Blaine Johnson and Dr. Warner Woodworth, Organizational Behavior

Objective

I proposed to develop a method of community development originating and sustained by those within the targeted developing communities. After formulating this methodology I anticipated the formation of a practical development advisory group on the campus of BYU that may lend assistance to emerging humanitarian organizations within these and other communities.

Methods Used

In December of last year I departed for 8 months in South Asia. I began my research in South India. For two months I interviewed several individuals affiliated with locally based NGOs and universities associated with Gandhian development. I observed their projects in action and was often able to participate as a ‘volunteer’. In concurrence with this research I read several thousand pages of information concerning Mahatma Gandhi=s Sarvodaya movement (“welfare of all”). I also visited Auroville, the ashram community developed by the successors of the late Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo. While in Auroville I interviewed individuals familiar with Aurobindo’s concepts of supramental evolution and social interconnectedness. These two months in South India gave me the opportunity to view development from what can be considered an >Indian perspective=. I then spent two months in central India visiting Gandhian organizations, including the Sevagram Ashram where Gandhi developed many of his theories concerning development and village welfare. The next two months were spent in the north where I studied the Hindi language while working as a research assistant in an NGO focusing on pedagogy based on Gandhian and Buddhist principles. Throughout my research in India, I interviewed and interacted with many conscientious individuals who assisted me in my collection of data.

In June I left India for Thailand. In Bangkok, I researched the writings of three self-proclaimed “socially-engaged Buddhists”: Buddhadasa, Bhikku PA Payutto, and Sulak Sivaraksa. These men have probed deeply into issues related to my research: Buddhist economic theory, endemic development, and spiritual education. After analyzing their works, I attempted to tie the Buddhist concepts of bodhhicitta, metta-karuna, kusala, and inter-dependent co-arising into a developmental framework that may effectively function in Buddhist communities. The time spent in Thailand proved to be invaluable. It provided me with a view of development from an angle unlike those experienced elsewhere.

Results and Evaluation

I am in the process of writing a more detailed report of my research. This report will include an analysis of Gandhian and Buddhist-style development and will take several months due to the amount of data collected. My interest in these topics has increased as a result of this project. Next year I plan on returning to Thailand to more deeply explore the relationship between the writings of Buddhists scholars and developmental theory. In the meantime I will conduct a similar comparative study of Mormon doctrine and humanitarian efforts here in Utah.

This semester I plan to begin organizing the Practical Development Advisory Group (PDAG). As described in my project proposal, this group will facilitate a dialouge between capable BYU students and faculty members with the emerging small-scale NGOs that I associated with in the field. Through such interaction NGOs will receive advice concerning fund-raising, proposal writing, and networking. In addition, PDAG will provide media support (i.e. web and media design) to NGOs who do not have access to beneficial information technology.