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Volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees: A review and a draft strategy
Renaissance - Research - Training - Consultancy -
October 2014
Renaissance Research
33 Linden Avenue
Darlington
DL3 8PS
Tel: 01325 242642
E-mail: [email protected]
Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5
2.0 Volunteering across the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees ....................................................... 7
Background ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Viva Volunteers ................................................................................................................................... 8
VIVA Volunteers’ level of brokerage activity ...................................................................................... 9
Volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees – just how big a deal is it? .......................................................... 10
Total number of volunteers in Stockton-on-Tees ............................................................................. 12
A picture of volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees ................................................................................. 13
3.0 The experience of other Voluntary Development Agencies and Volunteer Centres ........... 14
Volunteer Centres: Role and Funding ............................................................................................... 14
Volunteer Centres: Scale of operation .............................................................................................. 15
Volunteer Centres: Unique Selling Point and Future ........................................................................ 15
The move to web-based recruitment ............................................................................................... 16
Consultation with individual Volunteer Centres ............................................................................... 17
4.0 Consultation with organisations involved in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees ................. 21
Consultees ......................................................................................................................................... 21
Key themes emerging from consultation with VIOs and organisations supporting them ............... 22
Views of other organisations involved in the consultation .............................................................. 26
5.0 Volunteer Motivations .................................................................................................... 29
6.0 Towards a strategy .......................................................................................................... 32
Rationale ........................................................................................................................................... 32
The Value of Volunteering ................................................................................................................ 33
If there is a strategy, then what should its objectives be? ............................................................... 33
Benchmarking current performance ................................................................................................ 34
Expectations ...................................................................................................................................... 37
Specific gaps that need to be filled in order to improve performance and meet expectations ...... 38
Taking this forward ........................................................................................................................... 38
7.0 Stockton-on-Tees Volunteering Draft Strategy 2015-18 .................................................... 40
Life’s better when you’re part of something: .................................................................................... 40
personal fulfilment through volunteering ......................................................................................... 40
The principles of volunteering .......................................................................................................... 40
Making the most of resources .......................................................................................................... 40
Key Actions ........................................................................................................................................ 41
Monitoring Progress ......................................................................................................................... 43
Themes for action ............................................................................................................................. 43
8.0 References ...................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix – Consultation ............................................................................................................ 45
Consultation with organisations involved in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees .............................. 45
The views of Stockton-on-Tees’s larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations
interviewed for this project: ............................................................................................................. 46
The views of organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer
involving organisations: .................................................................................................................... 49
The views of officers of Stockton-on-Tees Council who took part in a focus group for this study .. 51
Universities in Stockton-on-Tees ...................................................................................................... 52
Training agencies in Stockton-on-Tees ............................................................................................. 53
Department for Work and Pensions ................................................................................................. 54
Tees Valley Community Foundation ................................................................................................. 55
Consultation with individual Volunteer Centres ............................................................................... 55
1
Executive Summary Catalyst has commissioned Renaissance Research to develop a volunteering strategy for the towns
and villages that make up the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. A steering group of representatives
from the voluntary and community sector and the Borough Council had identified gaps in knowledge
and actions required.
The emphasis of this study has been on formal volunteering, defined as:
People giving their time freely for the public good in some kind of organised activity, giving benefit to
people other than or in addition to family members or other people the volunteer has a personal
relationship with.
The methodology for this study is:
Consultation with: volunteer involvement organisations (VIOs) across the Borough of
Stockton-on-Tees including larger, well-established organisations as well as smaller
community-based groups and the organisations representing them, along with other
organisations such as Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, training agencies and the DWP
Consultation with Volunteer Development Agencies and Volunteer Centres across Tees
Valley, the North East and beyond
A review of relevant facts and figures on volunteering and the work of volunteer centres
A review of some new data collected for this study
A review of recent literature on volunteering.
Viva Volunteers, operated by Tees Valley Community Foundation, provides an on-line volunteer
brokerage service for Stockton-on-Tees. In the five years of its operation it has placed 360
volunteers, an average of 72 per year. A further 95 applicants moved on to full time employment
without having been placed.
The Community Foundation’s mission is ‘to be at the heart of local giving’ and it does not believe this
core purpose offers a long term strategic fit with volunteer support and brokerage, so has no wish to
continue to deliver Viva Volunteers.
On the basis of national figures for volunteering, there may be as many as 26,000 people
volunteering regularly in some way in Stockton-on-Tees. There may be a core of around 10,000 ‘pro-
social’ volunteers who carry out most of the volunteering, whilst others move into and out of various
levels of volunteering over time. Of these, only around 3,000 appear to be known to the voluntary
and community sector.
This is significant from a strategic point of view for three reasons. Firstly, it reminds us of how little is
really known about volunteers as a group. Secondly, it suggests that volunteers inside and outside of
the core group may have different needs. Thirdly, a strategy could be very successful if it increased
the frequency with which people in the non-core group volunteered and encouraged them to stay
active for longer.
2
A review has been carried out of Volunteer Centres, working either as independent agencies or as
units within Voluntary Development Agencies. This shows that their unique selling point (USP) is no
longer the management of online brokerage, which the more professionalised VIOs are now much
better at. Instead, strategic challenges for Volunteer Centres are identified as:
The strategic development of volunteering and the promotion of good practice
Finding ways of supporting would-be volunteers who need extra help
Making web-based solutions such as Do-It work as well as possible for each local area
Increasing their marketing, promotion and business skills
Improving their ability to assess the impact volunteering to help advocate for smarter forms
of commissioning related to the Public Service (Social Value) Act 2012.
Volunteer Centres or volunteer support units within VDAs commonly employ a part time co-
ordinator and involve volunteers to update opportunities on the Do-It website and meet the public.
Some Centres find mentoring is much more credible when offered volunteer-to-volunteer. Demand
for supported volunteering services delivered in person, face-to-face seems to outstrip supply. In
North Tyneside, a part-time volunteer support worker deals with around 200 cases a year. In
Sunderland, a part-time co-ordinator organises volunteer-led mentoring for around 150 people a
year often recovering from mental health problems.
Funding for Volunteer Centres has fallen over recent years. Average funding is now around £52,000,
but 40% receive less than half that. Sources of funding include local authorities, public health
authorities and charities, especially the Big Lottery. The emphasis is on innovation and projects to
overcome isolation and mental ill health. The European Social Fund (ESF) is also part of the picture,
with support for activity related to volunteering across Tees Valley a possibility from next year.
Central Government’s Social Action Fund, initiated as part of the 2011 Giving White Paper’s support
for volunteering, is its contribution to what it terms a ‘Decade of Social Action’.
Volunteer Centres are using social media and newly developed apps to engage people in
volunteering, and recent research from the US shows how a properly worked out, gradual approach
is needed to overcome socio economic barriers to online accessibility, beginning with
encouragement to interact on VIOs’ social media platforms.
Consultation with larger or more established volunteer involving organisations (VIOs) suggests that:
They are doing well by and large with well developed in-house processes for volunteer
recruitment and management
They may be receiving more applications from would-be volunteers than they can
handle
They may be interested in sharing some of the generic basic training of volunteers,
which can be hard to organise
They could only take part in a network or partnership if it was directly useful, but some
are aware that these work well elsewhere
They are interested in how to reward volunteers, including through the Catalyst awards
They are keen to promote volunteering through the media, although some are already
highly skilled at this
Some may have a shortage of a specific type of volunteer at times
3
Some would like to know there is somewhere would-be volunteers can go to refine their
volunteering choices
Some would like help so that their volunteers could progress onto new opportunities
with other hosts
Some may be interested in directly helping to develop a network or partnership’s
capabilities, for example by auditing assets or developing a project to calculate the full
value of volunteering and improve impact assessment.
Consultation with smaller, community-based volunteer involving organisations and organisations
supporting them suggests that:
Recruitment is their main need, especially for committee roles or help with specific
initiatives and events
They and their volunteers want to feel part of something exciting and inspiring
They believe it is the overall vision that draws volunteers in
Guidance on basic volunteer recruitment and management processes would be
welcomed, through a handbook and in person
They value having someone to talk to about volunteering, including somewhere to send
people who want advice on volunteering opportunities
They think it would be a good idea if there were more opportunities for volunteers to
meet, learn and inspire each other.
Meetings have taken place with other stakeholders including Stockton-on-Tees Council, training
agencies, local universities and DWP so that their views can be included in the formation of a
strategy.
The main motivations affecting different groups of volunteers and would-be volunteers in Stockton-
on-Tees have been identified, along with the likely characteristics of each group, providing a basis
for promotional work in future.
The rationale for having a volunteering strategy is that current arrangements, if left to go their own
way, will produce outcomes that fall short of broader social objectives. These include a risk that
some smaller groups may close without the volunteers they need, and that Stockton-on-Tees will be
less likely to secure a share of limited resources for volunteering if it cannot show that a well-
planned collective effort is under way.
The aim of the strategy should be to improve collective performance around volunteering, to
encourage people who are not already amongst the most heavily committed, to volunteer more
often, and stay active for longer. As the voluntary and community sector is in touch with only a small
proportion of volunteers active at any one time, any undue emphasis on increasing the numbers of
people volunteering is likely have the perverse outcome of simply counting volunteers better, rather
than achieving any real increase in their numbers.
As for targets for numbers of volunteers, they should be very specific: either targets for projects to
work with an agreed number of volunteers who need special support, or targets to recruit to VIOs,
especially smaller, community-based ones where there are identified gaps.
4
Improvements in performance will be measured in two ways: self-assessment from time to time
against Volunteering England’s Quality Standard, and through the collection of data from a regular
volunteer satisfaction survey and a survey of VIOs.
As a start to this process, a preliminary benchmarking exercise has been carried out against
Volunteering England’s Quality Standard which finds that current performance falls short in each
area of the standard.
The specific gaps that a strategy would need to fill to improve performance and meet the
expectations of consultees are:
A vision that is inspiring for current volunteers, but also likely to encourage ‘non-core’
volunteers to volunteer more often and stay active for longer
‘Pre-volunteering’ services offering in-person support through localised outlets and, as a
by product, taking on Viva Volunteers’ role of updating Do-It
Steps to achieve equal access for small and well-established VIOs to training, support
and volunteers
Shared promotion and development of a wide range of volunteering opportunities,
themed around volunteers’ motivations
Networking between VIOs and stakeholders, which proves very popular elsewhere
Volunteer satisfaction data to gauge success over time in improving performance, and
feeding into the drafting of a Volunteer Charter
Volunteer-to-volunteer networking events in addition to the Catalyst Awards
Media strategy and strong web and social media presence
Shared data on resources, volunteer activity and the true full value of volunteering
An organised approach to employee volunteering
Management of relationships with DWP and other key institutions such as public health
authority, clinical commissioning groups and funders.
A series of actions have been identified necessary for taking this forward, and the contents of a
strategy have been outlined.
5
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Catalyst has commissioned Renaissance Research to assist in the development of a
volunteering strategy for the towns and villages that make up the Borough of Stockton-on-
Tees.
1.2 A steering group comprising representatives from the voluntary and community sector and
the Borough Council had identified gaps in knowledge and actions required.
1.3 The gaps include:
An understanding of the motivations and needs of volunteers
An understanding of best practice
An analysis of current services, gaps and opportunities
1.4 The commission delivered in this report was to carry out a study which pulled together
existing information on volunteering and filled those gaps, so that a strategy could be
produced.
1.5 The emphasis of this study has been on formal volunteering, defined as:
People giving their time freely for the public good in some kind of organised activity,
giving benefit to people other than or in addition to family members or other people
the volunteer has a personal relationship with.
1.6 Formal volunteering in this sense includes the whole range of possible voluntary activity,
from taking part in a ‘give an hour at work’ campaign, through helping with a one-off event
or becoming involved in an online volunteering project, to training over an extended period
of time to become an accredited advisor or counsellor, as well as serving on the committee
of a community group.
1.7 For the purposes of this study, informal volunteering means choosing to help someone on
an entirely private, unorganised basis, because of some form of personal relationship with
that person, be they family members or neighbours. As such it is indeed perhaps better
described and more easily understood as neighbourliness, to distinguish it from the sort of
volunteering that is the focus here.
1.8 Although the study has attempted to consider the whole spectrum of formal volunteering
across towns and villages of the Borough, it has not looked into the particular situation
affecting refugees and asylum seekers, as this is currently being addressed in a separate
piece of work. It should be noted though that consultation carried out for this study
uncovered a belief that refugees’ and asylum seekers’ skills and experiences potentially
represent a significant resource for volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees to draw on in future.
1.9 At a time when volunteering is being promoted by policy makers, financial resources to
support it are scarce and in many respects declining, as the section of this report dealing
with Volunteer Centres will show.
1.10 Funding in itself is not a main focus of this study, although the major sources of funding of
volunteering have been noted. Local authorities remain the largest funders of volunteer
centres, although funding continues to fall. Public health authorities provide some support
for volunteering projects that aim to overcome isolation, support befriending or help
6
recovery from mental health problems. And charities, especially the Big Lottery, fund a
range of innovatory schemes across the piece. The European Social Fund (ESF) is also part of
the picture, with support for activity related to volunteering across Tees Valley a possibility
from next year. Central Government’s Social Action Fund, initiated as part of the 2011 Giving
White Paper’s support for volunteering, is its contribution to what it terms a ‘Decade of
Social Action’.
1.11 The study’s focus of attention has been on local organisations of various sizes that involve
volunteers, rather than the big national charities or uniformed volunteering organisations,
and the acronym VIO used in this report stands for ‘volunteer involving organisation’.
1.12 The methodology for this study is:
Consultation with: volunteer involvement organisations (VIOs) across the Borough of
Stockton-on-Tees including larger, well-established organisations as well as smaller
community-based groups and the organisations representing them, along with other
organisations such as Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, training agencies and the
DWP
Consultation with Volunteer Development Agencies and Volunteer Centres across
Tees Valley, the North East and beyond
A review of relevant facts and figures on volunteering and the work of volunteer
centres
A review of some new data collected for this study
A review of recent literature on volunteering..
