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The professional humanitarian and the downsides of professionalisation
Eric James Co-Founder/Director, Field Ready, Moffett Field, California, United States
Criticisms lodged at humanitarian relief often include the belief that professionalisation is needed. The problems associated with humanitarianism would end, it is assumed, if the delivery of aid, and relief workers themselves, were more professional and ‘business like’. To explore this further, the paper asks what comprises a profession, and offers four criteria: 1) specialisation of knowledge; 2) establishment of the profession as a livelihood; 3) organisation and institutionalisation; and 4) legitimacy and authority. A model for understanding professionalisation, as developed by the author, is then presented. The analysis compares six other professions against the same criteria to argue that the humanitarian community already constitutes a profession. Finally, three potential downsides of professionalisation are offered: the distance of the relief worker from the beneficiary, barriers to entry into the humanitarian sector, and adding to risk aversion and a decline in innova- tion. Based on these findings, professionalisation should be approached with some caution.
Keywords: ethics, institutionalisation, humanitarianism, leadership, management, organisational development, professionalisation
Introduction In the days that followed the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, international humani- tarians—paid full-timers, short-term volunteers, missionaries and newcomers— arrived in the country to provide relief.1 Despite decades of international assistance, Haiti was desperately ill prepared for a disaster of that magnitude.2 Indeed it was the country’s acute vulnerability that directly contributed to the massive destruc- tion. Yet the international community, including the long-standing UN Mission (MINUSTAH), was also unprepared. Logistics were a challenge, coordination was not efficient and responders were often overwhelmed. It was easy to say that some of these aid workers were professional and others not but it is unclear if this simple conclusion adequately holds. Out of this situation, and others like it such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, come calls for the professionalisation of humanitar- ian practice (Eriksson, 1996; Karan and Subbiah, 2011). There is a strong impulse to do better in circumstances that are ‘no place for amateurs’ (Barnett, 2011, p. 217) and there is currently headway being made across the sector.3 There is also a power- ful assumption that professionalisation is a good and necessary endeavour. In the literature and among many workers in the field, there is a belief that if the delivery of aid, and if relief workers themselves, were more professional and ‘business-like’, the problems associated with humanitarianism would be a thing of the past. Rather
doi:10.1111/disa.12140
Disasters, 2016, 40(2): 185−206. © 2016 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2016 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
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than being a domain of any one field, excellence in management and performance exists in all fields (Collins 2005) and humanitarian practice is no different. Professionalisation is normally accompanied by efficiencies in the field, relative prestige and recognition, and better compensation for its membership. Thus:
since at least the mid 1990s, the international humanitarian system has been heavily com- mitted to improving its performance and to becoming more professional. There are numerous initiatives associated with this—codes, standards, discussions about accreditation of aid workers—to name just a few (HFP, 2009, p. 7).
While there is certainly a need to improve humanitarianism, the process of pro- fessionalisation has downsides and a clear cost. To explore this further, this paper is divided into several sections. First, the question of what comprises a profession is asked. To answer it, four criteria are offered:
• specialisation of knowledge; • establishment of the profession as a livelihood; • organisation and institutionalisation; and • legitimacy and authority.
Next, a model for understanding professionalisation, as developed by the author, is presented. This analysis compares six other professions against the set of criteria. The position taken in this paper is that the humanitarian community already con- stitutes a profession. Finally, three potential downsides to a tightening of this process including the distance of the relief worker from the beneficiary,4 barriers to entry into the humanitarian sector and adding to risk aversion and a decline in innovation amongst those in the field. Based on these findings, professionalisation should be approached with some caution and not seen as a panacea for perceived ills.
Defining the characteristics of a profession Definitions of professionalisation have been offered that are ‘an imprecise Protean term which explains nothing’ (Morrell, 1990, p. 981) yet further analysis reveals an intricate process that has worthwhile practical and policy implications. The term ‘profession’ is traced to the medieval Latin word professiōn, meaning to take vows to a religious order. At a basic level, professionalisation is a social process that changes structure and notions about an endeavour that come about as a result of specialisa- tion and formalisation. There are some obvious elements of what sets a profession apart from other domains and perception plays an important role. In many cases, a profession has evolved to mean a class of livelihoods that have status, privileges and responsibilities distinct from occupations. This progresses as key criteria are intro- duced. In the modern era, Weber’s notion of bureaucratisation, with its associative issues of power and rationality, is useful in understanding how this process has come
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about (Weber, 2005). The tendency in organisations towards centralisation and for- malisation (as opposed to organic and networked) have been consistent themes among not just society at large but the humanitarian community in particular.5
Thus the concept of a profession has developed to distinguish different occupa- tional classes. For instance, certain characteristics set the clergy, doctors and lawyers apart from farmers, cooks and bricklayers. Particular fields such as law, medicine, the Christian clergy, accounting, business management and the academy have distin- guished themselves from others (this is looked at further in the next section). There is also a separation of these fields from pursuits that people do voluntarily or for the pleasure of the activity (the root of ‘amateur’ comes from the Middle French word for ‘love’). The motivation for volunteers is often not for the pleasure of the activity, but rather to serve an ethical or spiritual calling, sometimes even a norm. In medi- cine, law and psychology, for example, a certain amount of public service is expected as a part of the normal ethical behaviour within these professions. Professions are heavily laden with notions of socio-economic class and assump- tions about the characteristics of different professions—and who gets to occupy them— do not always bear out. Historians of this subject have stripped bare the silos that separated the professional and the amateur, ‘replacing it with dynamic social analysis of how such categories were constructed and conceived’ (Lucier, 2009, p. 702). Understood this way, discussions that lean on simple characteristics, such as the requirement of having ‘qualifications’, fall short in explaining the process. Yet a distinct set of criteria can be discerned that have heuristic value in illuminating what endeav- ours constitute a profession. These are specialisation of knowledge, the establishment of the profession as a livelihood, organisation and institutionalisation, and, finally, legitimacy and authority. Each of these will be looked at here in greater depth.
