Child Welfare Practice Improvement Efforts: A Descriptive Study of Capacity Building Services Received by Courts, States, and Tribes

The staff practices and organizational processes of child welfare agencies and courts influence families' experiences and outcomes. Capacity building services have been delivered to improve organizational performance and practices, but studies of their impact are hampered by a lack of data on specific features of services. This study describes services delivered by the Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative during 2017–2019 using data from the Collaborative's service and outcome tracking system. By supporting more rigorous study, these data can promote service improvements. These service data also provide a baseline that can be used to explore how services may change over time in response to federal legislation and social contextual factors such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Implementing two national responsibilities of the revised UNICEF/WHO Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: A two-country case study.

The 2018 implementation guidance for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) recommends institutionalising the ten Steps through nine national responsibilities for universal coverage and sustainability. As countries adapt BFHI programmes to this paradigm shift away from traditional designation programmes, documenting and sharing policy and programme experience are critical and currently sparse. This qualitative case study included desk reviews of published and grey literature on BFHI programming, national plans and policy documents specific to the selected national responsibilities for universal coverage and key informant (KI) interviews across a range of actors. In the Kyrgyz Republic, the case study explored responsibility 5, development and implementation of incentives and/or sanctions, and responsibility 6 in Malawi, providing technical assistance (TA). In both countries, the three sustainability responsibilities (national monitoring [7] communication and advocacy [8] and financing [9]) as they relate to the universal coverage of the targeted responsibilities were also explored. Thirty-eight respondents in the Kyrgyz Republic described approaches that were used in the health system, including BFHI designation plaques, performance-based financing and financial sanctions. However, currently, there are no formal incentives and sanctions. In Malawi, TA was utilised for national planning and to introduce quality improvement processes. Forty-seven respondents mostly described provisions of TA in building and strengthening the capacity of providers. More programmatic evidence to demonstrate which types of incentives or sanctions can be effective and sustained and more documentation of how TA is provided across multiple aspects of implementation are needed as countries institutionalise BFHI.

Primary Teachers Difficulties Related to Compulsory Distance Education during COVID-19

Due to a lack of preparation, teachers were not emotionally or cognitively prepared to use new approaches. Teachers discovered that while teaching online, elementary school teachers face various challenges. Summarizing and categorizing the difficulties encountered by primary school teachers in compulsory distance education will add to the literature, ensuring the dissemination of online instruction technological tools at both the distance education and primary education levels. The study sought to categorize the difficulties encountered by primary teachers. In order to figure out the purpose of the study, the study data including primary teachers in the COVID-19 period was synthesized. The study was accepted as a meta-synthesis. The education database ERIC was searched using the keywords "Primary Teacher", "Distance Education", and "Online Education", and 79 studies were located as a result of the search. After eliminating ineligible studies, 23 of the 79 collected studies remained. As a result, students, parents, infrastructure, and teachers are all affected by the challenges. Cutting-edge technologies and a strong internet infrastructure are required for online education. Teachers are unable to maintain the minimum level of compulsory distance education due to limited internet connection and a lack of technological resources in many places. As a result of the strain, teachers felt inadequate. In many classrooms in poor countries, there is a lack of access to professional expertise and help for the use and integration of ICTs. COVID-19 has made this an issue for almost all schools, not just those in underdeveloped countries. The importance of online learning for elementary children and teachers has gotten considerably less attention. Teachers can take pedagogical diversity professional development training online and experience it as if they were students. The practical advantage of identifying the difficulties that teachers have faced is to aid teachers in overcoming such obstacles and to give the appropriate assistance. Successful distance education can only be achieved when teachers are supported in all areas of difficulty.

Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices during the pandemic: the case of Ecuadorian family farming systems

PurposeThe objective of this study was to examine the impact of the pandemic on sustainable agricultural practices (SAP) adoption such as: organic fertilizers, minimal use of tillage, crop rotation, soil burning and crop association in the frame of family farming systems in Ecuador.Design/methodology/approachThe present research employed probit models' estimation with pooled data from 2018 to 2020. The study combined three sources of information with The Survey on Surface and Agricultural Continuous Production, as the main. This study also proposed the analysis of six regions: Coast, Coast Mountains, Northern Highlands, Central Highlands, Southern Highlands and the Amazon.FindingsThe authors see a lower adoption in the year 2020, where the pandemic was one of the causes. The only exception was the use of organic fertilizer. The adoption of these sustainable practices differed across the six regions. The findings also reveal that the employment generated by agricultural enterprises had a negative influence on the adoption of three sustainable practices, and that for the remaining practices the effect was positive.Research limitations/implicationsThe data set lacks information on the acceptance and the application of the practices promoted by agricultural technical assistance, which could provide insights into the effectiveness of the learning process. The limited observation period does not allow for investigating long-term effects on sustainable practices adoption.Originality/valueThis study helps to understand the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the adoption of SAP. Additionally, this research can help with the scalability of the practices starting from the regions that are most likely to adopt each of them.

Implementing FHWA's Focused Approach to Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety: A Safety Workforce Development Virtual Symposium in Florida under COVID-19

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Focused Approach to Safety identifies pedestrian and bicycle safety as an emphasis area and provides targeted efforts for promoting pedestrian and bicycle safety through financial, staff, and training support. Pedestrian and bicycle safety is also a prioritized safety area in Florida. In 2020, the Florida Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) hosted a pedestrian and bicycle safety best practices virtual symposium in a four-part webinar-series format, supported by FHWA Accelerating Safety Activities Program (ASAP). The purpose of this event was to equip statewide professionals with the most effective and appropriate countermeasures and best practices for improving pedestrian and bicycle safety. The event was a successful workforce development experience based on training evaluations related to number of attendees and their location distribution, attendee evaluations on webinar quality, speaker knowledge and skills, and improvements in attendee understanding of pedestrian/bicycle safety. Educational materials relevant to pedestrian and bicycle safety topics were developed to enhance training delivery. The event also provided an opportunity to verify the advantages of online training compared to in-person events in terms of increased hosting capacity and training effectiveness, better time management, and increased communication opportunities among presenters and attendees. The experience obtained and lessons learned provided significant benefits for future safety workforce development training planning and coordination. © ASCE. All rights reserved.

Massachusetts Initiative to Improve Contraception Services: A Tale of Two Programs

Upstream selected clinical sites for recruitment based on patient volume, current state of contraceptive care, regional variation, patient demographics, and health center buy-in to implement Upstream's program with fidelity. Programming content for both teams included the following: 1. educating and coaching clinicians and support staff on how to provide patient-centered contraceptive counseling that is free of bias or coercion;2. providing technical assistance to stock the full range of contraceptive methods;3. supporting billing and coding to optimize reimbursement ofcontraceptive services and methods;4. revising or creating department or agency policies to enable highquality, sustainable practice change related to contraceptive care;5. incorporating a pregnancy intention screening or contraceptive needs assessment question, contraceptive counseling, and documentation of contraceptive method use into clinical workflows, often including the hospital's or agency's electronic health record (EHR) system;6. establishing strategies to ensure that a patient can receive their desired contraceptive method on the same day as their visit, including long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods;and 7. enhancing emergency contraception services. The additional programming areas and technical assistance of the Upstream intervention with partner health practices included: (1) training all agency staff on current best practices and clinical knowledge of high-quality contraceptive care;(2) coordinating clinician precepting for LARC placement and removal;(3) where necessary, providing funding to stock the full range of contraceptive methods;and (4) providing patient education materials for use during clinical visits. EVALUATION STRATEGIES AND EARLY FINDINGS At the outset of the Massachusetts initiative, both teams and representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Massachusetts' Medicaid program worked collaboratively to design an evaluation plan for the fiveyear project.