1.13 A write up of the consultation with VIOs and other organisations with a stake in the future of
volunteering locally forms an appendix to this report, as well as being summarised in section
4 of this report..
7
2.0 Volunteering across the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
Background 2.1 Volunteering is often regarded as a key mechanism by which communities can be
strengthened and civil society built, as well as a source of personal growth and satisfaction.
Current economic pressures, combined with increasing demands on services, have led to a
renewed emphasis from central government on volunteering in line with expectations that
communities should provide some of the support they themselves need. At the same time,
volunteering is increasingly seen as a means of gaining experience needed to secure
employment for those without jobs, and as a way to build confidence and overcome
isolation for those who are vulnerable.
2.2 The principles that underlie volunteering are generally agreed to be that volunteering must:
Be a free choice on the part of the volunteer
Be open to all sections of society equally
Benefit the volunteer in terms of offering opportunities for gaining experience,
confidence, new knowledge and skills
Offer recognition for the specific contributions of individual volunteers, as well as
acknowledging the overall social and economic impact of volunteering generally.
2.3 Volunteer Centres in four of the boroughs in Tees Valley issued a joint statement earlier this
year confirming that these principles lay at the heart of volunteering, and distinguishing
volunteering from other forms of unpaid endeavour such as internships, mandatory work
activity under the Help to Work programme and work placements. No organisation from
Stockton-on-Tees was a signatory because there is no Volunteer Centre as such here at
present or network fulfilling a similar role.
2.4 Catalyst is the strategic infrastructure organisation for the Voluntary, Community and Social
Enterprise (VCSE) sector in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees and aims to provide an
effective voice, representation and support for the third sector (voluntary and community
groups and social enterprises) within the Borough. It offers a range of specialist support and
benefits to its 300+ members and public sector stakeholders.
2.5 Catalyst emerged from the demise of Stockton-on-Tees Voluntary Development Agency in
2008. The Voluntary Development Agency had established a Volunteer Centre with SRB
funding in February 2001 and this continued until 2007 using various funding streams as
they became available. Following its closure, a 2008 Council Scrutiny Review noted that
‘some uncertainties’ were affecting the handover of responsibilities from the former VDA to
Catalyst, and recommended that ‘an appropriate, willing, core-funded organisation be
identified to have responsibility for provision of a ‘volunteering bureau’.
2.6 Since early 2010, Viva Volunteers, operated by Tees Valley Community Foundation, has
provided an on-line volunteer brokerage service for Stockton-on-Tees. Other organisations
did express initial interest in running the brokerage service but then withdrew and it was in
these circumstances that the Community Foundation agreed to take it on. However,
brokerage is only one of a number of core functions usually carried out by a volunteer
centre, and since the closure of the VDA in 2007 no other organisation has been specifically
tasked with carrying them out.
8
Viva Volunteers 2.7 Viva Volunteers, actually described on Tees Valley Community Foundation’s website as ‘ The
Foundation's very own volunteering hub for the Tees Valley’, aims to link those wishing to
volunteer their time and expertise to voluntary and community sector organisations looking
for volunteers. Potential volunteers are encouraged to complete an application on-line
through the national Do-It website. Where this is not possible, they are asked to complete a
paper application form and details are entered onto the Viva Volunteers database.
Applications are forwarded to Viva Volunteers from the Do-It website and a range of other
organisations including REIP and RSVP. Viva Volunteers also enter the Stockton-on-Tees
‘volunteer opportunities’ on the national Do-It volunteering site which can be searched for
opportunities by potential volunteers.
2.8 The project was funded at the outset through the Council’s Central Area Partnership (CAP)
Employability Projects programme with further funding from other sources. It was piloted
within the areas covered by the Stockton-on-Tees Central Area Partnership with the aim of
increasing access to volunteering opportunities and of using volunteering as a route to
entering the labour market as well as promoting health and wellbeing. CAP funding was
discontinued after the pilot period in March 2011 and its host, Tees Valley Community
Foundation, now describes it as unfunded and loss-making.
2.9 An independent evaluation of the project was conducted between July and November 2011
by New Skills Consulting. The evaluation found that the project had successfully recruited
462 volunteers and placed 104 of these (more recent figures have been supplied – see
below). Most (77%) had been recruited from the Central Area with half of the volunteers
placed being from this area.
2.10 The evaluation revealed that while individuals across a range of age groups registered with
Viva Volunteers, the largest proportion was aged between 19 and 25 years old (see Figure
1)1. The evaluators suggested that this conflicted with a national picture of regular
volunteering derived from the National Citizenship Survey 2007/08 but this assumed that
the population of potential volunteers registering with a volunteer brokerage service would
reflect the total population of volunteers. It is also clear from the monitoring data that 56%
of applicants were unemployed while nationally it is known that people who have never
worked or are long-term unemployed and those without formal qualifications are less likely
to undertake formal volunteering on a regular basis than those in employment or wholly
retired (Coule and Morgan, 2008).
2.11 Clearly the profile of applicants to volunteer brokerage services will differ significantly from
the total volunteer population. This is likely to be the case in all volunteer brokerage
services as the vast majority of volunteers will make their own arrangements without the
support of an intermediary. In the case of Viva Volunteers, however, this was more likely to
be the case due to the nature of the CAP objectives. The majority (57%) of individuals during
the monitoring period had heard about Viva through the national Do-It website or
application form (many had been directed to make the application online by Viva
Volunteers) but almost 20% of applicants had found out about the project through
Jobcentre Plus or another employment support organisation such as Five Lamps or Working
1 More recent data providing a breakdown of applicants by age-band is not routinely available from the database operated by Viva Volunteers.
9
Links. Only 19% of applicants to Viva Volunteers, during the monitoring period, were in full
or part-time employment and the remainder comprised: students (13%), retired people (5%)
and ‘house persons’ (5%).
Figure 1: Viva Volunteers applicants by age-band (2011)
Source: Viva Volunteers monitoring information 2011
2.12 While the evaluators concluded that the brokerage element of Viva Volunteers had helped
encourage individuals who had not previously volunteered to get involved in activities, they
were less positive about the capacity building role of the initiative.
2.13 The evaluators recommended, among other things, that Viva Volunteers should:
Develop stronger partnership with volunteer centres in Middlesbrough and Redcar.
Consider hosting volunteer forums or workshops on specific topics.
Provide third sector organisation with capacity building support
Consider modifying the application and matching process.
VIVA Volunteers’ level of brokerage activity 2.14 Since it began operating in early 2010 VIVA Volunteers has placed 360 volunteers (an
average of 72 per year). A further 95 who had applied moved on to gain full time
employment without having been placed. The absolute number of applicants appears to
have varied year-on-year with estimates for the current calendar year (based on activity to
date) looking especially low in comparison to a peak of 823 applicants in 2013. As Table 1
shows, the proportion of applicants placed or found work has declined over time from 28%
(a very good outcome) in the first full year to 9% last year and an estimated 10% in the
current year; periods when no funding was available.
2.15 These figures do not compare well with those achieved by Voluntary Development Agencies
elsewhere in the Tees valley (see Table 2). The total number of applicants for 2013
expressed as a proportion of the economically active population in Stockton-on-Tees is
0.84% compared with a top figure of 145 or 1.34% in Hartlepool.
10
Table 1: VIVA volunteers: Applicants and placements made 2009 - 2014
2009/10 2011 2012 2013 2014* TOTAL
Applicants 355 640 698 823 618 3,134
Placed VIVA 66 67 71 47 251
Placed Do It 7 24 11 16 58
Found work 28 38 18 11 95
Total placed 73 91 82 63 51 360
Total placed or found work 101 129 100 74 59 463
28% 20% 14% 9% 10% 15% Source: VIVA Volunteers
*Figures for 2014 estimated based on activity to date
Table 2: How does VIVA compare with local VDAs?
Population (economically active)
Applications 2013/14
% of population
Placed 2013/14
% of Applications
Hartlepool VDA 43,500 582 1.34% 145 24.9%
Redcar and Cleveland VDA 64,500 643 1.00% 80 12.4%
Middlesbrough VDA 68,900 906 1.31% 93 10.3%
Viva Volunteers (Stockton-on-Tees)
97,400 823 0.84% 63 7.7%
Source: Viva volunteers and VDAs
Volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees – just how big a deal is it? 2.16 The 2012 Community Survey undertaken by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council suggests that
about 60% of people within the Borough have at some point ‘given unpaid help either by
taking part in or supporting any group, club or organisation’. About one third of these
respondents (20% of all people surveyed) indicated that they did this at least once a month.
2.17 The Viewpoint Survey undertaken by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council in 2013 had a
higher figure of 27% but the question also listed a range of activities including: helping to run
an activity or event, coaching, counselling, raising money and admin help. While direct
comparisons with national estimates are difficult as definitions vary these figures appear
consistent with the picture elsewhere.
2.18 The Cabinet Office Community Life Survey, for example, found that 27% of people reported
that they volunteered formally (including anything you've taken part in, supported, or that
you've helped in any way, either on your own or with others) on a regular basis (at least
once a month) in 2013-14.
2.19 Stockton-on-Tees’s 2012 Community Survey suggests that 22% of women volunteer
regularly (at least once a month) compared with 18% of men2. It also reveals that
proportionally more people aged 18 – 24 years volunteer regularly (at least once a month)
than other age bands (37% compared with 20% overall). While those in their late sixties and
early seventies are also more likely to volunteer than those aged 25 – 64, volunteering
2 While this result is not statistically significant, it does reflect national trends.
11
declines significantly among those aged 75 and upwards. This breakdown by age band
appears to differ considerably from the national picture (see Figures 2 and 3). With the
exception of the 18 – 24 years age band, which shows high levels of regular volunteering
activity (37%) compared with 31% for the 16 - 25 years age band nationally, rates of
volunteering regularly in all the other age bands appears to lag behind the national picture.
Figure 2: Volunteering Regularly in Stockton-on-Tees (at least once a month) by age band (%)
Source: Stockton-on-Tees Community Survey 2012
Figure 3: Formal volunteering at least once a month in England 2013/14
Source: Community Life Survey 2013/14
2.20 While participation rates appear to vary by a respondent’s employment status, Stockton-on-
Tees’s Community Survey 2012 sample includes too few examples of unemployed people or
those in full time education to allow any robust conclusions to be drawn.
2.21 There is no significant variation in volunteering activity by the broad geographical locality
across the Borough (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Volunteering Regularly (at least once a month) by locality (%)
Source: Stockton-on-Tees Community Survey 2012
37%
20% 18%21% 20%
23% 22%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65 - 69 70 - 74 75+
31%
21%
27% 26%
32%
21%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
16 to 25 26 to 34 35 to 49 50 to 64 65 to 74 75 and over
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Central Northern Eastern Western
12
Total number of volunteers in Stockton-on-Tees 2.22 Applying the figures derived from the two local surveys to the total ‘economically active’
population of the Borough gives an estimate of between 20,000 and 26,000 who volunteer
regularly, and this does not include volunteers over retirement age who are not counted as
economically active. Even so, this is a much larger figure than the number known to the
established voluntary and community sector organisations in the Borough and is likely to
include those assisting with a broad range of national voluntary organisations, faith
communities, uniformed and community groups and sports teams.
2.23 Of course the figures quoted above reveal little about the total amount of time provided by
volunteers. There is national evidence to suggest that a ‘pro social’ core group of volunteers
provides a disproportionate amount of the total volunteering activity. Mohan and Bulloch
(2012), for example, found that just over a third of the population provides nearly 90% of
volunteer hours and that a group constituting less than 10% of the population contribute
between 24% and 51% of the total civic engagement. So it is likely that in Stockton-on-Tees
there is a core group of arround 10,000 volunteers undertaking a large proportion of all the
voluntary activity.
2.24 There are very few sources that provide further insights beyond this general picture of the
volunteering community.
2.25 Catalyst undertook an audit of voluntary and community sector organisations across the
Borough in 20133. They surveyed 197 organisations of which 103 provided details of
volunteer activity. As Figure 5 shows, the number of volunteers that were active in these
organisations ranged between just one to over one hundred. While the audit did not collect
absolute values it is possible to estimate4 that these 103 organisations were utilising around
1,300 volunteers. Assuming that the distribution of volunteers from the other 94
organisations is similar and allowing for Butterwick Hospice5, it may be concluded that there
are likely to around 3,000 volunteers known to the voluntary and community sector across
the Borough.
Figure 5: Organisations by number of volunteers (banded)
Source: Catalyst 2013
3This exercise is currently being repeated by Catalyst and more detailed information will be available in October 2014. 4 The midpoint of each band has been used to calculate the total figure with the exception of the last band where it is known that the organisation had approximately 200 volunteers. 5Butterwick Hospice, with 622 active volunteers, was clearly missing from the data.
6
40
29
1512
10
10
20
30
40
50
1 2-5 6-10 11-25 26-50 51-100 101-250 250+
Number of volunteers
13
2.26 Teesside University report 190 active student volunteers across the Tees Valley, some of
whom will have been placed within the Borough, and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
report having 490 regular volunteers.
2.27 It is unlikely, however, that the figures provided by the range of organisations contacted are
discreet populations. Many volunteers are likely to be active across several organisations
and it isn’t possible to arrive at a definitive picture from these sources.
2.28 This said, it is very clear that the volunteers active across the voluntary and community
sectors or supporting the Borough Council represent only a very small proportion of the total
volunteering community in Stockton-on-Tees.
A picture of volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees 2.29 The graphic below (Figure 6) illustrates how, on the basis of admittedly incomplete local and
national data, the total population of volunteers may break down across the borough.