Creation and use of specialised knowledge
In many cases, professionals seek to acquire and monopolise specialised knowledge. There may be a variety of reasons for this such as the complexity of a particular field and the sustainment of a market for professional services. Broman (1995), when ex- amining medical history, sees the ability to join practice with theory as an important part of professionalisation. This comes about when there is a complex body of knowl- edge relating to the administration, methods, procedures and technical practices that accumulates over time. The usual result is that it mystifies information and under- standing for those who do not undergo extensive training and who lack the expe- rience that is required for a profession.6 There are three ways in which professionals concentrate the subject matter around their field. First, there is thorough training for those entering the field and ongoing training for those within it to stay current with the evolving standards and body of knowl- edge of the profession. For a variety of fields, the establishment of professional schools has been a critical development. The training of clergy members led to the founding of the first universities, especially in the United States. Harvard University, for example, was founded in 1636 to train Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. In medicine,
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the founding of the first US medical school was at the University of Pennsylvania in 1765, but the widespread presence of medical schools did not occur until the process of professionalisation picked up pace more than a century later and with gov- ernment subsidy. For humanitarians this process is underway now. Until recently, efforts to improve humanitarian practice have focused on increasing the capacity of organisations, not necessarily individual aid workers (Hein, 2010). The current focus is therefore on creating an association for these individuals and increasing the quantity and quality of individual training (this is closely linked to organisation and institutionalisation discussed later). While there has been a significant increase of training and educa- tional programmes, the argument has been made that ‘much of the education and training remains outdated’ (Burkle, 2010, p. 197). For example, both within a decade of its founding and again in the past few years, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) made the explicit decision to move away from its heavy use of volunteers and towards fully qualified professional full-time staff (see, for example, Barnett, 2011).7 Similarly, in adding a standard for aid worker ‘performance’ (Core Standard #6) to the revised Sphere Standards of 2011, the Core Humanitarian Standards were formed in 2014. There has been a significant growth of training and educational programmes in the humanitarian sector. For example, the UK branch of RedR trained more than 7,000 aid workers in 2012. New groups, notably Leadership for Humanitarians, seek to increase the competency of aid workers. University programmes have also expanded significantly worldwide, from eight to more than 80 over the past decade (Walker and Russ, 2010). What is important going forward is maintaining the quality of these programmes. Second, qualifications are awarded through a recognised process and documented with a certification, diploma or degree. Occupations often, but in many cases do not, require documented qualifications but all professions do and in fact some pro- fessions require multiple prerequisites. Evidence of advanced qualifications, such as an abbreviation after a person’s name, is a hallmark of most professions. This gener- ally takes years to develop and often includes some form of entry-level experience where mentorship takes place such as residencies, practicum and internships. This is in contrast to occupations where the acquisition of skill generally requires much less time. It is through this training and experience that ‘professional detachment’ is acquired, which serves professionals in the field. This might be a strange attribute in humanitarian practice where ambiguity is a defining factor and the fact that those affected by disasters are often far more knowledgeable about their own context and situation than those who are considered professional. Even with the acknowledge- ment of technical expertise, there is tension between this professional detachment and the idealism that is so much a part of the humanitarian profession (Hopgood, 2008). What is important in the discussion here is that there is a set of skills that are developed and become a distinguishing feature of the field. These skills often centre on analytical abilities and the processing and application of knowledge such as admin- istration, management and programme technical areas.
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Finally, the emergence of specialised journals and publications are a third feature of specialised knowledge in the professionalisation process. In 1840, well before med- ical practice was deemed reliable or scientific, the first publication of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal—the forerunner of the British Medical Journal—marked a key development in the professionalisation of medicine, at least in the United Kingdom (Waddington, 1990). Humanitarianism benefits from its intellectual big sister, inter- national development, with its body of literature stemming back to the era of decolo- nisation. In publications, such as the Journal of Development Practice and Third World Quarterly can be found contributions to the field of humanitarian assistance in its different forms. Yet modern humanitarianism assistance is ultimately a response to the failure of development, which has led to a growing number of publications discuss- ing these issues including Disasters, the Journal of Humanitarian Assistance and Forced Migration Review. Indeed some of these sources, such as the Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Practice Network, attempt to bridge policy, practice and theory to better address perceived weaknesses in the field. Together, these publications pro- vide a means for having a ‘process for evaluation and feedback to improve responses’ (Martin, 2001, p. 228) which is a key element of professionalism.
