Paper short abstract:

This paper explores NGDO professionalisation in Italy, tracing the shift from grassroots to professionalism. It delves into tensions between volunteerism and professionalism, driven by accountability and management needs. NGDOs address this by emphasizing motivation to reconcile both aspects.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the nuanced landscape of professionalisation within Italian non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs). Drawing on critical management studies and primary data from in-depth interviews and structured observations, the study examines the evolution of NGDOs from grassroots, volunteer-driven entities to highly professionalised institutions.

The concept of “professionalisation” encompasses specialisation of non-profit activities and formalisation of staff training, leading to increased work intensification. Historically, NGDOs have operated by fostering a voluntary and grassroots ethos. However, the drive for accountability, efficient management and formalised skills has led to a shift towards professionalism.

The tension between volunteerism and professionalism arises, as critics argue that the latter transforms egalitarian working environments into hierarchical structures. Funding dynamics have played a key role in this transformation, creating cyclical pressures for NGDOs to professionalise and bureaucratise in order to manage increasingly complex projects.

While professionalisation is seen as necessary to secure diverse institutional funding, increase capacity to attract professional staff, ensure financial sustainability and legitimacy towards donors, the paper highlights potential drawbacks. Over-professionalisation can distance NGDOs from their grassroots origins, weakening downward accountability. Centrality of paid staff, shift from internal support to professional expertise and hierarchical differentiation between NGDOs are also identified as consequences. Ultimately, Italian NGDO practitioners manage these contradictions by emphasising strong staff motivation, reconciling the ethos of volunteerism with demands of professionalism. Motivation emerges as a crucial factor, providing an antidote to the potential loss of meaning associated with excessive professionalisation and fostering resilience in the face of sectoral difficulties and uncertainties.