2.30 This is highly significant from a strategic point of view because if correct, it reminds us of
how few volunteers we currently know anything about, and it also suggests that different
strategies will be needed to reach and energise people in each volunteering sub-group.
Figure 6: Graphic illustration of volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees
14
3.0 The experience of other Voluntary Development Agencies and
Volunteer Centres
Volunteer Centres: Role and Funding 3.1 In most parts of England, the range of activities that might be covered by a volunteering
strategy has usually been delivered through a Volunteer Centre.
3.2 In its purest form, a Volunteer Centre would be an independent agency delivering a package
of services meeting a quality standard set by Volunteering England around brokerage,
marketing, good practice development,developing volunteering opportunities, strategic
development of volunteering and campaigning. And the ‘pure’ brokerage function would
entail all volunteering applications in its area being routed through the Volunteer Centre.
3.3 However, in practice a Volunteer Centre can be either a department within an infrastructure
agency such as a Voluntary Development Agency (VDA), or a separate organisation in its own
right, though typically with a close working arrangement to its local VDA.
3.4 As for brokerage, it is today more likely that a Volunteer Centre will offer a service that
complements the now well-established in-house volunteer recruitment procedures of the
most experienced VIOs in their area, signposting would-be volunteers to them, rather than
recruiting on their behalf. Recent developments of the Do-It website are aligned with this
direction of travel. Similarly, Volunteer Centres generally aspired until recently to interview
everyone expressing an interest in volunteering, but funding cuts mean that this is now likely
to happen only where some additional need has been identified, perhaps where an
applicant falls into a group that is the focus of a special project which the Volunteer Centre
receives income to deliver.
3.5 According to the 2012 Annual Return for Volunteer Centres, the most recent published by
the Institute for Volunteering Research, there were 261 Volunteer Centres across 326 or so
English local authorities.
3.6 Key statistics from the 2012 Annual Return include:
Average income was £52,500, but over 40% of centres had income below £25,000
and incomes had fallen around 8% on the previous year (coming on top of heavier
falls the year before according to a separate Volunteering England survey)
Local government was the commonest source of funding, with 83% receiving an
average of £32,000, but central government funding was now received by only 7% of
Volunteer Centres, sharply down from 24% the previous year;’
38% earned a proportion of their income, a relatively new development, with £6,500
being the average earnings for this group, which was actually less than in the
previous year
96% had achieved accreditation from Volunteering England or were working
towards it.
15
Volunteer Centres: Scale of operation 3.7 As for their scale of operation, the 2012 Annual Return showed:
Volunteer Centres received an average of 1,086 volunteering enquiries, a slight
increase from the previous year
Of these, they placed an average of 189 volunteers, a conversion rate of 21%
On average they had 269 volunteering opportunities posted online through Do-It on
any given day
33% of enquiries were from people who were unemployed and looking for work, the
highest in the last four years
25% of enquiries were from BME groups
Volunteer Centres had an average of 283 volunteer-involving organisations
registered with them, with 37 new registrations in 2011/12
72% of Volunteer Centres felt able to meet demand although demand apparently
outstripped capacity on five of their six core functions: Brokerage, Marketing, Good
Practice Development, Developing Volunteering Opportunities and Strategic
Development of Volunteering, so only on Campaigning did the Volunteer Centres
report that they had sufficient capacity to meet demand
44% of Volunteer Centres reported a high demand for Developing Volunteering
Opportunities, a fall from 53 per cent in the previous year.
Volunteer Centres: Unique Selling Point and Future 3.8 Less funding, the growing in-house capacity of more experienced VIOs, a rise in web-based
information available to would-be volunteers, as well as a declining need (and capacity) to
be the clearing house for all volunteer applications in their area have brought about a
degree of soul-searching by Volunteer Centres as to what their Unique Selling Point (USP)
might be going forward.
3.9 This dilemma was explored in a joint Big Assist/NCVO phone-in in July of this year, attracting
over 100 contributions from Volunteer Centres across England. The following comment
succinctly addresses problems of structure and function, and bases Volunteer Centres’
future USP on their capacity for supporting volunteers unable to manage their own
volunteering:
It seems to me that different local conditions, funding arrangements etc. make it
difficult to uphold the idea that there is a genuine national network of Volunteer
Centres all consistently delivering the existing functions to equitable standards.
Certainly the notion of an instantly recognisable ‘high street shop-front’ brand that
was envisaged in Volunteering England's strategy ‘Building on Success’ some ten
years ago has in my view, not come to fruition … perhaps it has always been the case
that the core functions have actually always been delivered variably throughout the
‘network’ and ultimately it doesn't matter how [core functions] are delivered, as long
as they are fulfilled to at least a minimum nationally accredited standard?
Finally, while I welcome volunteers finally being able to contact organisations whose
opportunities they see on Do-It, directly without going through Volunteer Centres, I
do wonder where this leaves Volunteer Centres in terms of brokerage - free of
16
restrictive admin with the opportunity to concentrate on much needed supported
volunteering initiatives?!
3.10 Other contributors again emphasised supported volunteering in various forms, seeing this as
a likely way in which brokerage through Volunteer Centres would continue, even as web-
based recruiting expands. And others identified the development of good practice as
another continuing element in their USP:
Our largest increase has been in working with unemployed people and they are now
the largest single client group. One to one brokerage is far more effective than online
brokerage, here 28% of clients interviewed are placed into a volunteer role and they
volunteer for on average 4 hours per week …
… our largest pot of finding is for mental health, it is exceptionally successful, at least
300% more so than registrations through do-it
Any good website can recruit volunteers [so our USP as a Volunteer Centre lies in]
what happens next, which is [actually] more important in growing volunteering -
working with groups to develop their volunteer programmes and opportunities.
We are trying to get local authorities to recognise the importance and value of the
IiV6 standard, which is about so much more than just the recruitment side of things -
and focuses on the entire volunteer journey from planning for involvement, role
development, recognition and all the way through to exit interviews.
3.11 Reflecting on the phone-in, NCVO identified a need to develop Volunteer Centres’
marketing, promotion and business skills. Improved impact assessment was a requirement
too, given concerns about conversion rates achieved by Volunteer Centres, as this would
help with the advocacy of smarter forms of commissioning, presumably linked to the Public
Service (Social Value) Act 2012.
The move to web-based recruitment 3.12 What of the continuing development of web-based volunteer recruitment? Phone-in
contributors commented:
We need to be realistic about this but not blinkered. Many of our most vulnerable
service users may have lots of barriers to overcome but they all (or at least a large
percentage) have smart phones. Young people too have reported that they respond
to communications they receive via social media and smart apps.
Our most effective tool for recruiting volunteers for short term one off events has
been the voluntext.org app developed by Voluntary Action Kirkless via Nesta funding.
It has also helped us with montioring as we text volunteers to see if they are
volunteering.
6 The Investing in Volunteers nine-point quality owned by the UK Volunteering Forum (iiv.investinginvolunteers.org.uk)
17
3.13 A study published in 2014 by the AARP Foundation in the US (www.aarp.org) offers insights
into the development of web-based volunteer recruitment that are likely to be relevant in
England too.
3.14 In Use of internet, Social Networking Sites and Mobile Technology for Volunteerism
researchers Sarah Conroy and Alicia Williams conducted a national survey of adults aged 40
plus enquiring about their use of the internet and social networking. They found that 76%
used the internet and 64% used social media, however usage declined with age. In addition,
volunteering and use of social media and internet were also significantly linked with
education level, employment status and household income.
3.15 The research asked whether respondents would be prepared to carry out various
volunteering activities online (i.e. learn about volunteering opportunities, join an online
community, sign up for text alerts, download a mobile app to locate opportunities, sign up
for an opportunity advertised via social networking, share information online about a cause
they cared about, or get involved in virtual volunteering). 42% were unwilling to perform any
volunteering activities online, but 57% were prepared to carry out at least one volunteering-
related activity, with the most popular of these being ‘learn about volunteering
opportunities’ or ‘join an online community’. Women and current users of social networking
were most likely to say they would carry out volunteering activities online, with employment
status and education level also significant factors.
3.16 In a separate publication, The LAST Virtual Volunteering Guidebook: Fully Integrating Online
Service into Volunteer Involvement, published by Energize Inc. (www.energizeinc.com) in
2014, the same authors set out best practice on virtual volunteering, defined as ‘ work done
by volunteers online, via computers, smartphones or other hand-held devices, and often from
afar’.
3.17 There are two key best practice points from the US survey. Firstly, would-be volunteers are
more likely to engage in online volunteering activities of various kinds once they are
comfortable with using social media, so a graduated approach is needed to increase the
spread of online usage beginning with encouragement to interact with VIOs’ own social
media, and the US study details such an approach. Secondly, as well as age, socio-economic
factors including employment status, income and education level continue to affect the
likelihood of a person choosing to engage with volunteering online. Therefore brokering
volunteer opportunities entirely online in the towns and villages that make up the Borough
of Stockton-on-Tees should currently be understood as important work-in-progress, for
some years yet at least.
Consultation with individual Volunteer Centres 3.18 In order to add detail to the national picture described above, meetings or phone
conversations have been held with the following VDAs and Volunteer Centres:
Brighton Volunteer Centre
Evolution Darlington
Hartlepool VDA
Middlesbrough VDA
North Tyneside VODA
Redcar and Cleveland VDA
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Sheffield Volunteer Centre
Sunderland Volunteer Centre
3.19 It was noteworthy that volunteering strategies were generally a few years old in these
localities, either at or past their review dates. The following comments are typical of the
current situation:
We used to have a strategy some years ago, when we had a strategy for everything
and made the mistake perhaps of thinking that having a strategy was the same as
actually doing something…..But perhaps there is more action now than previously as
local authorities realise they can’t do everything.
The capacity of the more professionalized VIOs has increased markedly recently.
There is increasing pressure on benefit-reliant volunteers, and on smaller community
groups who sometimes now exist in name only because they have lost the funding to
do anything with.
3.20 The main strategic challenges were identified as:
Lack of funding for volunteering or Volunteer Centres per se
Improving the volunteering experience
Understanding more about volunteers’ motivations
Retaining active volunteers for longer, rather than simply raising numbers.
3.21 As for specific gaps that an up to date strategy should seek to fill:
The groups who need volunteers most lack the capacity to take them on
Groups seeking volunteers should work together more, for example, larger
organisations with a good volunteer management infrastructure could facilitate
placements in smaller organisations
Develop a wide range of volunteering opportunities requiring different levels of
commitment
Build up pools of people with specific interests or skills who can be called on at short
notice, for example Flash Mob Estate Clean Ups, other forms of ‘Guerilla
Volunteering’
Develop ‘At Home’ volunteering for those who lack confidence to even go out,
maybe online
Improve the sharing of statistics on volunteering, currently it is difficult to get VIOs
to supply statistics, although the new Do-It system may help in this.
3.22 Comments on volunteer brokerage were in a similar vein to the discussion that had taken
place in July’s Big Assist/NCVO phone-in:
Brokerage is evolving rapidly as the more professionalised VIOs get more skilled
Most would-be volunteers sort out their own placements without any intermediary
being involved
Brokerage itself is no longer the key Volunteer Centre function, instead that lies in
offering extra support to the less confident and more vulnerable
19
However, many people register online with little real forethought, so interviews can
still be useful to sift out the truly uncommitted
There is a whole ‘pre-volunteering stage’ that many would-be volunteers need to go
through
Do-It is not the only online brokerage option; some volunteer centres have
developed bespoke solutions.
3.23 Asked why Volunteer Centres were needed at all, three distinct themes emerged:
To lead on the strategic development of volunteering and promotion of good
practice
To overcome inbuilt socio-economic and other biases in volunteering by finding
ways of supporting would-be volunteers who need extra help
To make web-based solutions such as Do-It work as well as possible for each local
area.
3.24 Aside from brokerage, other activities frequently carried out at these centres included
running networks for VIOs to offer regular meetings supported by newsletters and updates,
and promoting best practice by offering training to VIOs. One centre saw a consultancy
opportunity in equipping VIOs to be volunteer-ready, although this was not yet a source of
much income.
3.25 All the VDAs hosting Volunteer Centres saw support for volunteering as one of their core
aims alongside strategic work in support of the voluntary and community sector.
3.26 Staffing in these Volunteer Centres was broadly in line with the national picture although
with rather more part-time than full-time staff. They generally called on input from
volunteers too, and Sheffield Volunteer Centre described two particular benefits of doing so:
involving volunteers meant that the Volunteer Centre was better able to understand the
issues affecting other VIOs and advise them on best practice, while the volunteer-to-
volunteer encounter offered unemployed or otherwise vulnerable would-be volunteers a
more credible mentoring experience.
3.27 All except one of these Volunteer Centres offered a face-to-face service to would-be
volunteers. Brighton was the exception, as it had ceased doing so around four years ago, at
that point focusing efforts onto online brokerage. It had found the open door service very
resource-heavy, offering no pathway into the extra support that clients who could not sort
out their own volunteering needed. So it raised a small amount of funding for tailored
support for people with extra needs, though with no scope for developing special
volunteering opportunities or following up new volunteers once placed. More recently it
raised a larger three-year sum from Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities programme to
support people with learning or mental health needs, working intensively with individuals
and agencies to make them volunteer-ready. Interestingly, however, Brighton Volunteer
Centre is now looking at how to re-introduce other aspects of a face-to-face service as the
conversion rate is so much higher than for a purely online service. Brighton is still in the
process of resolving how to do so in a way that can be effective in a large geographical area.
Whatever the answer, volunteers themselves will be heavily involved in delivering this
service.
20
3.28 Back in the North East, a spokesperson for North Tyneside VODA commented, “It isn’t about
brokerage. It will look after itself, most people do sort themselves out. We meet the ones
who’ve no idea where to start or need additional help. This brings us into contact with the
most vulnerable”. With support from Big Lottery and the public health authority, North
Tyneside VODA employs a staff member for two days a week, who is fully occupied carrying
out four or five interviews a day with would-be volunteers needing extra help, despite very
little promotion of the service taking place. Specific support is aimed at youth volunteering
and people with poor mental health. Volunteers are involved in updating the Do-It website
with details of local volunteering opportunities.