Closing the Information Gap: Making COVID-19 Information Accessible for People with Disabilities

It is essential that people with disabilities have equitable access to COVID-19 communication resources to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. The Accessible Materials and Culturally Relevant Messages for Individuals with Disabilities project aimed to deliver essential COVID-19 information in braille, American Sign Language (ASL), simplified text, and other alternative formats, along with providing additional tools and trainings that people with disabilities and organizations that serve them can use to apply the COVID-19 guidance. Lessons learned from this project can be implemented in future public health emergencies as well as in general public health messaging for people with disabilities. This project, led by Georgia Tech's Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI) and with technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was supported by the CDC Foundation, using funds from the CDC Foundation's COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

How to Save Chinatown: Preserving affordability and community service through ethnic retail

Chinatowns in North America have been especially hit hard by COVID-19, a reality of anti-Asian racist and xenophobic sentiment exacerbated by the global pandemic. The factors contributing to increased business closures, commercial vacancy, and gentrification in Chinatowns have existed before the pandemic and have only been exacerbated. In order to preserve Chinatowns, municipalities have enacted historic preservation and small business support measures, such as historic designations, technical assistance for businesses, increased permit scrutiny, and legacy business programs. This study investigates the difference in retail changes across three Chinatowns in Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles both prior and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrently, this study also examines the impact of retaining a legacy business program and other preservation measures on the retail landscape. Interviews with city officials, organizers, community institutions, and members of the business community were conducted along with an analysis of existing local programs, policies and reports. This study finds that measures taken through historic preservation, small business support, and pandemic relief have not significantly addressed core needs within Chinatown communities. The most effective forms of relief and preservation was affordable housing, community-ownership of commercial businesses, and direct assistance for commercial rent. This study also acknowledges that some Chinatowns are faring better than others due to the ability of the Chinese community to fight against to historic discriminatory planning practices such as urban renewal, slum clearance, and highway building. The impact of these histories is deeply intertwined with the survivability of ethnic retail within each distinct Chinatown, and depending on the strength of existing community ties that remain will inform how preservation policies should be enacted.

Lessons learnt from UNAIDS virtual technical support to countries applying for funding from the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism.

In 2020 the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria initiated a new funding modality, the COVID-19 Response Mechanism, to mitigate the pandemic's effects on HIV, TB and malaria programmes and health systems in implementer countries. In 2021 UNAIDS introduced an innovative technical virtual support mechanism for COVID-19 Response Mechanism proposal development to help countries quickly implement COVID-19 interventions while at the same time adapting HIV and related services to the pandemic's circumstances and mitigate its impact while maintaining hard-won gains. It also intended to ensure more attention was paid to communities, human rights and gender considerations in proposal development, resulting in successful proposals to mitigate COVID-19's impact, bring human rights-based and people-centred HIV programmes back on track and even expand their reach through using new delivery platforms. In 2021, applications from 18 sub-Saharan African and Asian countries received in-depth remote peer reviews. We discuss the reviews' key findings and recommendations to improve proposal quality and identify future opportunities for virtual technical support. The model was successful and contributed to better quality funding applications, but also highlighted challenges in pandemic mitigation, adaptations and innovations of HIV programmes. Countries still fell short on comprehensive community, human rights and gender interventions, as well as innovations in HIV service delivery, especially in prevention and gender-based violence. Several other weaknesses meant that some countries would have to refine their programme design and implementation model in the final version of their funding application. There are implications for future assistance to countries trying to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their health programmes and innovative ways to deliver technical support using new technologies and local expertise.

The Dynamics of Absorptive Capacity in the Context of Rural Tourism in Covid-19 Times: The Case of Rota das Trutas, RS, Brazil.