Establishment of the profession as a livelihood
Professions involve a paid livelihood whereby work is undertaken in exchange for monetary compensation. However, particular levels of compensation (salary) or the presence of labour movements in support of that profession are not necessary criteria. As a result, there is also a competition for resources between entities (or companies) and, in the case of humanitarianism, organisations (Cooley and Ron, 2002). This competition is brought about by market forces that contain material incentives to do well. The effort of professionalisation has paid off for those in the fields commonly associated with professions such as medicine and law. This in turn has not only led occupations to professionalise but also to grow in size and become increasingly global in scope. Similar to the pattern of the commercial sector, this progression has occurred in the humanitarian sector as well (Simeant, 2005). Examples include the global brand- ing campaigns carried out by larger non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as MSF, Oxfam and Save the Children. In this process, professionals engage in a collective hunt for resources, which brings about the establishment of standards, codes and common practices (discussed further below). In this discussion of the pursuit of monetary compensation, motivation is an important consideration. International humanitarian aid workers are distinguished by a high degree of motivation to serve. This is the ‘attitudinal’ element of profes- sionalism that provides a ‘sense of calling’ among its membership (Hall, 1968). Yet the reasons behind the motivation are often mixed to include a sense of adventure or a particular ethical impulse (Donini, 2010). Thus the drive to achieve and maintain a certain standard of living and a particular lifestyle is an important element of professionalisation (Barakat and Kapisazoic, 2003). In recent years, with a focus on
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lifestyle, organisational imperatives and personal career trajectories, aid workers ‘are motivated very differently from the humanitarians of old’ (Hopgood, 2008, p. 112). As Barnett tells it: ‘For most of its history humanitarians acted as if showing up was enough [. . .] those who ran these organizations enjoyed their seat-of-the-pants, jerry-built lifestyle because it reflected their idea of what a voluntary organization looks like. However, those days are history’ (Barnett, 2011, p. 234). This was a key step in the process of professionalisation. With the availability to gather and sustain resources over time, professions have developed into careers with their own trajectories. Long periods of education and training, acceptance into the field (not just recruitment but also orientation and indoctrination), progression from worker to manager and then into retirement has been the hallmark of professions. In contrast to occupations and voluntary work, in which progression tends to be short in duration, professional career trajectories are usually long term and often ‘for life’. The humanitarian sector has developed in a way not unlike any other professional sector. The existence of more than 250,000 aid workers worldwide (Walker and Russ, 2010), and now several generations who have made their living this way, suggests that there is a full career trajectory and that those engaged in humanitarianism have met the criteria of having a full profession. The growth of NGOs in particular has driven aid workers to address many of the problems that have become pronounced during the past two decades, including poverty and complex emergencies. Their increased capacity has allowed them to have an ability, albeit small, to influence international public policy on issues they work on. Thus, as Simeant notes of French NGOs, professionalisation has ‘enhanced their credibility and authority, and legitimised their “voice” at the global level [. . .] It was this global expansion of NGOs that gave them the right to speak out from the front ranks in international bodies’ (Simeant, 2005, p. 856). This is considered further in the next criteria.
Organisation and institutionalisation
Once a sizeable group of trained and paid professionals is formed, a number of attrib- utes appear that ensure a collective function between members of the group and further solidify the process of professionalisation. This process brings members of the profession closer together, usually through a mechanism that is outside routine business and allows for cross-cutting concerns to be addressed, such as autonomy and self-regulation, knowledge sharing and development, and mutual support. This organisation, and the institutionalisation8 that binds professionals together, gives them the ability to act independently and, at times, influence public policy (Barnett and Finnemore, 2004). Independence is a central humanitarian principle and influence is often actively sought through advocacy and the practice of resource mobilisation. Organisations explicitly engage in high-level policy advocacy, as well as efforts made at the grassroots level, in an attempt to influence decision makers in areas of col- lective interest. But this ability does not emerge without considerable effort. As an
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organisational area of activity, policy advocacy occurs when there is considerable professionalism in place (Mosley, 2010). In other words, it is not something of which those without a high degree of organisation (such as the occupations, volunteers or hobbyists) have the capability. This is based on three developments. First, individuals and organisations share information and network through con- ferences and workshops. This practice often takes place while an occupation is pro- fessionalising. This is linked to the first criteria (mentioned above) where professionals develop and seek to monopolise specialised knowledge. Humanitarianism now has a set of global conferences such as the International Humanitarian Summit, the World Conference on Humanitarian Studies and the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development conference. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee also holds conferences. The wide range of internet sites and social media supporting humani- tarian efforts also attest to this development. Second, organisations and the institutional networks that connect them are cre- ated. The creation of a supra-organisation is common. In the field of medicine, the British Medical Association and the American Medical Association were formed in the 1830s–1840s and helped formalise medical practice into a profession. Along with local laws, these organisations were instrumental in regulating the medical field in their respective countries. Humanitarians are no different in this respect and have already taken a number of steps in this direction. In the global North, there are several organisations such as InterAction and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies that have provided an institutional network. In the global South, many countries have their own networks that help guide the humanitarian endeavour. Two examples are the Afghan Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief and, in Sri Lanka, the Consortium for Humanitarian Action. Relatively new organisations with an aim to further professionalise the humanitarian sector include the International Humanitarian Studies Association, the Humanitarian Logistics Association and Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection. Finally, support mechanisms are established, particularly for issues arising before (in recruitment), during (crisis counselling and networking) and at the end of a career (including transition and retirement). These means of support are always present in professions but not always with occupations, which may resort to unionisation and forms of collective action such as strikes instead. Within the humanitarian sector, there have been many efforts to address the inefficiencies of the enterprise such as the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP), the Code of Conduct, Coordination SUD, Humanitarian Accountability Project, Groupe URD, People in Aid and the Sphere Project.