3.29 Sunderland Volunteer Centre actually runs its own charity shop to supplement a Big Lottery
grant. Its spokesperson confirmed that its core business was now extra support and
mentoring, not brokerage. Using volunteers as mentors and guides, it supported around 150
vulnerable would-be volunteers annually.
3.30 Evolution Darlington has coined the term ‘pre-volunteering’ to describe the support required
by some people to become volunteer-ready, and which is now at the heart of the Volunteer
Centre offer. As a minimum it appears to consist of:
Information on what it means to volunteer
Awareness of the breadth of what is on offer
Reflection on personal motivation
Identification of personal goals
Fitting personal motivation and goals with what’s on offer
How to get support and advice during a placement
Self-presentation, reliability and communication.
3.31 Finally, an Institute of Philanthropy report from 2011 confirms observations from these
Volunteer Centres about how most people take up a volunteering opportunity. The report
found that word of mouth was the commonest route into volunteering, with 66% of formal
volunteers getting involved in this way. Next most common was having previously used the
services of an organisation or group, which accounted for 20% of formal volunteers, then
around 15% saw their opportunity advertised in a leaflet or poster. All of which underlines
the strategic importance of building up local contacts.
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4.0 Consultation with organisations involved in volunteering in
Stockton-on-Tees
Consultees 4.1 In order to draft a strategy, consultation has been carried out with the following
organisations involved in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees:
4.2 Larger or more established volunteer involving organisations (VIOs):
A Way Out
Butterwick Hospice
CAB
Daisy Chain
Five Lamps
MIND
Tees Music Alliance
Three Score Years and Ten
YMCA.
4.3 Organisations representing smaller, community-based VIOs:
Billingham Environmental Link Project (BELP)
Community Service Volunteers, Retired and Senior Volunteering Project (CSV/RSVP)
Love Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees Residents and Community Groups Association (SRCGA)
Stockton-on-Tees Voice Forum
Tees Valley Rural Community Council.
4.4 Consultation was also conducted with:
Training agencies – Skillshare and Tees Achieve
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Durham University and Teesside University
Tees Valley Community Foundation which hosts Viva Volunteers
A representative from the Department for Work and Pensions.
4.5 Each of these organisations was asked about:
its involvement in volunteering,
its awareness of VIVA Volunteering
issues around recruitment and management of volunteers
barriers to volunteering
how a volunteering strategy might help.
4.6 A detailed account of the responses is set out in Appendix A.
22
Key themes emerging from consultation with VIOs and organisations supporting them Attitudes to volunteering
4.7 Attitudes and views about volunteering differed between the larger VIOs and the smaller
community-based VIOs. While volunteering was considered a key element in the activities
of larger VIOs, distinguishing them from public and private sector providers, it was seen as
the life-blood of smaller community-based VIOs. These smaller organisations and the
agencies supporting them generally adopt a broad community development approach to
volunteering, working with people to identify issues, then helping to establish groups to
tackle them. In this way, volunteers take part through carrying out tasks and also through
serving on committees and in action groups. Many people who volunteer in these ways do
not identify themselves as volunteers. This is especially true of people who give their time to
faith-based or campaigning groups.
4.8 Activists from smaller groups and organisations had a great deal of enthusiasm for
volunteering and wanted to share a vision of a society in which people were empowered to
effect change and improve their communities.
4.9 Larger VIOs expressed some disenchantment with Viva Volunteers. Newer workers were
generally unaware of the background to its establishment, while more established workers
tended to be confused about or critical of Viva’s approach. They felt that the volunteering
strategy should improve what is already being achieved by VIOs themselves. A strategy, they
suggested, could clarify roles and responsibilities for the various pathways into volunteering
in Stockton-on-Tees, which they felt were currently too unclear.
4.10 Community-based groups were anxious to ensure that a volunteering strategy should cover
the distinctive needs of the outlying villages and town within the Borough as well as the
town centre of Stockton-on-Tees.
4.11 All agreed that there was a need to raise the profile of volunteering across the Borough and
that it was a priority that the strategy should present a vibrant vision of what was possible.
Promotion and communication
4.12 Working together on a media strategy could improve public awareness of what volunteering
offers, busting myths that it is always demands a lifelong, heavy commitment.
4.13 VIOs felt that part of the strategy should be to improve communication between the
infrastructure agencies on volunteering issues.
4.14 They also advocated developing a media strategy to regularly promote volunteers’ stories,
especially in local newspapers.
Volunteer Management
4.15 It was apparent that larger VIOs had developed a great deal of skill and expertise in
volunteer recruitment and management over the last ten years. A range of formal and
informal processes were described by these organisations, based on modern HR practice,
but with a ‘softer edge’, and there seem to be several examples of outstanding practice in
this area. In contrast volunteer management in the smaller community-based VIOs was
described as ‘ad hoc’. One respondent said that community organisations in Stockton-on-
23
Tees would benefit from a ‘simple, generic volunteer recruitment and management pack’
and that part of the strategy should be about providing material like this to smaller VIOs.
Recruitment, brokerage and retention
4.16 Stockton-on-Tees was described as a relatively difficult area for recruiting volunteers, either
because of the pressures people face around working or finding work or because they lacked
confidence or skills. Despite these difficulties, larger VIOs suggested that volunteer
recruitment had generally been going well overall. They were anxious that a volunteering
strategy should not interfere with current recruitment and other processes that are working
well.
4.17 For many community-based groups, recruitment was described as ‘the single biggest
problem’. They indicated, for example, that there was a need for individual volunteers with
specific skills such as book keeping and building management. Even the more established
organisations indicated that they struggled to get volunteers in specific areas or for new or
one-off endeavours.
4.18 Work and family pressures, including caring responsibilities, was thought to be a major
barrier for many potential volunteers and it was suggested that there are too few
volunteering opportunities suitable for busy working people who also have families to look
after.
4.19 It was suggested that the strategy should assist in expanding volunteering opportunities and
in ensuring that they were available and more attractive to a more heterogeneous and
diverse range of individuals.
4.20 Both larger and smaller VIOs appear to rely heavily on ‘word of mouth’ for recruitment.
Larger organisations also referred to recruitment through their own web-sites and ‘various
direct activities’ but use of Viva Volunteers was very limited. Larger organisations said their
usage of this service was mainly restricted to the recruitment of people for administrative
roles but they welcomed its contribution. Smaller organisations were more negative about
Viva Volunteers and indicated that those recruited through the service ‘didn’t tend to show
up’.
4.21 Most VIOs agree that on-line brokerage alone is inadequate and that personal support is
required especially for those lacking in confidence. Some had had greater expectations
about what Viva Volunteers had been established to deliver. This included the promotion of
volunteering, more drive in brokerage and recruitment and a greater level of support to
volunteers and VIOs.
4.22 Smaller VIOs suggested that the volunteering strategy should ensure the development of
one or more high profile places where people can go to get information about volunteering.
That this should offer information about the opportunities ‘out there’ and the effects on
benefits; backed up with an opportunity to talk to someone about all this, possibly as a
volunteer-to-volunteer service. They were clear that a face-to-face meeting with new
potential volunteers was required as soon as possible. They said that people who want to
volunteer by and large want to meet people and that “the warmth associated with
volunteering is part of its essence”. Their view was that an on-line connection couldn’t
supply this. As one respondent put it, “the connection can only come from a handshake”.
24
4.23 It was also agreed that a face-to-face service would assist in filtering out those who were not
truly committed to volunteering.
4.24 Larger VIOs suggested that volunteers were unaware of the full spectrum of volunteering
opportunities and that this especially applied to on-line applicants.
4.25 Other local Volunteer Centres, Church events, Fetes and University Freshers’ Fairs were all
mentioned as opportunities taken to boost recruitment by the larger VIOs.
4.26 Retention of volunteers was not seen as a particular problem by larger VIOs providing, they
claimed, selection was carried out properly and a good management and rewards system
was in place.
Volunteer support
4.27 Larger VIOs said they had minimal need for assistance as they were largely self-reliant. They
are confident in their own abilities and therefore not worried by the lack of a volunteer
support infrastructure.
4.28 This did not apply to smaller community-based VIOs who regarded a lack of support to meet
the needs of people who were new to volunteering and had vulnerabilities or other needs as
a major barrier.
4.29 Large and small VIOs felt more support was required so that people were able to make an
informed decision about how and where to volunteer and to become ‘volunteer ready’ by
meeting basic expectations around self-presentation and reliability before they started. It
was suggested that part of the volunteering strategy should be to develop a package of
training and other support for would-be volunteers who are not yet volunteer-ready.
4.30 Smaller VIOs felt that Viva Volunteers offered too little face-to-face support, and that this
made the organisation seem aloof and insufficiently proactive. It was suggested that they do
not keep in touch with the people they place and so can’t bring them together for
networking events or similar activities.
Training, accreditation and career development
4.31 Larger VIOs suggested that some accredited training is offered to volunteers as a matter of
course, at a range of levels to enable progression, but they recognised that organising
training can be the hardest part of volunteer management because of other demands on
volunteers’ time.
4.32 Smaller VIOs noted that training for volunteers is available from SRCGA via Skillshare, and
also from Tees Achieve but maintained that part of the volunteering strategy should be to
expand and streamline the training that was available.
4.33 There was a recognition within the larger VIOs that volunteering is often linked to career
development since many students volunteer to gain the practical experience needed for
professional qualifications, and also many staff in VIOs started as volunteers.
25
Resource implications
4.34 There is a general recognition among larger VIOs that volunteering is not free as it requires
professional co-ordination and support so, for some, volunteering is limited more by the in-
house resources available to support it than by the flow of would-be volunteers.
4.35 Volunteers within the smaller community-based organisations stressed that the legitimate
out-of-pocket expenses of volunteers should be met without complications as it was clearly
unfair to penalise them financially when they were giving their time for free. They saw this
as a potential barrier to volunteer activity.
4.36 VIOs felt that the volunteering strategy should ensure that they are supported and assisted
in identifying and securing volunteer funding streams and that it should ensure that a
signposting service is provided to them.
Benefits implications
4.37 Both larger and smaller VIOs raised the implications of volunteer activity on entitlement to
benefits as another potential barrier. It was felt that there was some confusion about this
which led to a fear among some potential volunteers. They suggested that more clarity was
needed from DWP around how volunteering relates to entitlement to benefits especially for
those actively seeking work.
Recognition
4.38 Recognising and rewarding volunteers is regarded as very important. Although it was
reported that many volunteers actually shy away from formal recognition or competitive
awards, the Catalyst Awards ceremony is viewed very positively, but only as part of the
whole rewards spectrum, which has also to include regular appraisals so that volunteers can
continuously learn and develop, as well as regular lower-profile and informal acts of
recognition. Larger VIOs mentioned that from what volunteers sometimes told them, the
quality of the volunteering experience varies across Stockton-on-Tees, especially in terms of
ongoing personal development and recognition. Smaller community-based VIOs suggested
that improving recognition for volunteers should be a clear part of the emerging
volunteering strategy.
Monitoring progress
4.39 There was general agreement that collectively the voluntary and community sector had poor
intelligence on volunteering activity. The scoping report produced by Catalyst last year was
welcomed but VIOs suggested that an annual volunteers survey could be carried out to
identify issues, collect ideas and gauge volunteer satisfaction. This would it was claimed,
provide a baseline from which to evaluate future developments.
26
Views of other organisations involved in the consultation 4.40 The key points from consultation with each of the other organisations met with as part of
this project are summarised below.
Stockton-on-Tees Council officers:
The Council itself is a volunteer involving organisation (VIO), offering hundreds of
current volunteering opportunities to residents right across Stockton-on-Tees
The Council’s aim is to call on volunteers to enhance the services it offers, not to use
them to replace services.
Having been involved in the re-designing of infrastructural support to the voluntary
and community centre after the closure of Stockton-on-Tees VDA in 2008, the
Council is aware of the remit that Viva Volunteers has sought to fulfil.
The Council’s management capacity has reduced recently, and this affects its
capacity to support volunteering
The Council may no longer be the organisation best placed to manage all this in-
house volunteer activity and make the most of it, although there are no plans to
withdraw from it
The public wants more flexible, local volunteering opportunities that do not make
large, long term demands on limited free time
The Public Service (Social Value Act) 2012 creates specific opportunities for
procurement to be carried out in a way that is more favourable for VIOs, allowing a
contract value to be placed on volunteer input, and a strategy could capitalise on
this
The Council is aware that volunteer brokerage is not part of Tees Valley Community
Foundation’s core business, so a volunteering strategy needs to find a long term
home for the service currently offered through Viva Volunteers
Volunteers have a range of motivations, and these need to be better understood so
that popular and appropriate volunteering opportunities can be offered
A role for training agencies such as Tees Achieve should be identified in the strategy.
Volunteering departments at Teesside University and Durham University:
Volunteering at Teesside University is supported through the VolunTees programme,
and at Durham University is badged under the Experience Durham project.
