Enhancing Information Flow to Empower Volunteers and Foster Human-Cat Interaction: NGO Cats Help as a Case Study

Volunteers play an essential role in rehoming stray cats. On one hand, they help cats become more adoptable by socializing with humans, which makes it easier for them to be adopted. On the other hand, findings show that volunteers are potential foster parents and adopters. Since then, recruiting more volunteers has helped lighten the burden on the shelter’s personnel and helped cats find their future homes.

As a shelter volunteer, I observed that we consistently need help. The names on the volunteer sign-up sheets are always the same, indicating a lack of new participants. This recurring pattern highlights a critical gap in volunteer recruitment and retention.

This project focuses on retaining volunteers and utilizes participatory action research, netnography research, autoethnography research methods, and a service design approach under the Double-Diamond framework.

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Through research, I narrowed the topic to designing a sustainable support system that helps volunteers at all experience levels at Cats Help NGO. Firstly, I redesigned the manual for volunteers so that everyone can navigate the work process and access information with clarity and ease. This is to reduce the confusion and friction during shifts, and to avoid losing them due to these demotivating moments. Volunteers can also free up more time and emotional capacity to interact with cats.

Secondly, I applied the Nudge Theory in designing the placement of cat toys to encourage human-cat interaction. This not only gives volunteers a more enjoyable time, but the cats will also become more comfortable with human presence, which helps to raise their chances of finding a permanent home.

The proposed solution aligns Cats Help’s internal working system and lightens the volunteers’ work burden by streamlining work process. Eventually, it can help ensure consistent support for the feline residents.

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