Rural tourism increasingly awakens the approximation of the rural to the urban by offering a diversified portfolio of attractions that, when organized in the format of tourist routes, strategically articulate current and future ventures. The objective of this wais to analyze the absorptive capacity (CA) in the offer of rural tourism in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Rota das Trutas, located in the municipality of São José dos Ausentes (RS, Brazil). In methodological terms, a qualitative multi-case s was carried out in two projects with an online interview with the owners of the projects and data wad analyzed using the content analysis technique. The results demonstrated the lack of prior knowledge to work in tourism basedon agricultural activities, and new knowledge was accessed through technical assistance, nonetheless assimilation has limitations, and its application could be expanded. As a result of the AC, the fragility of the relationship between the potential AC and the achieved AC resulting from the transmission of internal knowledge by the owners is evident. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the routines and led them to adopt tourist security protocols, culminating in the increase in demand, as well as arousing interest in offering new personalized services and expanding existing ones. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] O turismo rural desperta cada vez mais a aproximação do rural ao urbano, ao oferecer um diversificado portfólio de atrativos que, quando organizados no formato de roteiros turísticos, articulam estrategicamente empreendimentos atuais e futuros. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a capacidade de absorção (CA) na oferta de turismo rural frente à pandemia COVID-19 na Rota das Trutas, localizada no município de São José dos Ausentes (RS, Brasil). Em termos metodológicos, foi realizado um multicaso qualitativo em dois projetos com uma entrevista online com os proprietários dos projetos e dados analisados através da técnica de análise de conteúdo. Os resultados demonstraram a falta de conhecimento prévio para atuar no turismo com base na atividade agropecuária, e novos conhecimentos foram acessados por meio da assistência técnica, porém a assimilação apresenta limitações e sua aplicação poderia ser ampliada. Como resultado da CA, fica evidente a fragilidade da relação entre a CA potencial e a CA realizada, decorrente da transmissão de conhecimentos internos pelos proprietários. A pandemia COVID-19 mudou as rotinas e levou-os a adotar protocolos de segurança turística, culminando no aumento da demanda, além de despertar o interesse em oferecer novos serviços personalizados e ampliar os existentes. (Portuguese) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Revista FSA is the property of Revista FSA (Faculdade Santo Agostinho) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Substance use workforce training needs during intersecting epidemics: an analysis of events offered by a regional training center from 2017 to 2020.

BACKGROUND: Intersecting opioid overdose, COVID-19, and systemic racism epidemics have brought unprecedented challenges to the addiction treatment and recovery workforce. From 2017 to 2020, the New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) collected data in real-time on the training and technical assistance (TA) requested and attended by the front-line workforce. This article synthesizes practice-based evidence on the types of TA requests, topics of TA, attendance numbers, and socio-demographics of TA attendees over a 3-year period spanning an unprecedented public health syndemic. METHODS: We assessed TA events hosted by the New England ATTC using SAMHSA's Performance Accountability and Reporting System post-event survey data from 2017 to 2020. Events were coded by common themes to identify the most frequently requested training types/topics and most frequently attended training events. We also evaluated change in training topics and attendee demographics over the three-year timeline. RESULTS: A total of 258 ATTC events reaching 10,143 participants were analyzed. The number of TA events and attendance numbers surged in the 2019-2020 fiscal year as TA events shifted to fully virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. The absolute number of opioid-related events increased, but the relative proportion remained stable over time. The relative proportions of events and attendance rates focused on evidence-based practice and health equity both increased over the 3-year period, with the largest increase after the onset of the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. As events shifted to virtual, events were attended by providers with a broader range of educational backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the current analysis indicate that the demand for TA increased during the pandemic, with a prioritization of TA focused on evidence-based practice and health equity. The practice-based evidence generated from the New England ATTC may help other training and TA centers to anticipate and nimbly respond to the needs of the workforce in the face of the intersecting epidemics.

Innovative adaptation of training and technical assistance: Education for the behavioral health workforce

