Three Things to Know
Researchers interviewed 18 adopters, donors, staff and volunteers of animal shelters to explore operational challenges within shelters and identify potential technological solutions.
Three primary themes emerged: volunteer and shelter management, awareness and communication of shelter needs, and fundraising and adoption facilitation. In general, interviewees highlighted a need to streamline operations, reduce redundant tasks, and improve information tracking and public visibility.
Researchers suggested a centralized management system, task automation, and sensor technologies as potential solutions to enhance efficiency. However, successful implementation requires robust training, support, and stakeholder engagement.
The Full Picture
Animal shelters play a vital role in caring for animals, but face significant challenges. They provide essential services like medical care, feeding, and adoption, but the costs can be substantial – an estimated $2.5 billion annually in the United States alone. Overcrowding is a persistent issue, leading to difficult decisions like euthanasia and high staff burnout rates.
Titled “We have a volunteer coordinator who is unfortunately a volunteer”: A qualitative assessment of animal shelters, this paper delves into the operational needs, adoption challenges, as well as improvement opportunities within animal shelters. It includes insights from interviews with 18 individuals involved in the adoption process.
The goal of this research is to explore the intersection of animal shelters and technology. By understanding the context and potential design of sociotechnical systems, the researchers aim to address the challenges faced by shelters and improve the lives of animals.
Study Methods
To explore the research questions, the researchers conducted interviews with individuals involved in various stages of the adoption process. The study included a total of 18 representatives from four different shelters: two urban shelters (one public and one private, no-kill) and two rural public shelters. Fifteen were female, and 13 were current pet owners. They had diverse connections to the shelter, including adopters, donors, volunteers, fosters, and staff.
The interviews began with basic demographic questions. Subsequent questions were tailored to each participant’s specific role in the adoption process (e.g., volunteer).
Study Results
Three main themes emerged from the interviews, highlighting challenges and needs within the adoption process: volunteer and shelter management, awareness and communication of shelter needs, and fundraising and adoption facilitation.
1. Volunteer and Shelter Management
Shelters heavily rely on volunteers who often take on multiple roles due to limited resources. Volunteers frequently fill roles traditionally held by staff, which can lead to burnout and difficulty retaining volunteers. For instance, some shelters rely on volunteer coordinators who are themselves volunteers, creating inconsistencies and limiting expertise. Clear task definitions and improved communication with volunteers could alleviate this burden, while a lack of consistent volunteers exacerbates these challenges.
Repetitive administrative tasks, like maintaining separate paper and digital records, waste time and frustrate volunteers. Similarly, adopters often encounter inefficiencies, such as completing the same forms multiple times, which can discourage participation.
Despite recognizing these inefficiencies, shelters often lack the systems to streamline operations. While some staff see the potential of efficient technologies, barriers include limited technical expertise, resistance to change, and a preference for familiar methods, such as physical boards for animal tracking.
2. Awareness and Communication of Shelter Needs
Shelters face significant challenges in identifying and effectively communicating their resource needs to donors and the public.
While shelters prefer cash donations for flexibility in covering building costs, hiring staff, and purchasing specific supplies, donors often favor giving goods. This can lead to mismatched donations, as donors may provide items that don’t align with the shelter’s most pressing needs, such as specific food brands, durable beds, or cleaning supplies like bleach.
Another critical challenge is securing sufficient medical supplies and expertise. Some shelters have limited access to veterinarians or vet technicians, relying heavily on volunteers or community outreach to manage medical needs.
To address these challenges, shelters leverage manual social media campaigns to raise awareness and funds for specific cases. By sharing transparently about urgent needs, such as replacing air conditioning units or covering medical costs for individual animals, shelters can effectively mobilize community support and generate targeted donations.
3. Fundraising and Facilitating Adoption
Animal shelters face challenges in increasing visibility, attracting adopters, and providing sufficient information to facilitate adoptions.
Many shelters are located in less visible areas, such as back roads, limiting foot traffic and public awareness. Some community members may be unaware of a shelter’s existence within their county. While shelters attempt to address this by hosting open houses and fundraising events in high-traffic areas, these efforts often result in one-time donations rather than sustained engagement or adoptions. Visitors may enjoy interacting with animals but leave without taking the next steps toward adoption.
On the other hand, potential adopters expressed a need for more comprehensive and personalized online profiles for adoptable animals. Current profiles often lack key details such as personality traits (e.g., energy levels, compatibility with other pets) and medical histories, which serves as justification for higher adoption costs.
Shelters struggle to provide detailed and standardized profiles due to a lack of systematic tools for collecting and distributing this information. Shelter staff and volunteers emphasized the need for customizable templates that include critical details like rabies vaccination status, compatibility with other animals, and readiness for adoption.
Implications for System Design
To address the challenges faced by animal shelters, a comprehensive technology solution can be implemented. A centralized management system can integrate medical records, donation tracking, and animal profiles into a single platform. Automation can streamline tasks like generating notifications, tracking supply requests, and the adoption process. For volunteer and animal care management, an integrated system could include task tracking displays to show feeding, cleaning, and activity statuses. Smart technology can utilize sensors to monitor animal well-being and automate tasks like feeding and cleaning. A community engagement platform can be implemented to share updates, foster adoption, and raise funds.
However, it’s crucial to consider ethical implications, such as conducting stakeholder impact analyses and developing risk mitigation plans. Comprehensive training and support must be provided to minimize disruptions and ensure smooth adoption of new technologies. By carefully considering these factors, technology can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of animal shelters, improving animal welfare and strengthening community engagement.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
–
Year of Publication:
2018
External Link:
Kresnye, K & Shih, Patrick. (2018). “We have a volunteer coordinator who is unfortunately a volunteer”: A qualitative assessment of animal shelters. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3295598.3295612