Abstract

Abstract 

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have increasingly used digital technology and mobile applications to facilitate volunteerism. In Egypt, mobile applications offer significant opportunities to enhance volunteer management. This study explores how mobile applications and digital platforms facilitate volunteering recruitment and retention in Egypt. The study employs a qualitative research design based on 34 semi-structured interviews with NGO representatives and volunteers with varying years of volunteering experience. The findings highlight the mobile application's effects on recruitment, retention, and management, as well as the challenges of adapting it. The results indicate that NGOs primarily use mobile applications to manage existing volunteers, with only one NGO using them for recruitment. The study highlights that user-friendly design enhances volunteers’ perceptions. In addition, it showcases how mobile applications influence volunteer retention by providing adequate onboarding training, tracking volunteers' performance, and recognizing their efforts. Additionally, the study shows that mobile applications influence volunteer management by reducing administrative work, enabling data-informed decision-making, and improving access to organizational mission information. Furthermore, the study identifies several challenges that limit the effectiveness of these digital tools, including technical and financial constraints, the absence of dedicated technical teams, weak internet infrastructure, and limited digital literacy. Despite these challenges, NGOs demonstrated adaptability by leveraging volunteer expertise and gradually investing in internal technical capacity. The study concludes that while mobile applications have strong potential to strengthen volunteerism in Egypt, their effectiveness depends on organizational readiness and sustained institutional support.

School

School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Administration

Graduation Date

Spring 6-20-2026

Submission Date

12-12-2026

First Advisor

Shahjahan Bhuiyan

Committee Member 1

Hamid Ali

Committee Member 2

Charles Kaye-Essien

Extent

135p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Disclosure of AI Use

Thesis editing and/or reviewing; Translation

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