There are three strands to volunteering at both universities: volunteering in the
community, university-based volunteering and student-led volunteering
Student-led volunteering includes Voluntees Impact Programe and Make A
Difference (MAD) Days at Teesside, and activity initiated by the Durham University
Charity Kommittee (DUCK)
As well as student volunteering, both universities run volunteering programmes for
their own staff which can offer advanced specialist skills as well as the more usual
corporate volunteering one-off days
Both universities offer various undergraduate and post graduate placement schemes
and internships, which are not volunteering, but could offer voluntary and
community sector groups free specialist support in areas such as marketing, web
design, IT and other core business functions
27
Durham University’s volunteering is more developed in and around Durham City, but
the university would be very open to working with more organisations in Stockton-
on-Tees
Durham University runs a corporate social responsibility staff volunteering
programme for Newcastle NHS, and is keen to develop its role as a co-ordinator of
corporate volunteering elsewhere in the North East
At Teesside University, details of over 160 community volunteering opportunities
are held on-line for access by students; and an officer from VolunTees will meet
with organisations to discuss their volunteering needs
National Student Volunteering Week is in February and Daisy Chain, A Way Out and
Preston Park have all been involved in the past
A strategy could help by increasing the number of opportunities students can access
and raising awareness of the other in-person resources the universities can offer the
voluntary and community sector
The Volunteer Action Group in Middlesbrough, which meets to share best practice
and promote volunteering opportunities, was suggested as a possible model for
Stockton-on-Tees.
Training agencies, Tees Achieve and Skillshare North East Ltd.:
Tees Achieve is Stockton-on-Tees Council’s Adult Education Service
Skillshare North East Ltd., recent winners of VONNE’s Best Support Agency award, is
a community-focused training organisation operating across the whole of the North
East.
Between them, both agencies supply a range of accredited and unaccredited
training courses relevant to individual volunteers and host organisations
Tees Achieve is itself a VIO, with around 12 volunteers helping in the delivery of a
number of its courses
Tees Achieve needs to know about volunteering opportunities that it can place its
learners on, but fears that ‘volunteering’ is not always the best word to use to
promote them, as for younger learners, ‘placement’ may be more alluring
For Tees Achieve, the Do-It website has proved a very useful way of signposting
learners who are not suited to the opportunities Tees Achieve can offer
The volunteering experience is not uniformly excellent, with recognition as well as
ongoing support and development of volunteers sometimes areas of weakness
Confidence is an issue for many volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees especially for the
first time, which means that a flexible non-threatening approach to training is
required, allowing time for a move onto accredited training later
On-line training resources are available but little used as they are thought to be
isolating and offer too little opportunity for problem-solving
Tees Valley Workforce Skills programme supports progression up to level 4 for
volunteers who are involved for 8 hours or more per week
The strategy needs to make sure smaller community groups enjoy training
opportunities equal to those of the more established VIOs and promote the
importance of training for organisations hosting volunteers (VIOs) as well as training
for individual volunteers
28
There is a need to campaign for Government support for volunteering training in its
own right, as opposed to always being linked to job seeking.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP):
The DWP’s primary focus remains on getting people back into work
In theory, finding work is a full time job
However, guided by the Get Britian Working initiative, DWP signposts claimants
interested in volunteering to Viva Volunteers and has a direct link to the Do-It
website
In the experience of DWP staff, volunteering is of most help to the most vulnerable
claimants who need confidence building and other support, but DWP does not have
the resources to allow staff to spend time in offering them support on their
volunteering journey
Claimants who volunteer need to complete a DWP declaration form, which in most
cases will not be a problem, although it will create issues later on if the declaration
is not made
DWP would want to ensure that any volunteering strategy gave appropriate advice
in relation to volunteering and benefits entitlement
DWP has a staff volunteering policy and some DWP staff in Stockton-on-Tees are
active volunteers.
Tees Valley Community Foundation:
In assuming responsibility for Viva Volunteers and running it from early 2010, the
Community Foundation believed it was taking on a limited brokerage function,
which it acknowledges is now de facto on-line only with just 0.5 full-time equivalent
staffing available to deliver it
The original business plan for Viva Volunteers envisaged significant earned income
being raised from organising corporate volunteering activities, but this never
materialised
The Community Foundation’s mission is ‘to be at the heart of local giving’ and it
does not believe this core purpose offers a longterm strategic fit with volunteer
support and brokerage, so has no wish to continue to deliver Viva Volunteers
However, it believes the Professional Services Group, through which specialist
advice is supplied free to the voluntary and charitable sector, remains a good fit with
the Community Foundation’s strategic aim to promote corporate giving, and intends
to keep responsibility for it
There is currently a lack of clarity in Stockton-on-Tees about who is responsible for
the various elements of volunteer brokerage and support and how it should be
packaged
In the Community Foundation’s view, there are two quite distinct elements to
volunteer support and brokerage: there is the on-line service offered through Viva
Volunteers, which TVCF believes to be appropriate for most volunteers nowadays,
and then there is help for would-be volunteers with extra needs, which is a quite
separate project
The Community Foundation is unsure whether calls for a ‘travel agent style’
volunteer bureau represent an intelligent use of resources or are simply ‘feel good’
in their nature
29
Going forward, any solution proposed for volunteer support and brokerage in
Stockton-on-Tees will have to take account of two crucial factors: the growing
dominance of mobile technology as the preferred communication tool of all but a
very small sector of society, and the continuing financial austerity programme which
means having to make the best use of existing resources.
5.0 Volunteer Motivations 5.1 In their review of patterns of volunteering cited earlier in this report Mohan and Bulloch
(2012) conclude, ‘The general lesson for policy is that undifferentiated appeals for people to
do more need to be tempered by an acknowledgement of individual circumstances’. In other
words, we need to know more about what draws different groups of people into
volunteering, and what holds them back.
5.2 We know that socio-economic factors play a role here, certainly in terms of who is likeliest
to be most heavily involved in volunteering, as these people are most likely to be middle
aged or over and live in the least deprived parts of the country.
5.3 This raises an interesting question about where people volunteer, or where their
volunteering might offer them most personal satisfaction. The Government’s commitment
to localism implies that civic engagement takes place in a person’s home neighbourhood, yet
in reality it may be that their skills could be best used somewhere else. The Professional
Services Group hosted by Tees Valley Community Foundation is actually an example of this
in practice, and engagement through a faith group can often be too. Employee volunteering
schemes offer another opportunity to recruit for skills that are in short supply in some areas.
The Venn diagram (Figure 7) below illustrates the factoring of local needs into a corporate
social responsibility initiative in a way that is in line with employees’ personal motivations
but also offers a chance to go beyond the usual one-off staff day, however valuable it may
be.
Figure 7: Engagement opportunities in Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives
5.4 A further spin off from more soundly-based employee schemes could be a strengthening of
certain social capital effects of volunteering. Some doubt that social capital actually exists at
all, but may still agree that it is at least a useful way of talking about various social processes
associated with the ways individuals and communities interact. One of these processes is
termed ‘bridging’ social capital and this describes interactions with people outside of one’s
immediate circle, such as for example with business associates, who are often entirely
lacking for people in deprived neighbourhoods who are looking for work. Unsurprisingly, it
30
is bridging social capital that is thought to have most to do with getting on in life. When
researchers state that volunteering does not increase social capital once the effects of
deprivation are taken into account, it is probably the specific absence of an increase in
bridging social capital that they are referring to. For those involved with volunteering
schemes aiming to help people motivated by a desire for work or to build up their CV, this
means thinking about how the volunteering experience can be used to build some form of
personal relationship between the volunteer and people who might actually help them in
their search for work.
5.5 Employers’ motivations and concerns need to be addressed too of course. There is little
interest evident from employers in paying significant sums to the voluntary and community
sector just to organise their staff volunteering, but Durham University has begun to develop
a role for a high quality service charged out at marginal cost (i.e. charging only for the
immediate extra costs of organising the event, with no recovery of general overheads). The
basic service the employers demand consists of:
Pre-planning
Risk assessment
Health questionnaire
Team briefing
Travel plan
Team briefing
Co-ordination
Accompanying on the day
Evaluation
Photos and media opportunities
5.6 Research also suggests that for most people, volunteering is something that they move into
and out of at different stages of their lives.
5.7 A hypothesis worth exploring may be whether the most heavily involved volunteers stay
involved for the longest periods of time, whilst people in that much larger group involved in
volunteering to a lesser extent are more likely to volunteer for shorter periods of time.
Common sense suggests this inference to be true, but we don’t know for sure because the
evidence isn’t there. Yet if we did understand more about such aspects of volunteering, it
could help us to promote volunteering opportunities more effectively and perhaps retain
active volunteers for longer. In any event, a strategy aimed at the highly involved core group
of volunteers will look different to one aimed at the larger group of non-core volunteers,
many of who at any given time are would-be rather than actual volunteers.
5.8 The main personal barriers to involvement in volunteering that a strategy would need to
address seem to be:
Family caring responsibilities
Lack of time due to work and other commitments
Lack of confidence generally and a fear of rejection
Benefit entitlement rules
Disability and special needs
Unnecessary red tape including concerns around DBS checks
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Not having transport, clothing or other basic necessities
Fear of being left out of pocket/not being able to afford to volunteer
Fear of entering into too big a commitment
Lack of knowledge of volunteering opportunities or ‘where to start’
And the commonest reasons people give for volunteering include:
o ‘Giving something back’ to a community or group
o Seeking out an opportunity to use a particular skill to ‘do something
worthwhile’
o Increasing opportunities for employment or socialisation by learning new
skills or meeting new people
o Helping people with specific needs
o Taking up a cause or dealing with an issue in which they are interested.
5.9 Understanding motivation is more than halfway towards having an effective promotional
strategy.
5.10 With all this in mind and drawing on comments made by VIOs in the course of this study, the
main motivations affecting different groups of volunteers and would-be volunteers in
Stockton-on-Tees appear to be:
CV-building – often younger, may need to build ‘bridging social capital’ and to be
offered guidance on benefit entitlement, or may a student
Give back/ retain skill – often older, may be a ‘core’ volunteer
Faith, belief or cause – any age, often not felt by them to be ‘volunteering’, and
may volunteer away from home neighbourhood
Isolation/ build confidence – often mid-life or older, may need more personal
support and guidance on benefit entitlement
Change career/ new place – often mid-life, may bring many skills with them and
have family caring responsibilities
Fun/ socialise – often younger, short term volunteering
Corporate volunteer – any age, range of possible motivations, and may offer
‘bridging social capital’.
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6.0 Towards a strategy
Rationale 6.1 Why does the voluntary and community sector in Stockton-on-Tees need a volunteering
strategy? In many respects things are working well. There is no indication from national
statistics that the borough has fewer volunteers than other similar localities, and some VIOs
get applications from more would-be volunteers than they can handle.
6.2 If things were left as they are, most well-established VIOs would no doubt continue to find
volunteers. A local independent school could still encourage its students to go on volunteer
placements in the kitchens of a hospice before applying to medical college. A few employers
would come across Volunteering England’s online guidance and use it to arrange an
employee volunteering event or two. And Viva Volunteers would still update the Do-It
website with local volunteering opportunities, provided a long term host was found for it.
6.3 Even if this were sufficient, it has to be recognised that a volunteering strategy is about
much more than brokerage, pairing up would-be volunteers with placements. Most people
do in fact sort out their own volunteering placement, so brokerage in itself is perhaps no
longer even the most important priority for a strategy to address.
6.4 In effect there is something of a free market in volunteering across Stockton-on-Tees, and it
works fairly well for some. But like any free market, it will produce outcomes that fall short
of broader social objectives if simply left to go its own way. If things remain just as they are:
already well-established local VIOs and national organisations will probably continue
to thrive, but smaller, community-based groups may struggle and some that could
have had a future will die
Stockton-on-Tees will be less likely to secure its share of the limited resources
available to develop innovative volunteering in future, especially volunteering aimed
at helping people who are vulnerable, isolated or lacking the confidence needed to
get on in the world today
without a strategic framework for creating opportunities to co-operate, the effects
of increasingly competitive grant-making and commissioning cultures, documented
in the National Commission for Independent Action’s recent Inquiry into the Future
of Voluntary Services, are likely to result in suspicion and rivalry between
organisations who should be partners
there will be no proper, step-by-step facilitation of online volunteering in a way that
overcomes effects of the socio-economic factors still excluding many
and finally, the borough will not be in a position to respond well to any increase in
civic engagement that may come about if the reverberations of the Scottish
referendum produce an appetite for change in England.
6.5 This is not to suggest that current systems should be centralised into a new collective entity,
but simply to note how, without some agreed focus for concerted effort, opportunities may
be lost and motivated activists left feeling unsupported, both of which represent real losses
of potential value in themselves.
33
The Value of Volunteering 6.6 There are many benefits to volunteering for the people who take part. In fact current
government policy on volunteering has as much if not more to do with its positive effects on
the volunteer as with its effects on beneficiaries.
6.7 MIND in Stockton-on-Tees lists the following benefits from taking part in volunteering:
Satisfaction
Increased confidence and esteem
Meeting new people
Trying something new
Developing skills and experience
Finding a job or changing career
It can be life changing.
6.8 But how is the full value of volunteering to be calculated? In a speech to the Society of
Business Economists in September 2014, Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of
England, argued that the value of volunteering had three components: economic, personal
and social.
6.9 Economic value is really the only one of these in frequent use and widely understood: it is
simply the number of volunteer hours multiplied by an equivalent waged hourly rate. This is
the calculation that enables Butterwick Hospice to assess the value of their volunteering to
be around an impressive £0.75million per year, for example.
6.10 However, personal and social value, even though less well understood, are at least as
significant when it comes to working out the full value of volunteering.
6.11 To take the example of a volunteer centre staffed mainly by volunteers, it generates
economic value in terms of the value of the volunteered time equivalent to wages; it
produces personal value probably at least equal to this comprised of the benefits gained by
the volunteers (and importantly this also includes value to volunteers in other groups who
feel happier and more effective knowing that there is someone to talk to about
volunteering); and it generates potentially massive social value because of the accumulating
knock-on effects that come from increasing the total amount of volunteering activity.
6.12 Arriving at calculations of these forms of value can be highly technical, so few organisations
do them. But Haldane urges VIOs to think about how they can set up partnerships with
economists, brokered perhaps through university placements or volunteering programmes,
to go beyond the very rough calculations of the economic value of volunteering that by and
large are all that is relied on currently.