Gaining of legitimacy and authority
The final criterion of professionalisation is the establishment of legitimacy and author- ity. This is based on two factors: common perception and authoritative recognition. Common perception originates from practice and custom and includes the creation
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of status symbols. Professionals in the West have cultivated an image that separates them from those outside their field. They have long used symbols to do this. Since their inception, the clergy and the military have had distinctive dress (uniforms), used buildings of particular architecture and followed lifestyles that set them apart from ordinary people. In medicine, the wearing of white lab coats by qualified physicians started as an attempt to legitimise the medical profession through an asso- ciation between medical practice and scientific processes (Dawson, 2008). Although uniforms of themselves do not constitute a mark of professional class, they are important signifiers of professionalism. Just as Western ‘business’ attire epitomises professional appearance, distinct status symbols can be found, and often critiqued, in the white vehicles and logo-emblazoned t-shirts that signify humanitarians as a distinct pro- fessional class.9 When combined with the criteria of specialised knowledge and organisation, along with the context in which humanitarians work, these symbols are an important element in the creation of the perception of professionalism. Ramalingam and Barnett (2010, p. 4) note how this distinguishes aid workers from those they are trying to help: ‘The predominant model of disaster-affected communities is one of “helpless victims”, elevating the authority and standing of external interveners’. Authoritative recognition comes from the establishment of norms, codes and standards. According to Wilensky (1964), moral norms and authority are necessary and set professionals apart from other domains. A formal code helps weed out the unqualified and provides a framework of principles in which professionals are meant to act, even though it is not a mandatory element of professionalism. Often the acknowledgement by outside bodies is needed to bestow legal legitimacy on these norms, codes and standards. Several professions rely on loose associations in the form of governing bodies such as law, medicine and accountancy. In the commercial sector, in particular, recognition comes from success and not a governing body bestowing recognition in areas such as management and entrepreneurship. It might seem that authoritative recognition is connected with certification and licensure. Clarification between certification and licensure is helpful here. Certification is generally a voluntary decision made by individuals. It is based on reaching a set of skills-based qualifications as determined by a non-governmental body. Because certification is not mandatory, people may engage in the field without certification while enjoying many of the benefits of those who have been recognised for their qualifications.10 In contrast, licensure is involuntary in the sense that it is a required step for those who wish to practice a professional field. A professional license is a ‘must have’ recognition of individuals regulated by a government body. Certifications and licenses typically require periodic renewal and some may provide designations after a person’s name. It is important to note that while it might seem necessary for authoritative recognition to come through a formal licensing process, this is not always the case. Licensing does not necessarily bestow the other attributes of a profes- sion. For example, public notaries, cosmetologists and drivers have licensure but lack a distinct set of moral codes and standards to constitute their occupations.
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A useful way to examine this issue further is by considering the governing bodies, sources of normative standards and consequences of malpractice of five recognised professions in comparison to those who work in international humanitarian assis- tance. As presented in Table 1, these professions are law, medicine, the Christian clergy, accounting, business management and the academy. Looked at this way, relief workers have more formal governing structures than business managers, older sources
Table 1. Professional legitimacy and authority
Governing/professional body
Sources of normative standards
Consequences of malpractice
Law American Bar Association (ABA) ABA’s 1983 ‘Model Rules of Professional Conduct’ based on the 1969 ‘Model Code of Professional Responsibility’ and the 1908 ‘Canons of Professional Ethics’
‘Disbarment’ and possibly legal action depending on the sever- ity of the incident
Medicine American Medical Association (AMA) and various boards (e.g. American Medical Association, American Board of Medical Specialties, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine)
AMA’s 2001 ‘Code of Medical Ethics’ based on routine revi- sions (1903, 1957, 1980) of the 1847 code and traced back to the Hippocratic Oath
Professional censure and pos- sibly legal action (suit)
Clergy (Christian)
Various depending on denomination
Biblical canon particularly the first five books (Pentateuch)
In certain cases, disciplinary measures (such as transfer) and /or legal action
Accounting American Institute of Certified Public Accounts (AICPA)
AICPA’s 2007 ‘Code of Professional Conduct’ based on pamphlets going back to 1917, and various standards (e.g. ‘audit and attest stand- ards’ and ‘valuation services standards’)
Revocation of Certified Public Accounting license
Business management
No single or group of bodies exists
Usually developed by individual companies
Disciplinary action by company, peers and /or legal action
Academia American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
AAUP’s 1966 ‘Statement of Professional Ethics’. Other codes are drafted by individual colleges and university systems, which often combine ethics, codes of conduct and stand- ards of professional practice (e.g. research standards)
Tenured academic staff can only lose their positions ‘for cause’ (severe misconduct) and /or legal action
International Humanitarian Assistance
Coordination and associative bodies such as InterAction, Sphere and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
‘Code of Conduct of the Inter- national Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief’ of 1992, which draws lineage from the first Geneva Convention of 1864
Disciplinary action by organisa- tion, peers and /or legal action by local country
Source: author.
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of normative standards than attorneys, and face the same or greater consequences of malpractice as academics and the clergy. To help limit the expansiveness of this discussion, the examples used here relate to professions in the United States. These serve, however, as instructive examples because they typically parallel developments in Europe and serve as models for professionalisation in other parts of the world. Performance and accountability are sometimes seen as an essential part of gaining legitimacy and authority. Writing specifically about aid work, Dempsey and Kyazze (2010, p. 29) argue that in a professional system, a humanitarian worker would be personally responsible for adherence to professional standards, as is the case with a doctor or a lawyer, for example. This would mark a change from most existing sets of standards, such as Sphere, which measure commitments from institutions but not individuals. Although humanitarian workers already have a strong sense of personal responsibility, professionalising the sector could significantly improve the quality of humanitarian response by making it easier to hold individuals and agencies to account. It will also allow activities that build resilience and include participation to be a greater part of responses. Certainly, humanitarian aid workers are not fully accountable to their peers and do not have strict certifications or licensing imposed on them at this time. As of this writing, there is active discussion underway to form a professional certificate in the form of a ‘Humanitarian Passport’, which would come out of a series of competency frameworks.11 Yet as Walker et al. (2010, p. 2228) have found, there is little if any sup- port for what amounts to a ‘licensing system’. Not all professions have such systems and some, such as business management, are not explicitly bound by ethics and only need to operate under existing state laws and regulations. Generally speaking, mal- practice does not depend solely on a ‘professionally-based’ code. Fraud and abuse, for example, are bound by general law and only some professions (for example, the clergy) have their own governing laws. Perhaps it is for this reason that there are legions of examples, particularly from the business sector, that show that performance and accountability are undermined through shortcutting and unethical behaviour (Ordóñez et al., 2009). As Pink (2009) notes:
most of the scandals and misbehavior that have seemed endemic to modern life involve shortcuts. Executives game their quarterly earnings so they can snag a performance bonus. Secondary school counselors doctor student transcripts so their senior can get into college. Athletes inject themselves with steroids to post better numbers and trigger lucrative per- formance bonuses (Pink, 2009, p. 49).
