Shawn Teresa Flanigan, Ph.D.

My research focuses on the role nonprofit organizations play in meeting the health and social service needs of minorities and marginalized groups, with a specific interest in the developing world and low-income populations in the United States. I am particularly interested in the role of power and coercion in service provision to vulnerable populations, and I have examined this dynamic in health and social service provision by faith-based organizations, by political organizations, and by groups that engage in violence. I have conducted field research in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, Romania, Sri Lanka and the United States, and have collected additional data from Palestine and the Philippines.  

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH:

Partnerships between NGOs and local government: With funding from a Fulbright Fellowship, I conducted a study of relationships between child welfare NGOs and local government agencies in Romania in 2002-2003.

Faith-based NGOs and conflict in international development: From 2005-2007 I conducted a study of faith-based NGO health and social service providers in contexts of ethnic and religious conflict, examining the cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina (supported by IREX), Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. I also studied faith-based NGOs in Romania in 2002-2003 (supported by Fulbright).

Service provision by organizations that engage in violence: With funding from START,  from 2005-2007 I conducted research on health and social service provision by Hizballah in Lebanon and the LTTE in Sri Lanka, and these groups' relationships with domestic and international NGOs. During 2008-2011 I will be conducting a study, from the perspective of low-income community members and service recipients, of if and how receiving services from a specific organization engenders loyalty to violent organizations in Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

DOMESTIC (US-based) RESEARCH:

Immigrant Organizations in the Policy Process: As a research assistant for the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society at the University at Albany, in 2007 I collaborated with Dr. Judith R. Saidel and Dr. Dina Refki in a study of the role immigrant organizations in New York State play in the state policy process. In 2008 and 2009 I will be extending this research project to examine immigrant organizations in five regions of California.

Community Health Education in Low-Income Communities: In 2001-2002 I conducted a study evaluating a community-based nutrition education program targeting low-income women and children in New Mexico.