The mission of Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) is to improve the availability and quality of health care through the education, training and professional development of the health workforce in resource-scarce countries. Our projects are staffed by short-term volunteer health and medical personnel who bring their knowledge and skills to the sites. Project Directors have an essential role in the implementation and oversight of the projects. Each division/program area within HVO is managed by a Steering Committee, composed of members of the division. This committee is responsible for reviewing projects, setting policy as to the kinds of volunteers to be placed, determining when a project should be started or discontinued, attracting members, planning exhibits, recruiting organizational members, planning annual luncheons or other appropriate meetings.
The following resources are available to aid members of leadership in their work:
- HVO Leadership Manual: provides a guide to the responsibilities and tools available to project directors and steering committee members.
- Monitoring & Evaluation Reports: these reports summarize data from HVO volunteer feedback surveys as well as annual project director and on-site contact surveys; the summaries show the impact of each division of HVO, as well as highlight areas to improve moving forward.
- Volunteer Schedules: these schedules, updated each month, list the volunteers scheduled for each HVO project site. They are organized by program area and include volunteer contact information.
Other tools and resources for HVO project directors and committee members:
- Telling HVO’s Story: this document contains useful language, as well as facts and figures for sharing HVO with your colleagues and networks.
- The HVO Logic Model: this document breakdown HVO’s mission into individual, institutional, and sectoral inputs and outcomes.
- The Warfield Scholarship for Anesthesia Professionals: funding is available for local health care providers at HVO anesthesia project sites to pursue professional development opportunities. Learn more on the HVO website.
- The Wyss Scholarship for Future Leaders in Global Health: funding is available for local health care providers at HVO project sites to pursue professional development opportunities. Learn more on the HVO website.