One method for preventing these problems is peer review, but this is virtually unknown in the commercial sector where oversight is provided through legal reg- ulation and market mechanisms. For the academy, legitimacy and quality assurance are bestowed through accreditation, which is done through councils and boards and not law or governmental regulation. For many, performance and accountability are conflated. Incompetence is a sep- arate matter that is addressed by professional bodies and associations. Through their
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mechanisms poor performance is generally handled via the process of recruitment, referral, reputation and reprimand. In these ways, unqualified or poor performers are prevented from entering an organisation and practicing in the field. There are exam- ples from relief and reconstruction projects of poor performance, failure and fraud, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan (Waldman, 2008) but also in previous emer- gencies (Maren, 2002). A country’s NGO registration process (even Somalia has one) provides a means of checks and balances. Therefore, in terms of consequences of mal- practice, humanitarians are roughly on a par with the other professions discussed here. In sum, when looked at comparatively, we can make several observations about the humanitarian sector gaining legitimacy and authority. In contrast to other fields, which are largely domestic in scope, humanitarianism’s focus is global and so it is behind other professions in terms of having a recognised governing body—though this process is now underway. Humanitarians have a relatively well-developed nor- mative framework with a track record roughly on par with other professions. This has been built on a long history of establishing norms starting in the modern era with the work of Henry Dunant and others including Clara Barton in the United States, and the passing of the first Geneva Convention of 1864. The codification of these norms in the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) stands in contrast to the wider field of international development, which is not governed by a set of laws. IHL pro- tects the humanitarian principles of those providing assistance and calls for the respect of their distinctive symbol (the red cross—an inversion of the Swiss flag). The shift that has not occurred in the humanitarian sector is the holding of responsibility of individual aid workers for acts of malpractice. However, this is not a necessary ele- ment of professionalism.
A framework for understanding humanitarian professionalisation Using the four main criteria described above, we can construct a framework for understanding how the status of occupation, volunteerism and hobbyist differs from that of profession. The dozen sub-criteria, described above and shown below in Table 2, delineate the ways in which a profession is distinct from other domains. To be comprehensive, the category of ‘hobby’ has also been added to the framework. This covers people who engage solely in activities for recreation. When looked at more closely, it is noted that being a hobbyist does not eliminate the need for spe- cialised knowledge, organisation and certain codes or at least rules. Certifications are less straightforward. Some hobbies require certifications to engage, especially those involving transport, such as boating, flying and parachuting. Perhaps because of the numerous volunteers engaged in the practice of humanitarianism, such as physicians who take short-term field assignments with NGOs, the professionalism of the field is at times difficult to distinguish from the volunteerism.
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Based on this framework, it is evident that the work of humanitarians has already reached the stage of being a profession. Each set has seen at least some development and in certain sets, especially ethics (norms, standards), humanitarians are ahead of other professionals and have a rich history in developing these positions. When care- fully analysed against clear criteria, the professional status of humanitarians becomes evident. Using the evidence provided earlier in this article, examples from the humani- tarian field are weighed against each sub-criteria in the framework. The results of this are shown in Table 3. As Martin noted a decade ago, ‘even during the twenty years that I have been involved in the field of forced migration, there has been significant progress regarding
Table 2. Framework for understanding professionalisation
Sub-criteria Categories
Profession Occupation Volunteerism Hobbyist
Specialised knowledge
1 Training and education
Required to a high degree
Required in some cases
Sometimes required, sometimes not
Usually not required
2 Skill level Highly developed Developed or developing
Developed or developing
Generally developing
3 Qualifications Required Usually required Sometimes required Usually not required
4 Publications Widely available Sometimes available
Sometimes available
Widely available
Livelihood
5 Monetary compensation
Paid Paid Unpaid (perhaps stipend provided)
Unpaid
6 Career trajectories Generally long term Short or long term Generally short term Either
7 Primary motivation Predominantly lifestyle (can be service oriented)
Money Predominantly enjoyment or fulfillment
Predominantly enjoyment or fulfillment
Organisation and institutions
8 Associations Always available Sometimes available Sometimes available Almost always available
9 Conferences and workshops
Always available Sometimes available Rarely available Often available
10 Support mechanisms
Always available Sometimes available Rarely if ever available
Often available
Legitimacy and authority
11 Status symbols Always present Sometimes present Not present Not present
12 Codes and standards
Usually present Usually present Sometimes present Usually not present
Source: author.
