"The Third Sector and Sustainable Social Change: New Frontiers for Research"
Universitat de Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
July 9-12, 2008
ISTR Eighth International Conference
2nd EMES-ISTR European Conference in partnership with CINEFOGO

2008 Young Scholar Dissertation Award

The ISTR Young Scholar Dissertation Award honors exceptional work by doctoral students from around the world. The award is presented biennially at the ISTR international conference for an outstanding dissertation that contributes to the field of comparative study of civil society organizations, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, voluntarism and related issues. This year three outstanding young scholars and their dissertations were honored.

The winner of the 2008 ISTR dissertation award is Dr. Vanessa Timmer from the University of British Columbia in Canada. Her dissertation was titled “Agility and Resilience: The Adaptive Capacity of Friends of the Earth International and Greenpeace.” She received her Ph.D. in resource management and environment studies from the University of British Columbia in 2007 and is the co-founder and director of the One Earth Initiative, based in Vancouver. Dr. Timmer’s prize-winning dissertation was described by Professor Ben Gidron, a member of the judging committee, as “an innovative dissertation focusing on global organizations and their adaptive capacity. Such advocacy organizations have to balance many variables as they try to achieve their mission, and the repertoire of their tactics must reflect those challenges. Dr. Timmer’s work contrasts the ‘global grassroots movement’ and the ‘global campaigning organization,’ advancing our understanding of the nature of global civil society.” The winner received a prize of US $1,000.

The committee also presented distinguished research awards to two other notable young scholars for their superb dissertations – Dr. Sharon Eng and Dr. Shawn Flanigan. Dr. Eng received her doctorate in the division of business at the University of South Australia in 2007. Her dissertation, “Toward a Definition and Development of NGO Organizational Effectiveness in Indonesia: An Unfolding Journey,” seeks to understand how Indonesian grassroots NGOs perceive, understand, interpret and operationalize organizational effectiveness for their organizations during a time of rapid transition in Indonesia and for Indonesian civil society, asking which aspects of organizational effectiveness appear to be relatively universal and which appear to be context-specific. Her dissertation provides a new model for organizational effectiveness while addressing the environment for NGOs and other nonprofits in the crucially important country of Indonesia.

Dr. Flanigan received her Ph.D. in public administration and policy at the Nelson Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York, in 2007. She is now Assistant Professor in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University. Her dissertation is titled “For the Love of God: Ethno-Religious Identity and Faith-Based Nonprofit Service Provision in Contexts of Violence.” It focuses on providing and analyzing empirical evidence of what influence ethno-religious identity has on faith-based organizations operating in countries that have been plagued by religious conflict, particularly addressing the question: How does ethno-religious identity influence the attitudes and behavior of faith-based organization staff in a context of conflict?

The Dissertation Award is generously supported by an anonymous donor. The purpose of the award is to encourage young scholars to enter the field of nonprofit and philanthropic studies throughout the world. Eighteen dissertations were submitted from Australia, Belgium, Canada, India, Italy, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, and the USA. We are grateful for the submissions which represent the finest work being done and are the future of our field. The committee was chaired by Leilah Landim (Brazil), and comprised of Benjamin Gidron (Israel) and Mark Sidel (USA).