If there is a strategy, then what should its objectives be? 6.13 Many volunteering strategies aim at an increase in volunteer numbers, and the Government
speaks in these terms as well. However, the total number of people volunteering appears to
be stable and some groups in society are already volunteering very heavily, so it is hard to
see how their volunteering could be increased.
6.14 More fundamentally, as figures earlier in this report show, the voluntary and community
sector is likely to be in touch with only a small proportion of volunteers active at any one
34
time, so any undue emphasis on increasing the numbers of people volunteering is likely have
the perverse outcome of simply counting volunteers better, rather than achieving any real
increase in their numbers.
6.15 It would therefore be better to think about how to encourage people who are not amongst
the most heavily committed, to volunteer more often, and stay active for longer, even
though this might be hard to measure directly.
6.16 As for targets for numbers of volunteers, they should be very specific: either targets for
projects to work with an agreed number of volunteers who need special support, or targets
to recruit to VIOs, especially smaller, community-based ones where there are identified
gaps.
6.17 If the strategy is not to be fundamentally about increasing volunteer numbers, could it be
about improving the quality of the processes around volunteering? And if so, how could a
baseline be set for this, so that improvements could be measured?
6.18 There are two possible proxies for quality, i.e. tangible things that can be used to represent
something complex or abstract.
6.19 The first of these would be to introduce an annual survey of volunteers in Stockton-on-Tees
to ask about satisfaction with their experience of volunteering and ideas for improvement.
The survey7 would establish a baseline from which to then gauge increases in satisfaction,
levels of activity and rates of retention year by year. A similar survey could be used to collect
opinions from VIOs so that between the two surveys, support for volunteering became much
more consumer-led, with all participating VIOs agreeing to deliver to standards in a
Volunteers Charter.
6.20 The second proxy for quality is the Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation system run by
Volunteering England. The term volunteer centre implies an office or bureau, but this need
not be so as the range of activities covered could be delivered through a network or
partnership. The value of the Quality Standard in drawing up and then monitoring progress
on the strategy is that it defines what is required to deliver each aspect of volunteering. An
assessment of current performance against each element of this standard provides an initial
baseline at the start of the strategy, and identifies priorities to improve performance. Repeat
assessments at agreed times in the future provide sufficiently objective measures of
progress on quality and allow for priorities to be refreshed in the light of changed
performance.
6.21 Of course it would be possible to use other quality standards in the same way. The particular
value of using Volunteer England’s standard, apart from the fact that it is bespoke for this
particular field, is that it would make it easier to benchmark performance against volunteer
centre set ups in other localities in future and work with them on service improvements.
Benchmarking current performance 6.22 A basic assessment of the current performance of the voluntary and community sector in
Stockton-on-Tees against the latest version of Volunteering England’s standard is set out in
Table 3
7 Which could be derived from the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) 9-point quality standard
35
Table 3: Volunteering England’s Standards
Specific standard Outcome required by standard
Current position in Stockton-on-
Tees
Strategic development of
volunteering
Through the activity of the
Volunteer Centre or partnership
and its engagement with local
networks and decision makers
there is a positive environment
in which volunteering is
flourishing
No clear ownership of
responsibility for driving the
strategy in all its aspects.
No local volunteering network
shaping the strategic
programme.
Positivity resides in individual
VIOs, rather than throughout the
system.
Voice of Volunteering
Through the Volunteer Centre’s
or partnership’s activities there
is an increased awareness of
the issues impacting on
volunteering.
VIOs’ individual brands much
stronger than collective
Stockton-on-Tees Volunteering
brand.
The collective voice seems
weak, with no clear
responsibility for
campaigning or media strategy.
Catalyst Awards are valued for
achieving more recognition of
volunteers and volunteering.
The voice of volunteers should
be stronger.
Good Practice Development
Through the activity of the
Volunteer Centre or partnership
organisations from all sectors
(involving or providing
volunteers) improve or attain
positive consistency in their
volunteering programmes.
Much exemplary practice, but
created by each VIO separately
rather than shared.
No local volunteering network
spreading good practice and
sharing resources
Unsure how widespread good
practice really is, for example no
Volunteers Charter that all can
36
sign up to or shared data on
volunteer satisfaction.
More volunteer-to-volunteer
events and networking needed
so process more volunteer-led.
Need to promote/make available
basic volunteer management
pack and offer personal support
to community-based
groups/small VIOs
Developing Volunteering
Opportunities
The Volunteer Centre or
partnerships development
activity increases and improves
the quantity, quality, and
diversity of volunteering locally.
A wide range of volunteering
opportunities are on offer across
the borough and new groups are
being set up.
Nothing yet in place to
consistently measure quantity,
quality, diversity etc.
No agreed shared programme to
create new volunteering
opportunities to meet agreed
needs/ address opportunities or
recruit to meet known gaps.
Brokerage
Through the Volunteer Centre’s
or partnership’s activities the
general public and all sectors
are better informed about and
have access to an effective and
efficient brokerage service
Permanent host needed for role
of keeping Do-It website up to
date, Viva Volunteers’ core task.
Lacks strong web/social media
presence
Lack of any fully committed,
accessible face to face service
restricts capacity to develop new
schemes in the important
supported-volunteering/pre-
volunteering niche.
No use of volunteers in
brokerage service or trial of
information outlets through
libraries and community centres.
Only support for employee
volunteering is ad hoc via
individual VIOs.
37
6.23 This preliminary benchmarking suggests that action is required in each area of the standard.
Expectations 6.24 But how might action to raise performance be integrated with what well-established and
smaller VIOs have said they might expect from a strategy?
6.25 From what well-established VIOs have said, we know:
They are doing well by and large with well developed in-house processes for
volunteer recruitment and management
They may be receiving more applications from would-be volunteers than they can
handle
They may be interested in sharing some of the generic basic training of volunteers,
which can be hard to organise
They could only take part in a network or partnership if it was directly useful, but
some are aware that these work well elsewhere
They are interested in how to reward volunteers, including through the Catalyst
awards
They are keen to promote volunteering through the media, although some are
already highly skilled at this
Some may have a shortage of a specific type of volunteer at times
Some would like to know there is somewhere would-be volunteers can go to refine
their volunteering choices
Some would like help so that their volunteers could progress onto new opportunities
with other hosts
Some may be interested in directly helping to develop a network or partnership’s
capabilities, for example by auditing assets or developing a project to calculate the
full value of volunteering and improve impact assessment.
6.26 And as for smaller VIOs and the organisation supporting them:
Recruitment is their main need, especially for committee roles or help with specific
initiatives and events
They want someone to be proactive on their behalf, perhaps drawing up an annual
programme of their needs for volunteers and helping recruit to it
They and their volunteers want to feel part of something exciting and inspiring
They believe it is the overall vision that draws volunteers in
Guidance on basic volunteer recruitment and management processes would be
welcomed, through a handbook and in person
They value having someone to talk to about volunteering, including somewhere to
send people who want advice on volunteering opportunities
They think it would be a good idea if there were more opportunities for volunteers
to meet, learn and inspire each other.
6.27 We also know that supported volunteering has replaced brokerage as a main component of
the USP of volunteer centres. And we know that co-ordinated volunteer-to-volunteer
support and mentoring is has the potential to attract funding, albeit in a difficult funding
38
environment, essentially offering the service that Evolve Darlington describes as ‘pre-
volunteering’.
Specific gaps that need to be filled in order to improve performance and meet
expectations 6.28 With the benchmarking and expectations in mind, the specific gaps a strategy should seek to
fill are:
A vision that is inspiring for current volunteers, but also likely to encourage ‘non-
core’ volunteers to volunteer more often and stay active for longer
‘Pre-volunteering’ services offering in-person support through localised outlets and,
as a by-product, taking on Viva Volunteers’ role of updating Do-It
Steps to achieve equal access for small and well-established VIOs to training,
support and volunteers
Shared promotion and development of a wide range of volunteering opportunities,
themed around what is known about volunteers’ motivations
Networking between VIOs and stakeholders, which proves popular elsewhere
Volunteer satisfaction data used to gauge success over time in improving
performance, and also feeding into a Volunteer Charter
Volunteer-to-volunteer networking events in addition to the Catalyst Awards
Media strategy and strong web and social media presence
Shared data on resources, volunteer activity and the true full value of volunteering
An organised approach to employee volunteering
Management of relationships with DWP and other key institutions such as Public
health authority, Clinical Commissioning Groups and funders.
Taking this forward 6.29 The split between responsibilities for work on strategy and delivery in Stockton-on-Tees’s
voluntary sector infrastructure set up makes it a little harder to be definite about allocating
roles for taking all of this forward. However, key steps and responsibilities in the strategic
process are:
i. Establish ownership of the whole process – ultimately this needs to reside with
Catalyst, given the high strategic component of much of the activity around
volunteering
ii. Set up clear governance to lend direction – a new Volunteering Partnership needs to
be created for this, bringing together VIOs, Stockton-on-Tees Voice Forum and other
stakeholders. This too should be convened by Catalyst
iii. Develop a funding strategy to draw in the resources needed to achieve agreed aims
– again, a Catalyst responsibility
iv. Strengthen the ‘Stockton-on-Tees Volunteering’ brand, which is weaker than
Individual VIO brand by developing a clear overall vision for volunteering in
Stockton-on-Tees – it’s aim is to motivate those people in the outer core of
volunteering, so that they are likely to volunteer more often and for longer. It should
convey the benefits of volunteering, although need not necessarily use the word
‘volunteering’– this can be developed in collaboration with VIOs, through the Voice
Forum and other Catalyst platforms and events.
39
v. Set up a new mechanism for day-to-day delivery – IT needs are likely to be the same
as for other voluntary networking agencies; a fundable option would be to set up a
small agency or unit within an existing organisation employing ideally a full-time co-
ordinator to:
o involve volunteers in providing mentoring and advice to around 150 people
with defined extra needs per year, and also carrying out the Viva Volunteers
role – location to be agreed, perhaps prominent co-location with host
agency plus community centres/libraries
o run a Volunteer Learning Network to spread good practice and share
training resources
o provide guidance to smaller VIOs in particular
o run targeted recruitment of volunteers to meet identified gaps
o set up and co-ordinate a Volunteer Learning Network
o develop the Stockton-on-Tees Volunteering web presence and promote the
use of social media in volunteering.
vi. Begin to collect shared data on volunteers – Volunteer Learning Network members
could agree to submit simple basic data to help with monitoring and evaluation of
volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees.
vii. Discuss proposals with the local universities to use placements to develop a project
to identify the full value of volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees, including private and
social value – this is probably a fundable project in its own right, and would be a
Catalyst responsibility.
6.30 With all of this set down in a strategy document covering:
Scope – thinking big, but practical – an exciting vision about quality of life in
Stockton-on-Tees aimed at improving the experiences of ‘non-core’ volunteers so
they volunteer more often and stay active for longer. Emphasising the benefits of
giving, showing it really is better to give than to receive.
Affirmation of the principles and values signed up in the strategy, to so that
volunteering remains voluntary, not involuntary or pecuniary.
Oversight and responsibilities – appropriately split between strategic responsibilities
and service delivery.
Broad strategic aims – improving the quality of performance, measured by self-
assessment against Volunteering England’s Quality Standard and by the collection of
data on volunteer satisfaction
Specific objectives – themed action plans
Resources – sharing between partners as well as raising fresh resources
Monitoring and evaluation – costs and real, full benefits
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7.0 Stockton-on-Tees Volunteering Draft Strategy 2015-18
Life’s better when you’re part of something:
personal fulfilment through volunteering
7.1 A strategy for all the towns and villages of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, encouraging
people to give their time more often and stay active as volunteers for longer by:
Offering a range of volunteering opportunities, irrespective of culture, disability, ill
health, education, employment status or family commitments, to motivate
volunteers of all ages, - Volunteering Diversity.
Guaranteeing the quality of the volunteering experience for everyone involved -
Volunteering Quality.
Making the whole volunteering support service more customer-focused by
strengthening volunteers’ collective voice in everything we do - Volunteering Voice.
The principles of volunteering 7.2 This strategy is based on five basic principles:
Volunteering is not cost free but needs facilitation, co-ordination and support to
make it work.
It is entered into as a free choice on the part of the volunteer.
It must be open to all sections of society equally.
It is an exchange, not simply a gift, so volunteering must benefit the volunteer by
offering opportunities for gaining experience, confidence, new knowledge and skills.
The specific contributions of individual volunteers must be appropriately
acknowledged along with the broader social and economic effects of volunteering.
Making the most of resources 7.3 In difficult political and economic times, we have to make the most of all our collective
resources - Volunteering Value.
7.4 These include:
Our shared fund raising skills
Our skills and expertise gained through years of support to volunteers
Our office facilities and meeting places
Our shared administrative, IT and research capabilities
Campaigning knowhow and access to the media
Our faith communities’ commitment to the public good
The passion of people motivated by a cause
The special skills accessible through our local universities’ undergraduate and
postgraduate placement programmes
The skills of the workforce throughout Stockton-on-Tees, accessible through their
corporate social responsibility programmes
41
Volunteers’ capacity to inspire one another and the general public
The goodwill evident in the people of Stockton-on-Tees, and running through the
voluntary and community sector.
7.5 Through this strategy we will work together to raise new funds in support of volunteering.
7.6 But achieving Volunteering Value is not just about money. It’s about how we work together
too, sharing expertise and offering help in kind in various ways, as well as doing all we can to
mobilise volunteers themselves.
7.7 And it is about how we bring together the expertise evident in the organisations across
Stockton-on-Tees that work with volunteers, so we can bid for funding or tender for
contracts collectively, rather than compete needlessly for the same resources.
7.8 This will also require working with experts to better understand the true value of
volunteering. Its combined economic, private and social impact is immense but little
understood.