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professionalisation’ (2001, p. 242). De Waal (1997, p. 65) describes a ‘humanitarian international’ that has developed over the past few decades, made up of the staff of international relief agencies, academics, consultants, specialist journalists, lobbyists and also, to an increasing extent, ‘conflict resolution’ specialists and human rights workers. It is a sub-group of the larger aid and development industry. A generation ago, this group did not exist: governments, UN agencies and NGOs were staffed
Table 3. Status of the humanitarian profession
Sub-criteria Categories
Specialised knowledge
1 Training and education
A significant and growing ecology of training organisations and educational institutes offering certificates and degrees at various levels
2 Skill level A wide range of skills need mastery before one is deemed proficient as weighed by competency frameworks that are being developed and by organisational human resource (HR) departments
3 Qualifications HR recruitment process seeks those with minimum levels of experience and other markers of qualification such as advanced degrees
4 Publications Many are available such as Disasters, the Journal of Humanitarian Assistance and Forced Migration Review
Livelihood
5 Monetary compensation
Although many volunteer positions exist, salaried positions with standard benefit packages are more common
6 Career trajectories While there is no set pathway, typical progression combines time spent in the field, at the regional or headquarter level, and involvement in a host of related activities such as edu- cation and think-tanks
7 Primary motivation Motivation varies between aid workers but lifestyle—including a combination of service and intensive work periods followed by time off and travel—is a dominant factor
Organisation and institutions
8 Associations Various such as InterAction and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) as well as many at the national level
9 Conferences and workshops
Many available: examples include the International Humanitarian Summit, the World Conference on Humanitarian Studies and those held by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)
10 Support mechanisms
Many related to technical aspects of the work including the International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA), the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) and Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP), but admittedly few, other than People in Aid, look at decent work issues
Legitimacy and authority
11 Status symbols Varies by location but usually includes organisational logos and accessories associated with particular positions
12 Codes and standards
A growing list includes the Code of Conduct, Humanitarian Charter and Sphere Project (standards)
Source: author.
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by different kinds of people who more often disputed each other’s practice than shared common assumptions. Since 1980 there has been a marked convergence toward a common culture. At the same time, ‘business’ practices from the commercial field have been heav- ily introduced into the practice of delivering humanitarian aid. This was noted by Curti (1935) who wrote nearly eight decades ago that:
the influence of business enterprise is seen in the professionalisation of the workers in humanitarian groups, in the use of elaborate card indexes, in the division of functions, and in the general introduction of efficiency and organisation into the management of groups (Curti, 1935, p. 65).
We have moved a long way from index cards, but using the tools of project manage- ment—such as performance indicators and logical framework analysis—to simplify complex tasks have now been in regular use for some time by humanitarians. Project management tools have provided positive outcomes but there are also downsides. The requirements to use these tools are often set by people, such as those representing donor organisations, who will not be involved in the implementation of the project. Donini (1995) has observed that there has been a process of:
‘homogenisation’ in the practices, management style and activities of NGOs. To a large extent this results from donor pressure to conform to established norms and standards and is functional to the needs of the expansion of the market and of laissez-faire economics: NGOs have to fit into the mould that the system requires (Donini, 1995, np).
Given the complex situations in which humanitarians work, the use of project management tools can be an attempt to put square pegs in round holes. In the field, there is a familiar pattern where a disconnect exists between expectations and what is realistically possible given the operational and resource constraints in which assis- tance is provided.
The downsides of professionalisation: a cautionary note With the growing pressure for further professionalisation of the humanitarian sector, it is important to consider the potential downsides. This analysis reveals that when different occupations have gone through a process of professionalisation there are unintended negative consequences. In other words, professionalisation has a cost that needs to be carefully considered. The professionalisation of medical practice provides a helpful illustration. When medicine first required registration to practice, there became a shortage of practitioners (Waddington, 1990). Insurance and the influence of private industry (for example, pharmaceutical companies) has, to some extent, resulted in a dearth of professionals, increased costs (even in an open market as in the United States) and risk aversion. Thus, although medicine and its beneficiaries (patients)
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have benefited from professionalisation, there have also been downsides. Similar pit- falls could affect, and in some instances already have affected, humanitarians. At least three distinct drawbacks to the professionalisation of humanitarians are evident.
Distance from beneficiaries
In the process of achieving the combined criteria described above, every profession inevitably creates a gap between itself and the people for which it provides a ser- vice. As Slim (2003) has noted, professionalism excludes as much as it includes. In some ways, this is a useful dynamic. Physicians, for instance, who remain emotion- ally aloof from their patients are thought to perform better. Clergy might scarcely make it through a funeral service if they considered their strong personal tie with the deceased. The same can be said for humanitarianism who must regularly deal with catastrophe and human suffering. This is the upside of distance but there is also a downside. While there are values within different professional fields, there is typically a high sense of entitlement. The status symbols, access to resources and lifestyle have already been highlighted as distinguishing features of a profession. The language profes- sional’s use often mystifies those outside their field. The creation of separate profes- sional classes adds to the inherent distance between people and has been highlighted in the field of humanitarian relief (Polman, 2010). A key result of professionalisation is the demand for staff benefits including increased salary, which may be beyond the standard rise in inflation. At the same time, there has been an emphasis on using local resources, which creates an opportunity for hiring managers from countries neigh- bouring those undergoing disasters. In the global South, large international NGOs and the UN represent the equivalent of the best commercial firms and attract the ‘best and the brightest’ (and so there is often a draw toward these groups). The dis- tance of humanitarian workers from beneficiaries can result in slow responses, out- of-touch activities (as well as increased vulnerability to security threats due to low community acceptance) and ultimately unaddressed suffering and death. Humanitarian response does not permit the level of intimacy needed in certain types of development and research work, but there are ways to reduce the distance routinely felt between relief worker and beneficiary. The attempt to overcome this distance has already been highlighted by the push for participatory methodologies12 in international development more broadly. While not without criticism (Cooke and Kothari, 2001), the work of Chambers (1994) and others on the relationship between ‘outsiders’ (aid workers) and ‘insiders’ (beneficiaries), and on creating methodologies for bridging this gap, have helped shaped the field.
Barriers to entry
Specialised knowledge and the establishment of the profession as a livelihood create significant barriers to people who seek to join the profession. This is readily seen amongst select Western universities where many humanitarian education programmes
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are being established. These universities produce people who belong to increasingly privileged and elite groups.13 Once in the profession, some aid workers and organisa- tions are able to work in close solidarity with beneficiaries while others do not (this point is closely related to the first downside described above). As Slim (2003, p. 2) notes this results in ‘putting some strange professional vanity above the needs’ of people. Yet elitism can negatively affect workers who have not had the same pay or education, or gained a similar level of disaster experiences and group memberships. In other words, people who do not possess the ‘appropriate’ status symbols may be seen as ‘not professional’. It can also extend to organisations when members of global brands disparage those who work for or have histories with different or lesser known organisations. Some see the voluntary nature of humanitarianism as an important element of lowering this barrier to entry. If strict entry criteria were used, their contribution would not be possible. Certainly some fields lend themselves to volunteering more than others. For example, within the information technology community, there is a very strong and growing tradition of using volunteers, which shows the signs of professionalisation discussed here. Pink (2009) highlights the power of volunteers. If asked in the mid-1990s which group could develop an online encyclopedia— Microsoft with its large budget and well-compensated staff or a group of tens of thou- sands of people contributing their ideas and labour for free—most people would have said Microsoft. But the fact is that Wikipedia is now widely known and few people can remember Encarta. The same goes for Firefox, Linux and Apache—all highly effective, efficient and successful examples of open-source computer software. Closer to the concerns of humanitarianism, this open-source, peer-to-peer approach is the model the Volunteer and Technical Community (V&TC) has used. Many groups have now provided vital information this way, such as Ushahidi, Sahana, GeoCommons and Rif by InSTEDD. While improvements are needed and adop- tion is not yet widespread, communication advances represent an important oppor- tunity for humanitarian organisations to use technologies to respond to disasters (Coyle and Meier, 2009; Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, 2011; Zook et al., 2010). This allows for the positive impact volunteers offer without needing to go through the lengthy process of professionalisation. There needs to be a firmer recognition of the value of volunteerism and how best to harness its value. Maintaining large teams of professional staff is often very difficult in the humanitarian field (Martin, 2001). Under normal circumstances, it is relatively easy to recruit for short-term professional positions in popular or well- known disasters, such as US health professionals to Haiti or French aid workers to former African colonies. It is much more difficult to recruit a long-term position with specific language requirements or a large number of staff to start a new project in a less popular or well-known country. Consequently, the problem is how to form and sustain a ‘surge capacity’ workforce when there are massive human catastrophes. When an acute disaster strikes requiring greater international assistance, the global cadre of full-time humanitarians remains insufficient. Reserve volunteers are one
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possibility. Currently, organisations meet the need for responding to large-scale rapid- onset disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and in some cases conflicts, by tapping into their pre-established ‘emergency rosters’ of volunteer staff. These lists usually contain pre-screened applicants who are expressly ready to volunteer with a moment’s notice.
Risk aversion and eventual decline in innovation
With the establishment of organisation and institutionalisation, and once a profes- sion has established its legitimacy and authority, dual pitfalls surface of an aversion to risk and failure to innovate as conditions change. In this process, a bureaucratic permanence, described by Max Weber as an ‘iron cage’ (Grosack, 2006), sets in and a type of inertia becomes evident whereby a profession never ‘dismantles itself ’. This can result in a perpetuation of the status quo and people may lose the autonomy they once felt working in an occupation or as a volunteer. As a result, professionals become risk adverse and are often more concerned with sustaining their careers. In other words, they ‘tend to become selective in their service to clients’ (Taylor and Pellegrin, 1959, p. 112). Given the 150-year history of modern humanitarianism, it is evident that the profession does not intend to be so effective in its work that it is no longer required, and it is selective in its assistance to others. In many places there is already a ‘tarmac’ approach where more aid goes to areas that are easy to access (that is, along paved roads). In other places, there is a focus on the capital or ‘safe’ areas of a country. There is also a prestige factor and element of status identification with humanitarians in many contexts. The recent crisis in the Horn of Africa provides a good case in point. During the famine of 2011, the locus of activity was on Somali refugees who fled the country into relatively safe Kenya and Ethiopia. Many organisations based themselves in Nairobi, Kenya, and a mode of remote management developed that was known locally as ‘café latte relief ’ because of its emphasis on coordination activities and dis- tance from ‘dangerous’ Somalia by working through Somali-based organisations. For these reasons, the thrust of the international humanitarian effort missed the epicentre of the crisis in Somalia itself. This has occurred for a variety of reasons, including concerns about insecurity, but an additional factor for some US-based organisations has been the imposition of anti-terrorism regulations by the US govern- ment’s Office of Foreign Asset Control. These regulations stipulate various investiga- tive and reporting requirements on the part of NGOs and suggest criminal prosecution if they do not comply. As a consequence, it was easier to avoid the risk of providing aid despite the first principle of humanity and the catastrophic need for help in Somalia. Nevertheless, humanitarian responses are launched under extraordinary circum- stances that professionals in other fields are never forced to face. Following an acute crisis, a ‘fog of humanitarianism’ develops, which makes decision making difficult to say the least (Weiss and Hoffman, 2007). Working in these conditions and with inherent funding pressures, adherence to principles (such as independence) is not a
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result of low professionalisation (where poor training, ignorance and the like would be to blame) but about reliance on a few donors who seek certain aspects of profes- sionalisation such as the specialised knowledge needed for accountancy and advanced planning. As Stein (2005) notes:
demands for efficiency ring somewhat hollow when the structure of the market is so asymmetrical that it gives extraordinary power to one or two buyers in a permanent buyer’s market. This kind of market reduces the independence of NGOs, limits their capacity to negotiate mandates and responsibilities and, consequently, creates strong incentives for agencies to exaggerate successes, minimise failures, and manipulate performance indicators strategically (Stein, 2005, p. 742).
