a nonprofit, which is key to understanding both impact and engagement with service organizations. Using a multi-phased approach, I engaged 53 women (aged 18 to 65) who shared their expectations, experiences, and evaluations of organizational factors, including those related to staff, that encourage or discourage their engagement with a nonprofit service provider. Each phase informed the next, starting with a focus group discussion and in-depth interviews, followed by pre-post reflections on a first encounter with a nonprofit, and culminating with a Q methodology study to identify different viewpoints. This research took place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, between January 2022 and December 2023 and, as such, analysis of the data is currently in progress.

Unlike other contexts where nonprofits are more embedded in society and their existence might be taken for granted, in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the existence of a third sector is regularly questioned and generally viewed by the government with suspicion (Bui, 2013; Sidel, 1997). Despite a long history of mutual aid and evidence of philanthropy dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty, the number and reach of formal nonprofits in Vietnam is limited. In locating this study in Vietnam, where trust in nonprofits has never really taken root, this paper offers a fuller understanding of participant experiences, which could be useful to practitioners and scholars operating in similar contexts.

References:

Benjamin, L. M. (2020). Bringing beneficiaries more centrally into nonprofit management education and research. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Scopus.

Benjamin, L. M. (2021). Beyond programs: Toward a fuller picture of beneficiaries in nonprofit evaluation. In P. Dahler-Larsen (Ed.), A Research Agenda for Evaluation (First, pp. 81–103). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Bui, T. H. (2013). The development of civil society and dynamics of governance in Vietnam’s one-party rule. Global Change, Peace & Security, 25(1), 77–93.

Sidel, M. (1997). The emergence of a voluntary sector and philanthropy in Vietnam: Functions, legal regulation and prospects for the future. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations, 8(3), 283–302.

Authors

• Dana R R.H. Doan

• Lehn Benjamin, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy