Vantaggi
There are lots of learning opportunities and a high caliber of people to collaborate with. The projects are outstanding from a humanitarian standpoint and there are a lot of brilliant minds lending their expertise to important causes. EDC has taken many steps (within their means) to enhance technology.
Svantaggi
My experience has been that this is a hierarchical environment that boasts being a "flat" organization. People at the highest levels often have content knowledge, but do not necessarily exhibit strong leadership/managerial skills. Certain kinds of intelligence are valued more than others because of their ability to look good on grant proposals and therefore poor/unprofessional behavior is often overlooked for individuals who are "key" personnel. I have witnessed a lot of turnaround and have seen brilliant and innovative people leave due to lack of opportunity or ideas falling on deaf ears. EDC needs to pay attention to people at ALL levels. Some of the brightest and most innovative minds are at the "junior" level and find it impossible to break out of that. Someone who has been on staff for 10+ years should not be considered a "junior" level staff member. Knowing EDC systems inside and out should qualify as an expertise. There is a bit of a "nickel and dime" mentality occurring with merit pay raises where supervisors have to rank within a small percent range whether or not employees are "exceptional" enough to receive a full increase (which is already small). The measures are very subjective and people have expressed discord about this. This is not a smart move from a business standpoint and I believe it will discourage productivity more than encourage "excellence".