The behavioral health workforce is pivotal to provide evidence-based services (EBPs) for patients with mental illnesses or substance use disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing healthcare issues for these patients and highlighted the need for a well-trained workforce. The stay-at-home orders compelled a rapid transition to delivering behavioral health services from traditional face-to-face encounters to telehealth/telecommunication services. Training and technical assistance (TTA) networks supporting the behavioral health workforce's educational needs quickly moved to virtual delivery. This shift has resulted in innovations and adaptations categorized into four areas: adapting is crucial, convening stakeholders is essential, resources (human and technological) are needed, and community involvement is integral. Future TTA efforts should focus on sharing the successful virtual adaptations to EBPs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Challenges and Approaches of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Airport Operations During Pandemic Situations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an uncontrolled spread of the virus worldwide was observed. To reduce the world wide spread of highly contagious viruses in the future, it is essential to target situations with a high risk for spreading contagious diseases. The risk of rapidly spreading of diseases is characterized by the fact that prevention measures cannot be applied as required, e.g., due to faulty execution. This situation has been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic in passenger transportation, especially at airports. Air transportation enabled the rapid exchange of people to and from different locations, which may have contributed to the spread of the virus, especially at the beginning of the pandemic before hygiene measures and vaccines were available. It would be particularly interesting for airports to use innovative guidance and tracking strategies and assistance systems to allow people to travel further and react fast in circumstances similar to the one observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the challenges in preventing the uncontrolled spread of disease in air transportation of people and highlights the current state of the art. Furthermore, a new approach using technical systems is demonstrated and discussed in other scenarios, e.g., rail transport. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Towards reimagined technical assistance: the current policy options and opportunities for change: [version 2;peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Technical assistance has been at the heart of development assistance provided to country governments by donor agencies over the past several decades. The current debates on reimagining technical assistance focus on the existing challenges of the different types of technical assistance and the (re)construction of an ideal model for delivering this type of support, with little discussion about the dilemmas involved in making day-to-day decisions and trade-offs in implementation. This article presents technical assistance as a policy option for governments and details the existing models of delivering technical assistance, their limitations, and the required enabling conditions. The models presented focus on the type of role for the technical advisers- as doers (performing government functions), partners (working with the government to perform a specific role) and facilitators (enabling and facilitating change programmes to address wicked problems). Finally, the paper provides a practical account of the implications of the programme design and suggests potential opportunities for change particularly in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. It complements an open letter on the practical account of the current challenges in the design and implementation of technical assistance programmes.

Acompañamiento a equipos ejecutores y adecuaciones metodológicas para la continuidad de la gestión social de los proyectos habitacionales en contexto de pandemia, resguardando la participación de las familias y comunidades

Este artículo presenta la sistematización de la experiencia de acompañamiento a equipos ejecutores y adecuaciones metodológicas para la continuidad de las labores de asistencia técnica social de los proyectos habitacionales en contexto de pandemia debido a la COVID-19, implementada por la Sección Habilitación Social de Serviu Metropolitano (RM) entre marzo de 2020 y mayo de 2021. Se buscó resguardar la participación de las familias y comunidades en los proyectos habitacionales, apoyando metodológicamente a los equipos ejecutores del área social. La experiencia se caracterizó por la generación de espacios de encuentro y retroalimentación entre profesionales ejecutoras/es de entidades patrocinantes y supervisores sociales de Serviu RM, en torno a los desafíos y oportunidades para la participación social de familias y comunidades en contexto de distanciamiento físico. Respecto del rol de la supervisión social se instala la idea de un modelo de supervisión cooperativo. La experiencia da cuenta de procesos de innovación social con estrategias mixtas presenciales y virtuales, flexibles y creativas en el uso de herramientas tecnológicas que contribuyen sin reemplazar la presencialidad, a los procesos participativos, relevando el rol del trabajo social comunitario en el área de la política habitacional.Alternate : The article presents the systematization of the experience of accompaniment to executing teams and methodological adjustments for the continuity of the work of social technical assistance of housing projects in the context COVID-19, implemented by the Social Habilitation Section of Serviu Metropolitano between March of 2020 and May 2021. It was sought to safeguard the participation of families and communities in housing projects, methodologically supporting the executing teams of technical assistance work in the social area. The experience was characterized by the generation of spaces for meeting and feedback between executing professionals of sponsoring entities and social supervisors of Serviu RM, regarding the challenges and opportunities for the social participation of families and communities in contexts of physical distancing. Regarding the role of social supervision, the idea of ​​a “cooperative” supervision model is installed. The experience shows social innovation processes with mixed face-to-face and virtual strategies, flexible and creative in the use of technological tools that contribute, without replacing face-to-face, to participatory processes, highlighting the role of community social work in the area of ​​politics housing.

