Experiences in Volunteer Dynamics, Inter-organizational Collaboration and Leadership for the Purpose of Deploying Telemedicine Solutions in Remote Areas in Developing Nations

The present paper presents interim results of a data connectivity project sponsored by an IEEE initiative. As part of our results, we present our experiences with the dynamics of recruitment and retention of volunteers, the establishment of inter-organizational collaboration with humanitarian goals, the establishment of a technical platform in order to reproduce technical conditions that address key health-related needs, and the testing of appropriate technology. We identify the major challenges in coordinating partners, strategies for the involvement of volunteers through the addition of value, and challenges across different cultures, languages, and professional backgrounds. We present our results, a fully working wireless testbed and the strategies we followed to accomplish this goal entirely through volunteers and with donations that amounted to more than 50% or our budget. This experience is very valuable for other projects being deployed in developing nations where the local volunteers experience similar characteristics in various areas. The experience is also valuable for organizations that seek to extend their reach to humanitarian causes with a modest budget through the mobilization of volunteers.