Exchange to Change Sept 2017 20170911 E2C zomer web | Page 14

14
IN THE PICTURE
João doing an internship in Geneva
Research topic
Analysing the determinants of Brazilian Humanitarian
Cooperation
Motivation
• Increasing concerns in Brazilian civil society on the rationale
for Brazil to allocate financial resources to aid and humanitarian
cooperation, calling for more transparency on why, how and
where.
• Contribute to the literature on foreign aid with a specific analysis
of the determinants of Brazilian Humanitarian Cooperation.
Methodology
The study relies on an original dataset with disaggregated data
on Brazilian humanitarian aid (i.e. by recipient country, year,
financial amount and type of cooperation) and a hypotheses-
testing approach to identify the main factors driving Brazilian
government responses to humanitarian appeals.
Outline of a typical day
My internship at the United Nations Institute for Training and
Research (UNITAR) is not directly linked to my research topic.
Rather, it relates to my short-term career prospects when I go
back to my home country (Brazil).
E xchange to change S eptember 2017
07:00 It's time! As usual, I am quite late, but I need to sleep for at least 7
hours per night.
08:00 My daily payoff: a full and long breakfast (and be late) or a frugal
and quick one (and to regret it later).
09:00 On my way to the office. It takes me around 15 minutes to get there.
10:00 First hour in office: contact with my supervisor, read some emails,
check the progress of our open surveys and questionnaires, setting
top priorities of the day.
11:00 Assessing effectiveness of UNITAR workshops/courses/events using
survey data.
13:00 Friday lunch break: Card games with UNITAR's fellows after lunch!
14:00 Preparing and conducting interviews with former participants
to identify conditions under which they could apply/transfer the
knowledge/skills acquired in these events. First step: explore
information from previous interviewees to understand the trends.
17:00 Preparing the way forward: drawing the new strategic framework
of UNITAR. I assist a dedicated task force in gathering information
from stakeholders on their perceptions about UNITAR and their
expectations for the future. These data are combined with the 2030
Agenda for SDGs and UNITAR's organizational culture to prepare the
new framework. Very stimulating!
18:00 Time to check my personal to-do list and some newsletters.
19:00 Finally home to share my daily routine with my girlfriend, and vice-
versa. Decision to be made for dinner… and usually, talk with my
family in Brazil.
21:00 Working on my dissertation: exploring my dataset and reviewing
empirical studies similar to mine to get some insights.
22:00 As usual I could neither play my guitar, nor watch Game of Thrones.
Anyway, I will make some time for that after the defence. I check my
social media (more time than I should!).
00:00 Time to go to bed. Tomorrow is another day. I must and I will find a
way to allocate more time to my research. Few weeks left but I am
confident I will submit my dissertation on time.