7.9 Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 all public bodies in England and Wales are
required to consider how the services they hire might improve economic, social and
environmental well-being. We need to demonstrate the value of involving volunteers in
service delivery, so that we can all work together to shape local procurement in a way that
recognises this special contribution, and collaborate on tenders to supply services that are
truly person-centred.
Key Actions 7.10 We will set up a Volunteering Partnership within the Catalyst governance structure to
oversee the delivery and continual development of this strategy.
7.11 We will fundraise for a Volunteering Co-ordinator to:
i. Set up and service a Volunteering Network of VIOs to share information, training
opportunities and promotional activity, and collaborate on funding and contracting
opportunities
ii. Set up and work with a Volunteering Support Group (VSG), a new volunteer-led
agency offering advice and mentoring to would-be volunteers, and updating local
volunteering opportunities onto the Do-It website, but not replacing VIOs’ own
recruitment systems. The VSG will be based in the middle of Stockton-on-Tees,
probably with a host agency, but offering outreach via libraries, community centres
and pop up shops etc.
iii. Offer guidance to VIOs of all sizes on volunteer recruitment and management,
including a handbook and other basic resources.
iv. Draw up an annual programme for the recruitment of volunteers where there are
gaps or for special events/projects.
7.12 We will create a VSG webpage on the Catalyst website (or an alternative host’s site,
depending where the VSG is based) and turn it into Stockton-on-Tees’s go-to online
volunteering destination, along with a VSG Facebook page. None of this is to replace VIOs’
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own volunteer recruitment websites, but to improve the reach and effectiveness of our
collective endeavours.
7.13 We will promote the use of social media and volunteering apps for recruitment and
information-sharing by developing a programme to encourage greater social networking in a
way that gradually overcomes more and more of the socio economic factors currently
preventing too many people from engaging online.
7.14 Through the VSG, we will make our programme of support for volunteering more customer-
focused by:
Facilitating a programme of volunteer-to-volunteer networking events
Carrying out two annual surveys, with the assistance of Catalyst’s Research and
Communications facility: a volunteers satisfaction survey to provide feedback on
how we are doing, collect new ideas and understand motivations better; and a
survey of VIOs to gauge added value from our activities
Drawing up with members of the Volunteering Network a Volunteers Charter as a
statement of shared commitment to guaranteeing the quality of the volunteering
experience for all affected by it.
7.15 We will explore ideas for a Volunteer Dividend such as how time-banking and community
credits can be used to reward and encourage volunteers, along with guaranteed
opportunities to network and engage in informal and accredited training.
7.16 We will link up with other VDAs to explore how undergraduate and postgraduate
placements from local universities and business schools can be called on to shape and seek
funding for projects to:
i. Identify the full real value of volunteering
ii. Improve the collective contract-readiness of our Volunteering Network
7.17 We will develop a campaigning and media strategy to get volunteers’ stories in the press and
elsewhere, focussing on National Volunteers Week and Catalyst’s Volunteering Awards
ceremony, but running throughout the year.
7.18 We will manage relationships with key stakeholders including Stockton-on-Tees Borough
Council and DWP to ensure that they remain able to support the aims of this strategy.
7.19 We will consider how skills gaps can be met by volunteer recruitment through employee
volunteering corporate social responsibility schemes and work with organisations with a
track record in organising schemes of this kind.
7.20 As our collective capacity grows, we will work with Stockton-on-Tees Council to consider
how we might help in the management of public volunteering in Council services.
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Monitoring Progress 7.21 We will monitor the overall progress of our strategy in two ways:
i. By self-assessment against Volunteer England’s Quality Standard for Volunteer
Centres and/or benchmarking against volunteering set-ups in other localities
ii. By measuring improvements in volunteer and VIO satisfaction through two annual
surveys.
7.22 In addition, each separate project generated by the strategy will have individual targets that
progress can be monitored against.
Themes for action We will develop an action plan in line with our themes:
Volunteering Diversity – our range of volunteering opportunities
Volunteering Quality – our standards
Volunteering Value – our resources, costs and benefits
Volunteering Voice – our customer focus
Volunteer Dividend – volunteers’ return on social capital generated
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8.0 References Coule, T and Morgan, GG (2008). Towards a Volunteering Strategy for Sheffield (PDF 554KB)
(Published research report for Sheffield First Partnership, commissioned by Voluntary Action
Sheffield)
Mohan, J and Bulloch, S (2012), The idea of a ‘civic core’: what are the overlaps between charitable
giving, volunteering, and civic participation in England and Wales? (TSRC Working Paper 73)
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Appendix – Consultation
Consultation with organisations involved in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees A.1 In order to draft a strategy, consultation has been carried out with the following
organisations involved in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees:
Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations:
A Way Out
Butterwick Hospice
CAB
Daisy Chain
Five Lamps
MIND
Tees Music Alliance
Three Score Years and Ten
YMCA
Organisations representing smaller, community-based volunteer involving organisations:
Billingham Environmental Link Project (BELP)
Community Service Volunteers, Retired and Senior Volunteering Project (CSV/RSVP)
Love Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees Residents and Community Groups Association (SRCGA)
Stockton-on-Tees Voice Forum
Tees Valley Rural Community Council
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Universities:
Durham University
Teesside University
Training Agencies:
Skillshare
Tees Achieve
Tees Valley Community Foundation
Department for Work and Pensions
A.2 Each of these organisations was asked about:
its involvement in volunteering,
its awareness of Viva Volunteers
issues around recruitment and management of volunteers
barriers to volunteering
how a volunteering strategy might help.
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A.3 A summary of the responses of each of these organisations or groups of organisations is set
out below.
The views of Stockton-on-Tees’s larger or more established Volunteer Involving
Organisations interviewed for this project: A.4 Larger or more established VIOs’ Involvement in Volunteering:
They generally have well-established procedures around volunteering, derived from a
great deal of in-house experience
Volunteering is a core part of these organisations’ activities, often making the difference
between what they do and what the public or private sectors offer
Volunteering is thought to be working well and these organisations have become largely
self-reliant at it
A very wide range of volunteering opportunities are on offer including youth work,
befriending, advice, counselling, event management, general assistance including
gardening and animal care, driving, warehousing, administration, reception duties and
environmental activities of various kinds
Some accredited training is offered to volunteers as a matter of course, at a range of
levels to enable progression
Actually organising training can be the hardest part of volunteer management, because
of other demands on volunteers’ time
Corporate volunteering (e.g. staff volunteering days) happens either where companies
approach a VIO direct or as a spin off from a VIO’s corporate fundraising
There is a recognition that volunteering is often linked to career development since
many students volunteer to gain practical experience needed for professional
qualifications, and also many staff in VIOs started as volunteers there.
Volunteers are recognised as ambassadors for the organisations where they are placed.
A.5 Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations’ Awareness of Viva
Volunteers:
Workers who have been employed for only a few years are unaware of the background
around Stockton-on-Tees VDA that led to setting up Viva Volunteers
Workers who have been employed for longer tend to be confused about or critical of
Viva Volunteers in terms of how extensive its role was expected to be in the promotion
of volunteering, and how much drive it would lend to brokerage and recruitment
Even though Viva Volunteers is seen as having a rather low profile, there is no crisis,
because these agencies are generally confident in their own capacities to recruit and
manage volunteers, so the small contribution to volunteer numbers from Viva
Volunteers comes as a welcome addition
When pressed about the volunteer brokerage role, the general feeling is that ‘on-line
isn’t enough’ and in-person advice and support is needed as well to guide would-be
volunteers, especially if they are lacking confidence or vulnerable in any way
Where volunteers have been sourced from Viva Volunteers, they appear more likely to
be in administrative roles.
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A.6 Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations’ Views on Volunteer
Recruitment and Management:
A great deal of skill and expertise appears to have been built up in these organisations
over the last ten years around volunteer recruitment and management
Although Stockton-on-Tees is felt to be a relatively difficult area for recruiting
volunteers, either because of the pressures people face around working or finding work
or because they lack confidence or skills, recruitment is generally going well overall
However, even these more established organisations may struggle to get volunteers in
specific areas or for new or one-off endeavours
Recruitment is mainly word-of-mouth or via organisation’s own websites, supported by
various other direct activities, with little reliance on Viva Volunteers
Other local Volunteer Centres, Church events, Fetes and University Freshers Fairs were
all mentioned as opportunities taken to boost recruiting
Interviews disclose that would-be volunteers may frequently over-promise what they
can commit to or are unaware of the full spectrum of volunteering opportunities,
especially on-line applicants
Often it will be the more thoughtful, slower-off-the-mark would-be volunteer who stays
with it and shines through
Recognising and rewarding volunteers is very important
Although many volunteers actually shy away from formal recognition or competitive
awards, the Catalyst Awards ceremony is viewed very positively, but only as part of the
whole rewards spectrum, which has also to include regular appraisals so that volunteers
can continuously learn and develop, as well as regular lower-profile and informal acts of
recognition
A range of formal and informal processes and procedures are in place to manage
volunteers, based on modern HR practice but with a ‘softer edge’, and there seem to be
several examples of outstanding practice in this area
Retention of volunteers is not seen as a particular problem as long as selection is carried
out properly and a good management and rewards system is in place.
A.7 Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations’ Views on Barriers to
Volunteering
There is a general recognition that volunteering is not free, requiring professional co-
ordination and support, so for some, volunteering is limited more by the in-house
resources available to support it than by the flow of would-be volunteers
Although volunteer recruitment and management is clearly an area of strong
performance in general, some feedback received by VIOs from volunteers suggests that
the quality of the volunteering experience may still vary, less at the induction and
preparatory stages, but more in terns of ongoing personal development and recognition
Clarity is needed from DWP around how volunteering relates to entitlement to benefits
for those actively seeking work
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The number of would-be volunteers who are not volunteer-ready, i.e able to make an
informed decision about how and where to volunteer and to meet basic expectations
around self-presentation and reliability, appears to be increasing
There are too few volunteering opportunities suitable for busy working people who also
have families to look after.
A.8 Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations’ Views on How a Volunteering
Strategy Might Help:
Improve what is already being achieved; a strategy must not interfere with current
recruitment and other processes that are working well
There is little appetite for taking part in regular steering group-type meetings that are
not immediately beneficial
Signposting to opportunities for volunteer funding would be helpful
A strategy could clarify roles and responsibilities for the various pathways into
volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees, which are currently too unclear
Working together on a media strategy could improve public awareness of what
volunteering offers, busting myths that it is always demands a lifelong, heavy
commitment
A clearer web and social media presence could be established
More could be done to showcase volunteering achievements through the Catalyst
Awards programme and other steps to recognise volunteers’ achievements
First contact with would-be volunteers could be improved, leading them into better
decision-making about which volunteering opportunity to follow up and weeding out the
truly uncommitted
Existing volunteers could more easily be signposted to new opportunities in other VIOs
to continue their personal development and service users could more easily be
signposted into volunteering for the first time
Specific recruitment needs could be focussed on where shortages were identified, for
example, male role models in youth work, new shop staff, warehousing and drivers
New projects could be promoted to attract groups under-represented in volunteering,
for example using an idea like Macmillan’s Give an Hour campaign to involve busy
working people.
A package of training and other support could be developed for would-be volunteers
who are not yet volunteer-ready
A basic volunteer management kit could be developed for smaller VIOs
VIOs could co-operate to deliver generic training to volunteers more economically
A Volunteer Charter could be drawn up and signed by all VIOs to make sure no volunteer
was left unsupported and facilitate sharing best practice
An annual volunteers survey could be carried out to identify issues, collect ideas and
gauge volunteer satisfaction, providing a baseline from which to evaluate future
developments
Intelligence on the volunteering ‘Big Picture’ in Stockton-on-Tees could be built up year
on year on who is/isn’t volunteering and related issues, to guide future action and
evaluate progress.
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The views of organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-
based volunteer involving organisations:
A.9 The involvement in volunteering of groups in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller,
community-based volunteer involving organisations:
These organisations tend to take a broad community development approach to
volunteering, working with people to identify issues, then helping establish groups to
deal with them
In this way, volunteers take part through carrying out tasks and also through serving on
committees and in action groups
Setting up self-managing groups is economical because it reduces demands on resources
needed to support isolated, individual volunteers
Much importance is placed on bringing volunteers together to meet, inform and inspire
one another
The aim is to offer would-be volunteers an exciting vision along with the infrastructure
that enables them to follow where their interest/passion leads them
Supplying a safe meeting place is often the key step that enables a group to get going
Volunteering in these ways is seen as part of a broad fightback against the effects of
living in a disempowered, ‘done-to’ yet sceptical and individualising society
Many people who volunteer in these ways do not identify themselves as volunteers. This
is especially true of people who give their time to faith-based or campaigning groups
Community groups and faith groups are believed to activate a great many unrecognised
volunteers – some hold to the one-in-five principle, whereby one volunteer is believed
to directly affect five beneficiaries.
A.10 Organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer
involving organisations' - their awareness of Viva Volunteers:
Viva Volunteers offers too little face-to-face support, and this makes it seem aloof and
insufficiently proactive
Few volunteers are recruited from the on-line system operated by VIVA
Where would-be volunteers have been supplied by VIVA’s online system, they tend not
to show up
VIVA does not keep in touch with the people it places so can’t bring them together for
networking events or similar activities
People who are new to volunteering need support to be volunteer-ready
Most groups recruit face-to-face so online recruitment solutions currently have little
relevance
People who want to volunteer by and large want to meet people, so in the recruitment
process you need to offer a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible
The warmth associated with volunteering is part of its essence, Online connection
cannot supply this or establish the connection that can only come from a handshake.
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A.11 Organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer
involving organisations - their views on volunteer recruitment and management:
For many community-based groups that have been going for some time, recruitment is
the single biggest problem
A community development approach is used to set up or support groups of various
kinds, but needs for individual volunteers with specific skills also arise, for example
treasurers or building managers
Most recruitment is face-to-face/word of mouth
It is particularly hard to fill committee roles, get volunteers for on-off events and recruit
young people
Stockton-on-Tees’s volunteering pathway is unclear
Volunteer management systems can be ad hoc
A simple, generic volunteer recruitment and management pack would be helpful
It’s the vision of what you are trying to achieve that draws people in
Training for volunteers is available from SRCGA via Skillshare, and also from Tees
Achieve.