The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020. WHO rapidly scaled up its response including through its 149 country offices to support Member States prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article describes the frontline role of the WHO Country Offices (WCOs) and demonstrates that WHO utilized its existing country presence to deliver its global program of work during this unprecedented emergency. Using data collected from the 2020 WHO COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan monitoring and evaluation framework assessments, plus data collected in a quantitative survey completed by 149 WCOs during 2020, this article describes how WHO supported national authorities and partners through leadership, policy dialogue, strategic support, technical assistance, and service delivery, in line with WHO's current 5-year strategic plan, the WHO 13th General Programme of Work 2019-2023. Country level case studies were used to further illustrate actions taken by WCOs. WHO's achievements notwithstanding, the Organization faced several key challenges in the first year of the response. Recommendations to enhance WHO presence in countries for future emergency prevention, preparedness and response, from several independent reviews, were presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2021 and relevant recommendations are presented in this article.

Empowering Latinx Families to Help Children with Mathematics

The authors' experiences with Latinx families confirm research that shows parents are willing and have the desire to help their children with their mathematics schoolwork (Colegrove and Krause 2016). However, structural barriers make it challenging for Spanish-speaking parents to support their children's mathematics learning. For example, districts that offer computer and high-speed internet access fall short when they fail to give technical assistance and instructions in families' native languages (Chandra et al. 2020). Parents cannot then access school communication about academics and parent meetings. When parents cannot participate in their children's learning, this reinforces deficit attitudes that schools have toward immigrant families (Colegrove and Krause 2016). However, social media can support communication with families and increase their mathematics resource use at home. In the United States, 72 percent of Hispanic adults regularly use social media, and smartphones are often their primary means of access to digital resources (PEW Research Center 2019). This article describes the authors' innovative approach to support and empower Latinx families with preschool-age children and leverages their high use of mobile phones by sharing videos modeling conversations about mathematical concepts. To study the usefulness, accessibility, and usability of this approach, they conducted a pilot program with Spanish-speaking families in Massachusetts.

Supporting the Mental Health Workforce During and After COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed structural changes in the public mental health sector, including a shift to telehealth and telesupervision, financial strain for community mental health organizations and clinicians, and risk of burnout among clinicians and staff. This Open Forum considers how technical assistance organizations have supported community mental health providers in adapting to these changes. Moving forward, knowledge gained through this work can help to build the body of practice-based evidence to inform future technical assistance activities in a postpandemic world.

What Happens When Training Goes Virtual? Adapting Training and Technical Assistance for the School Mental Health Workforce in Response to COVID-19.

The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) provides workforce training and technical assistance (TA) to support evidence-based school mental health practices. Historically, this support targeted school professionals through in-person and online trainings, workshops, and coaching. However, in response to COVID-19 restrictions, all support moved to online formats, and the Center introduced trainings for families and caregivers. The purpose of this article is to present preliminary process and outcome data that compare the reach and impact of support before and following COVID-19-related restrictions. Results suggest that transition to online support resulted in a wider reach and a more diverse audience, with no decrease in trainee satisfaction and perceived impact. Furthermore, families and caregivers reported positive gains in knowledge and behaviors following participation in a virtual youth suicide prevention training. Together, these findings suggest that online training and TA can provide tangible benefits to professionals and family members who support student mental health.

Challenges to NGOs' ability to bid for funding due to the repatriation of volunteers: The case of Samoa.

Although there are an increasing number of funding facilities accessible for non-government organisations in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, critics suggest that it is still insufficient. Non-government organisations provide many essential services across the world, especially in the developing world, where they supplement or in some instances extend the government services. With services from health to gender issues to humanitarian support, non-government organisations continue to grapple with insufficiency of core and programming funding and unstable staffing. In Samoa, technical assistance through government volunteers supplemented the need for expert human resource and enabled the ability to apply for funding. With the mass repatriation of government volunteers such as Australian Volunteers, American Peace Corps and Japanese International Cooperation Agency, it resulted in a sudden and massive gap in technical human resource, equipped to apply for the rapidly expanding number of funding options. Through the experiences of a non-government organisation worker and an academic researcher based in Samoa, this piece shares the current experiences and potential repercussions of this sudden change in the non-government sector and suggestions moving forward to utilize the existing expertise in country in the academic sector to support non-government organizations to access funding.