Building Connections in a Digital Age: My Journey from Practice to Research 

By Petra Buresova

From practice to academia

I came into research not from theory, but from practice. Over the last decade, I have worked in a range of non-profit organisations. I have been coordinating programmes, organising events, supporting networks, and sometimes navigating situations where a balance between purpose and resource was difficult to find. In those years, I learned that relationships lie at the heart of charity work. Whether we think about building partnerships, running events, or managing donor engagement, I saw how connections made things work and how easily those connections could fade when working at a distance. 

When I started my PhD at Brunel University of London, it was at a time of significant workplace changes. Remote work had become common, and digital communication was no longer a complement to relationship-building, it had become the prominent form. My doctoral research set out to explore what this meant for team leadership in the non-profit sector, but along the way, another question kept surfacing: what about fundraising? What does it feel like to maintain donor relationships when the usual cues of trust, such as shared space, eye contact, or informal conversation, are no longer available? 

What changes when everything goes digital? 

That question became a parallel strand of my research. I wanted to understand the experience of charity professionals working in fundraising roles, as they adapted to virtual and hybrid environments. These are people whose roles are often invisible. They are working behind screens, preparing messages, building connections, and often carrying the emotional labour of relationships that are mediated through platforms and not people. 

Through in-depth interviews with professionals across UK-based charities, both large and small, I found that digital fundraising was not simply about changing tools. It was about changing relationships. Many participants spoke about the loss of informal interactions, the increased demand for transparency, and the emotional weight of appearing constantly ‘present’ online. At the same time, I saw creativity and resilience. Professionals were finding new ways to create shared purpose through storytelling, hybrid events, and personalised communication. 

Digital transformation as a human challenge 

To make sense of these findings, I developed a phenomenological model that focuses not on strategy or technique, but on how digital fundraising feels to the people doing it. It highlights the tensions staff navigate between emotional connection and efficiency, presence and performance, continuity and change. As it does that, it understands digital fundraising as a relational practice. A practice that is formed as much by inner experience as it is formed by external tools. 

What drew me to this topic, and what keeps me engaged, is that I believe it matters. These professionals are not just delivering content. They are sustaining trust and connection in a space where these elements are harder to build. As more of the charity sector becomes digitally mediated, we should listen to the lived experiences of staff who make that work possible. My hope is that this research encourages organisations to view digital transformation not only as a technical challenge, but as a human one too. Because ultimately, what makes fundraising meaningful is not the tools, but the relationships it helps to build. 

Continuing the journey 

 As I approach the final year of my PhD, I continue to work between practice and research. Alongside my studies, I am active in the sector. I continue to work on various initiatives, I organise events, and I also act as a Trustee for the Voluntary Sector Studies Network. These experiences remind me that research doesn’t exist in isolation. It should support the people who do the work, every day, often behind the screen. 

Petra Buresova is a doctoral researcher at Brunel University of London. Her doctoral research explores how remote work is changing team leadership in charities, alongside complementary research focused on how charity professionals experience the processes and practices involved in digital fundraising. With over ten years of experience in the voluntary sector, Petra is particularly interested in bringing professional practice and academic knowledge together, to support the important work that charities do.