A University of Texas at Dallas researcher is leading a $1.1 million, multinational project investigating people’s perceptions of nonprofits and how the organizations are funded in democracies.
Dr. Elizabeth Searing, associate professor of public and nonprofit management in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, is the lead principal investigator of the project funded by the Trans-Atlantic Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP), a collaboration between humanities and social science research funders from South America, North America, Europe and Africa.
“Nonprofit organizations play many — and sometimes conflicting — roles in a democracy. Public trust in charities has decreased over recent years in many countries, but there is not much research that explains why,” Searing said.
“Even though this is about charities, foundations and regulators, in a way this is also about the best of society. These are organizations that we trust to take care of individuals who are not being served, potentially, by the government or the market. So what is happening in terms of how trust works here?”
Dr. Elizabeth Searing, associate professor of public and nonprofit management in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences
The three-year investigation will examine cross-sector opinions on trust and accountability in the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and the United States, with a special focus on Texas. Though these four countries are similar, there is significant variation in regulation, interpersonal trust and popular sentiment toward public-serving institutions.
“There are comparisons across countries, but there are also comparisons within Texas, and I’ll be working with faculty at UT Austin and Texas A&M University for those groups,” Searing said.
Searing is especially interested in learning about the trust inherent in the relationship between a donor and a charity, she said.
“Even though this is about charities, foundations and regulators, in a way this is also about the best of society. These are organizations that we trust to take care of individuals who are not being served, potentially, by the government or the market. So what is happening in terms of how trust works here?” Searing said.
The study will have four phases. In the first phase, the group is conducting individual country research and profiles.
“We’re also going to be making sure that the interviews and procedures that we have are meaningful in all the other countries,” Searing said.
The second phase will consist of focus groups in their respective countries.
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“We hope to compare different cultural contexts and get some insights on things like why some countries, like Switzerland, have less public information on charity finances but high levels of philanthropy: Are they more trusting of their charities, and why?” Searing said.
The findings will be useful for regulators, charities and donors, she said.
“I really think we’re going to be learning a lot more about ourselves and about the way we view government and each other. I’m excited to be a part of something this broad and impactful,” Searing said.
The third phase will focus on producing reports and literature, and the fourth phase will feature an international conference in Scotland, where the data will be shared among researchers and the public.
The project, which began last fall and will conclude in 2027, was one of 18 worldwide selected by T-AP for funding.
Co-principal investigators of the project are Dr. Nathan Grasse of Carleton University in Canada, Dr. Alasdair Rutherford of the University of Stirling in Scotland and Dr. Georg von Schnurbein of the University of Basel in Switzerland.
Funding for the project is provided by the National Science Foundation in the U.S.; the Swiss National Science Foundation; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; and UK Research and Innovation.