The Best of Both Worlds

Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a massive growth in companies taking their Corporate International Service Learning (CISL) virtual. This has undoubtedly expanded the potential for International Corporate Volunteering programmes, but what should companies be thinking about now to make the most of these types of programmes?

Today, Emerging World publishes its Best of Both Worlds Report. The report, which explores recent changes in programme format, combines data gathered from a wide range of desk research as well as in depth interviews with twelve corporations across different industry sectors.

Download the Report

Download the Executive Summary

The Report is focused on skills based volunteering programmes, where employees use their business skills to support community and other civil society based organisations. The main focus is on international volunteering programmes where community partners are located overseas but it also includes examples of companies with domestic virtual volunteer programmes.

With new facilitating technologies, changing employee interests, the constraints and challenges faced by the pandemic, or evolving corporate environmental commitments, CISL programmes have rapidly been moving into the virtual space. The Best of Both Worlds Report helps us to understand some of the motivations for this, the current landscape of virtual and hybrid corporate volunteering and how these changes might impact the future design of corporate volunteer programmes.

In the second stage of this Study, Emerging World will research programme participants to explore their experiences of participating in and learning from virtual programmes, to understand how to design and deliver hybrid programmes that maximise participant learning, employee engagement and partner impact. By sharing experience with other participating companies, participating companies will generate data and insights on their own programmes as well as have the opportunity to share knowledge and experience with peers.

Participate in the Best of Both Worlds Study

If you are interested in including your virtual/hybrid programme participants in the Study and learning how to make your programme even more effective in the future, please contact at Amanda Bowman at amanda@emergingworld.com by September 29th.