This is a danger of insisting on standards when the standards are not yet fully thought through. A ‘cookie cutter’ approach, sometimes spelled out in donor and organisa- tional requirements, is problematic in a field that is very dynamic and contextual. Maturing professions that display an aversion to risk inevitably show a lack of willingness to change course and innovate. Innovation is not necessarily composed of paradigm shifts but is most often composed of small steps towards greater simplic- ity. The lack of innovation in the field of humanitarianism has already been noted by others (Ramalingam et al., 2009). On an optimistic note, there are efforts underway to address this need, and it is receiving increasing attention. The recently established Humanitarian Innovation Fund, a partnership between Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance and ALNAP, is one such example. NGOs themselves have noted this gap and some, such as Oxfam, have established internal mechanisms to encourage innovative practices and services. Even USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance annual report highlighted this organisation’s contri- bution to innovation (Perrin, 2010).
Conclusion The issue of professionalism in the field of humanitarianism deals with the nature of NGOs, notions of improvement and efficacy, and the essence of humanitarianism itself (for instance, how people relate to power). The process of professionalisation is not always clearly understood, which has important practical and policy implications. This gives the impression that the field lacks accountability and high performance— and thus the damning critiques continue (Gourevitch, 2010; Polman, 2010). While there is still a long way to go, current efforts show a trend towards increased respon- sibility and competence. To counter the claim that humanitarianism is not yet a profession, this paper has shown that the humanitarian is as much a professional as those found in other fields. Four criteria have been offered as evidence: 1) specialisation of knowledge, where a profession takes on more training and education, increased skill level, qualifications
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and publications; 2) establishment of the profession as a livelihood with monetary compensation, career trajectories and a primary motivation that differs from occu- pations, volunteerism and hobbies; 3) organisation and institutionalisation, where a group of professionals form associations, hold conferences and workshops, and develop support mechanisms; and 4) legitimacy and authority based on status symbols and codes and standards. Based on these criteria, a model for understanding profes- sionalisation was provided and in each of these, humanitarians have been weighed and found to be roughly on a par with at least six other professions. Further, in an attempt to question the often powerful assumption that profession- alisation is something good that the humanitarians must achieve, this paper examined three potential downsides of professionalisation. These were the distance of the relief worker from the beneficiary, barriers to entry into the humanitarian sector, and adding to risk aversion and a decline in innovation amongst those in the field. The pitfalls of professionalisation should be considered carefully as the process develops. Acknowledging and taking steps to address these downsides is a key recommendation here. This paper also discussed a number of steps that can be, and in some cases are already, being taken to improve the shape of professionalisation. These include improved quality of training and education, more common use of participatory approaches that build resilience, and continued use of volunteers (such as the V&TC) with the maintenance of ‘reserves’ to keep an active surge capacity. Perhaps most importantly is the cultivation of a field-wide ethos that shuns arrogance and elitism in favour of openness, learning and continual improvement.
Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Sarah Powell, Tony Hoffman, Enzo Bollettino and Vince Sanfuentes for their help in reviewing early drafts of this paper. All views, research and omissions belong to the author.
Correspondence Eric James, Field Ready, 556 Edquiba Road, Moffett Field, CA 94043, United States. Telephone: +1 707 260 5765; e-mail: eric@fieldready.org
Endnotes 1 The focus in this paper is generally on Western-led globalised humanitarianism. While recognising
that this brand of humanitarianism is hardly homogeneous and certainly not the totality of the endeavour, it is dominant and mainstream.
2 The earthquake reached a magnitude of 7.0 yet the damage was catastrophic (estimates range between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths; and more than 200,000 buildings damaged) due to the high degree of pre-existing vulnerability in the country (see, for example, ALNAP/DAC/UNEG 2010).
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3 To unpack all the reasons behind this headway is not the aim of this paper. However, it likely stems from having time to work on it during the two decades since the Rwandan genocide (see, for example, Eriksson, 1996) and to make developments in the dozen criteria for professionalisa- tion described in detail later in this paper.
4 For some this distance subverts the basic ethics that form the foundations of humanitarianism such as service, solidarity and bearing witness. The label of beneficiary is used here as it is commonly used in the field, but other terms for beneficiary include ‘disaster affected’, ‘clients’, and ‘people’.
5 This approaches the interesting notion of post-bureaucracy (see, for example, Hopfl, 2006) but goes beyond the scope of the discussion here.
6 The case of ‘experts’ and professionals being separate and sometimes at odds has led to a curious debate. An expert is someone who has developed some mastery of a subject but, based on the criteria outlined above, may not be a professional. Likewise, considering the same criteria, a profes- sional may not be an expert. Based on these considerations, the distinction between the two are not relevant to the discussion here.
7 The debate between volunteerism and professionalisation created an internal schism amongst MSF senior management in 1979 leading to the departure, amongst others, of Bernard Kouchner and the subsequent founding of Médecins du Monde.
8 This paper uses the definitions of organisation (groups) and institutionalisation (networks) found in political science and sociology (March and Olsen, 1989).
9 Speaking in the documentary ‘Hunger Business’ (Channel 4, November, 2000), Philip Gourevitch commented that during the 1994 response to the Goma refugee flow NGOs relied so heavily on branding that their logos could be seen ‘from outer space’.
10 Accreditation is a separate process reserved for organisations. This generally follows the charac- teristics described for certification in that it is a voluntary process and a set of standards must be met that is usually judged by a group formed outside the state.
11 Examples of competency frameworks include those produced by the START Network (formerly known as the Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies) and Leadership for Humanitarians.
12 This represents a wide range of approaches and techniques; examples include ranking exercises, mapping and role plays (see, for example, Pelling, 2007).
13 Language is understandably part of this as well. In the survey of professionalisation carried out by Walker and Russ (2010), 4,000 English speakers were asked to participate while speakers of just two other languages were add-ons (only 250 French speakers and 50 Spanish speakers were asked to participate).
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