Mark Sidel, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Iowa and an eminent author and researcher on philanthropy and the not-for-profit sector, cited achievements in philanthropic research in Asia in Diaspora Giving: An Agent of Change in Asia Pacific Communities?, the conference report of APPC’s May 2008 Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. Looking at the patterns and trends over the past ten years, he also offered recommendations for addressing research gaps in the region.
“What could be better than émigrés from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, having gone abroad temporarily or permanently to make their careers and lives abroad, giving back to their countries of origin?,” he writes. “One goal of this paper is... to stimulate further research that can integrate with practical giving and use of funds to improve diaspora philanthropy, particularly giving for equitable social development.”
He expounds: “I believe that most or all of us agree that diaspora philanthropy—like other types of giving—should be focused on important social, cultural and economic problems as identified within specific countries using participatory and democratic processes wherever possible; should be focused on assisting the poor rather than assisting the already rich and the elite; and should remain as autonomous as is feasible while also being accountable, transparent, and responsible.”
Ten years of philanthropic research in Asia have led to many discoveries that Sidel hopes will pave the way for nurturing diaspora philanthropy’s real and noble aims. Among these:
- A detailed description of the types of diaspora giving back to India, the Philippines, China, and—to some extent—diaspora giving to Pakistan, Vietnam, and Taiwan. These include the channels and the contexts for giving in these countries, such as giving through families, clan associations (in China and Taiwan), ethnic and professional groups (in India), neighbourhood and regional groups (in the Philippines), and foreign-based ethnic NGOs.
- Preliminary inquiries and initial information on the nature of diaspora giving for religious causes, particularly in India. These are, for the most part, deployed for charitable purposes but hardly regulated and monitored.
- Initial attempts to understand the relationships between remittance flows, diaspora giving, and diaspora-promoted social development, with attempts to distinguish “remittances”, “diaspora giving”, or “philanthropy” in the context of different countries and cultures.
- Successful diaspora philanthropy initiatives in countries outside of Asia and the Pacific, as well as their general contexts and purposes. This also underscored the wealth and sophistication of research on India and the Philippines.
- Characteristics of Asian diaspora philanthropy in terms of widely utilized mechanisms for giving—such as giving to family, banking channels, associations, informal banking, and giving in-kind—and its motivation factors and beneficiaries.
On this, Sidel writes: “Motivations for disapora giving to Asia clearly include the charitable and philanthropic impulse to do good in these societies, to give back some of what had been gained and earned abroad, and to bring back models for organization and administration from other countries.”
- Analysis and characteristics of the formation of disapora communities in countries of immigration and their role in diaspora philanthropy, which are mostly limited to data from the Philippines, India, and China.
- Gaps in research and strategy formation, including the need to direct diaspora philanthropy toward social investing and strategic philanthropy. On this, Sidel concludes that “In general terms, the vast majority of remittances to Asia cannot be considered social investing or social philanthropy.”
In spite of these gaps, Sidel expresses his optimism about the great strides that have been taken in philanthropy research in Asia, and shares his hope for the future of Asian philanthropy as a whole: “Innovative mechanisms and institutions that have facilitated the transfer of contributions to diasporic communities of origin may be beginning to pave the way for strategic philanthropy... These innovative mechanisms and institutions are helping to make diaspora giving more intentioned and more planned, more focused on impact, and sometimes more focused on social change and equitable development.”
To be able to understand philanthropy as a potential force for real development, he shares ten recommendations for moving diaspora philanthropy research forward and outward:
- Redress the geographic imbalance of research in Asian diaspora philanthropy. “Virtually no research has yet been conducted on other countries and sub-regions of Asia, and we must focus on mapping and analyzing the situation in those countries,” he writes.
- Study diaspora philanthropy outside of the United States, such as that coming from Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Gulf, other parts of Asia, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as other countries and regions.
- Encourage and accelerate in-depth research on case studies so that certain motivations and processes are better analyzed.
- Develop a wider range of methodologies for studying the structures, channels, recipients, and impact of diaspora giving, including mechanisms that are more data-driven.
- Encourage and support research on the role of diasporas in responding to natural disasters and significant domestic conflicts.
- Encourage research that links to the rapid pace and increasing sophistication of diaspora philanthropy practice in Asia.
- Encourage deeper understanding of the role and impact of diaspora philanthropic intermediaries.
- Encourage deeper understanding of the roles of receiving states in the diaspora philanthropy process and on the enabling environment for diaspora giving.
- Deepen understanding of the impact of diaspora giving on social development, poverty, social justice, accountability, and legitimacy.
- Encourage researchers on diaspora giving to link to important related fields of research, such as migrant studies, citizenship studies, remittance research and impact on social development, and studies on the motivation of philanthropy and philanthropists.
With all the work that has yet to be done, philanthropy researchers in Asia just might have their hands full for another decade or so!