A.12 Organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer
involving organisations - their views on barriers to volunteering:
Basic knowledge of all the various volunteering options and what they demand/offer;
Confusion and fear about entitlement to benefits and DWP’s stance towards
volunteering
Support needs of people who are new to volunteering and have vulnerabilities or other
needs
People’s lack of confidence that they have anything to offer or can deliver what will be
expected of them
Entitlement to out of pocket expenses
Work and family pressures, including caring responsibilities.
Organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer
involving organisations - their views on how a volunteering strategy might help:
Recruit more people and weed out uncommitted would-be volunteers
Offer an exciting vision of what we all want to achieve – raise the profile then praise and
affirm to offer recognition of how volunteers have worked towards achieving it
Make sure the recognition of faith communities is included in this recognition
Offer more direct, hands-on help to write funding bids
Set up an easily available small funding pot for the ‘self-evidently good’ smaller idea
Provide a set of basic core volunteer management and recruitment policies and
procedures, along with basic training to help groups deal with common issues, but this
must be practical and directly relevant
Use Catalyst’s email-link tagging capability to issue more focussed email bulletins so that
they are received only by the people who really want to read them
Have one or more high profile places where people can go to get information about
volunteering, offering information about the opportunities out there and the effects on
benefits, backed up with an opportunity to talk to someone about all this, possibly as a
volunteer-to-volunteer service
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Improve communication between the infrastructure agencies on volunteering issues
Set up a partnership to promote volunteering across all the towns and villages that make
up the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
Develop a media strategy to regularly promote volunteers’ stories, especially in local
newspapers
Have a programme of exciting events bringing volunteers together, and link this to a
rewards and recognition programme
Re-think how we talk about volunteering, as the concept can sound too worthy, middle
class and boring, with too little said about the range of opportunities and the benefits
for the volunteer
Theme volunteering opportunities to make them more attractive to different groups
Remember that Stockton-on-Tees is a set of very distinctive separate towns, villages and
neighbourhoods.
The views of officers of Stockton-on-Tees Council who took part in a focus group for
this study
A.13 Stockton-on-Tees Council’s involvement in volunteering:
The Council itself is a volunteer involving organisation (VIO), offering hundreds of
current volunteering opportunities to residents right across Stockton-on-Tees
Volunteering opportunities include over 300 in the Heritage and Libraries services,
over 40 in Parks and Countryside and up to 20 at any one time in the Neighbourhood
Enforcement Volunteer scheme, which volunteers view as a first step into the security
profession
In addition the Council supports various Friends Groups and has active links with
special interest organisations such as Tees Valley Wildlife Trust
When the Council runs a public consultation exercise, it frequently relies on input from
volunteer specialists whose expertise is indispensable
There is also an active programme of up to 120 placements in Adult Social Care, where
social work trainees gain necessary hands-on experience, mainly involving students from
Teesside University, but Durham and Sunderland Universities also take part
Perpetrators of low level anti social behaviour who are on the cusp of involvement
with the justice system are encouraged to take part in voluntary activities
The Council’s aim is to call on volunteers to enhance the services it offers, not to use
them to replace services.
A.14 Stockton-on-Tees Council officers’ awareness of Viva Volunteers:
Viva Volunteers can be accessed directly from the Council’s volunteering opportunities
page, (www.Stockton-on-Tees.gov.uk/strongcommunities/volunteeringopportunites)
Volunteering opportunities at the Council are advertised directly on the Council’s
volunteering opportunities webpage, with direct links through to relevant departments
Having been involved in the re-designing of infrastructural support to the voluntary and
community centre after the closure of Stockton-on-Tees VDA in 2008, the Council is
aware of the remit that Viva Volunteers has sought to fulfil.
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Stockton-on-Tees Council officers’ views on barriers to volunteering:
The Council’s management capacity has reduced recently, and this affects its capacity to
support volunteering
Where services operate without a dedicated volunteer co-ordinator, it is harder to carry
out proper selection or offer the training and other ‘upfront’ investment often required
by new volunteers
The Council may no longer be the organisation best placed to manage all this in-house
volunteer activity and make the most of it, although there are no plans to withdraw
from it.
A.15 Stockton-on-Tees Council officers’ views on volunteer management and recruitment:
The public wants more flexible, local volunteering opportunities that do not make large,
long term demands on limited free time
Volunteering plays an important role in young people’s transition from education to
employment
Some longstanding volunteer groups, though highly valued for their contribution to the
Council’s work, may not appear particularly welcoming to new, would-be volunteers
Volunteers in the Neighbourhood Enforcement service are not entitled to apply for
vacancies in the service before posts go out to public advertisement, unlike in the Police
who now only recruit from their cohort of Special Constables.
A.16 Stockton-on-Tees Council officers’ views on how a volunteering strategy might help:
The Council is interested in seeing organisations in the voluntary and community sector
bid successfully to supply services to the public sector, and an organised, more collective
approach to volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees could help demonstrate the distinctive
contribution volunteers make to service delivery
The Public Service (Social Value Act) 2012 creates specific opportunities for procurement
to be carried out in a way that is more favourable for VIOs, allowing a contract value to
be placed on volunteer input, and a strategy could capitalise on this
The Council is aware that volunteer brokerage is not part of Tees Valley Community
Foundation’s core business, so the strategy needs to find a long term home for the
service currently offered through Viva Volunteers
Volunteers have a range of motivations, and these need to be better understood so that
popular and appropriate volunteering opportunities can be offered
A role for training agencies such as Tees Achieve should be identified in the strategy.
Universities in Stockton-on-Tees A.17 Officers in the volunteering departments at Teesside University and Durham University were
interviewed for this study. Volunteering at Teesside University is supported through the
VolunTees programme, and at Durham University is badged under the Experience Durham
project.
A.18 These universities’ involvement in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees:
There are three strands to volunteering at both universities: volunteering in the
community, university-based volunteering and student-led volunteering
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Student-led volunteering includes Voluntees Impact Programe and Make A Difference
(MAD) Days at Teesside, and activity initiated by the Durham University Charity
Kommittee (DUCK)
As well as student volunteering, both universities run volunteering programmes for their
own staff which can offer advanced specialist skills as well as the more usual corporate
volunteering one-off days
Both universities offer various undergraduate and post graduate placement schemes
and internships, which are not volunteering, but could offer voluntary and community
sector groups free specialist support in areas such as marketing, web design, IT and
other core business functions
Durham University’s volunteering is more developed in and around Durham City, but the
university would be very open to working with more organisations in Stockton-on-Tees
Durham University runs a corporate social responsibility staff volunteering programme
for Newcastle NHS, and is keen to develop its role as a co-ordinator of corporate
volunteering elsewhere in the North East
At Teesside University, details of over 160 community volunteering opportunities are
held on-line for access by students; and an officer from VolunTees will meet with
organisations to discuss their volunteering needs
National Student Volunteering Week is in February and Daisy Chain, A Way Out and
Preston Park have all been involved in the past;.
A.19 These universities’ views on how a volunteering strategy for Stockton-on-Tees could help:
Increase the number of opportunities students can access
Increase the links between the universities and local organisations
Raise awareness of the other in-person resources the universities can offer the voluntary
and community sector
Emulate the work of the Volunteer Action Group in Middlesbrough, which meets to
share best practice and promote volunteering opportunities.
Training agencies in Stockton-on-Tees A.20 Views on volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees were sought from two training agencies, Tees
Achieve and Skillshare North East Ltd. Tees Achieve is Stockton-on-Tees Council’s Adult
Education Service. Skillshare North East Ltd., recent winners of VONNE’s Best Support
Agency award, is a community-focused training organisation operating across the whole of
the North East.
A.21 These training agencies’ involvement in volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees:
Between them, both agencies supply a range of accredited and unaccredited training
courses relevant to individual volunteers and host organisations
Tees Achieve is itself a VIO, with around 12 volunteers helping in the delivery of a
number of its courses
Tees Achieve needs to know about volunteering opportunities that it can place its
learners on, but fears that ‘volunteering’ is not always the best word to use to promote
them, as for younger learners, ‘placement’ may be more alluring
For Tees Achieve, the Do-It website has proved a very useful way of signposting learners
who are not suited to the opportunities Tees Achieve can offer
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Both agencies are aware from their experiences with learners in Stockton-on-Tees that
the volunteering experience is not uniformly excellent, with recognition as well as
ongoing support and development of volunteers sometimes areas of weakness
Government funding is geared towards job preparedness, but their experience is that
many volunteers have other motivations
Confidence is an issue for many volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees especially for the first
time, which means that a flexible non-threatening approach to training is required,
allowing time for a move onto accredited training later
On-line training resources are available but little used as they are thought to be isolating
and offer too little opportunity for problem-solving
Tees Valley Workforce Skills programme supports progression up to level 4 for
volunteers who are involved for 8 hours or more per week
A.22 These training agencies’ views on how a strategy might help:
Draw up a flexible training framework offering unaccredited and accredited training
programmes to volunteers and VIOs across the whole borough, to make sure that
smaller community groups and their volunteers enjoyed training opportunities equal to
those of the more established VIOs
Promote the importance of training for organisations hosting volunteers (VIOs) as well
as training for individual volunteers
Campaign for Government support for volunteering training in its own right, as opposed
to always being linked to job seeking.
Department for Work and Pensions A.23 The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was asked for its relationship with
volunteering in Stockton-on-Tees, and the Job Seeker Opportunities Manager offered the
following comments:
A.24 The DWP’s involvement in volunteering:
The DWP’s primary focus remains on getting people back into work
In theory, finding work is a full time job
However, guided by the Get Britian Working initiative, DWP signposts claimants
interested in volunteering to Viva Volunteers and has a direct link to the Do-It website
In the experience of DWP staff, volunteering is of most help to the most vulnerable
claimants who need confidence building and other support, but DWP does not have the
resources to allow staff to spend time in offering them support on their volunteering
journey
Claimants who volunteer need to complete a DWP declaration form, which in most
cases will not be a problem, although it will create issues later on if the declaration is
not made
DWP would want to ensure that any volunteering strategy gave appropriate advice in
relation to volunteering and benefits entitlement
DWP has a staff volunteering policy and some DWP staff in Stockton-on-Tees are active
volunteers.
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Tees Valley Community Foundation A.25 Tees Valley Community Foundation was asked for its views on the context of this study, and
offered the following observations:
In assuming responsibility for Viva Volunteers and running it from early 2010, the
Community Foundation believed it was taking on a limited brokerage function, which it
acknowledges is now de facto on-line only with just 0.5 full-time equivalent staffing
The original business plan for Viva Volunteers envisaged significant earned income being
raised from organising corporate volunteering activities, but this never materialised
The Community Foundation’s mission is ‘to be at the heart of local giving’ and it does
not believe this core purpose offers a longterm strategic fit with volunteer support and
brokerage, so has no wish to continue to deliver Viva Volunteers
However, it believes the Professional Services Group, through which specialist advice is
supplied free to the voluntary and charitable sector, remains a good fit with the
Community Foundation’s strategic aim to promote corporate giving, and intends to keep
responsibility for it
There is currently a lack of clarity in Stockton-on-Tees about who is responsible for the
various elements of volunteer brokerage and support and how it should be packaged
In the Community Foundation’s view, there are two quite distinct elements to volunteer
support and brokerage: there is the on-line service offered through Viva Volunteers,
which TVCF believes to be appropriate for most volunteers nowadays, and then there is
help for would-be volunteers with extra needs, which is a quite separate project
The Community Foundation is unsure whether calls for a ‘travel agent style’ volunteer
bureau represent an intelligent use of resources or are simply ‘feel good’ in their nature
Going forward, any solution proposed for volunteer support and brokerage in Stockton-
on-Tees will have to take account of two crucial factors: the growing dominance of
mobile technology as the preferred communication tool of all but a very small sector of
society, and the continuing financial austerity programme which means having to make
the best use of existing resources.
Consultation with individual Volunteer Centres A.26 Meetings or phone conversations have been held with the following VDAs and Volunteer
Centres:
Brighton Volunteer Centre
Evolution Darlington
Hartlepool VDA
Middlesbrough VDA
North Tyneside VODA
Redcar and Cleveland VDA
Sheffield Volunteer Centre
Sunderland Volunteer Centre
A.27 It was noteworthy that volunteering strategies were generally a few years old in these
localities, either at or past their review dates. The following comments are typical of the
current situation:
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We used to have a strategy some years ago, when we had a strategy for everything
and made the mistake perhaps of thinking that having a strategy was the same as
actually doing something…..But perhaps there is more action now than previously as
Local Authorities realise they can’t do everything.
The capacity of the more professionalized VIOs has increased markedly recently.
There is increasing pressure on benefit-reliant volunteers, and on smaller community
groups who sometimes now exist in name only because they have lost the funding to
do anything with.
A.28 The main strategic challenges were identified as:
Lack of funding for volunteering or Volunteer Centres per se
Improving the volunteering experience
Understanding more about volunteers’ motivations
Retaining active volunteers for longer, rather than simply aiming to raise numbers.
A.29 As for specific gaps that an up to date strategy should seek to fill:
The groups who need volunteers most lack the capacity to take them on
Groups seeking volunteers should work together more, for example, larger organisations
with a good volunteer management infrastructure could facilitate placements in smaller
organisations
Develop a wide range of volunteering opportunities requiring different levels of
commitment
Build up pools of people with specific interests or skills who can be called on at short
notice, for example Flash Mob Estate Clean Ups, other forms of ‘Guerilla Volunteering’
Develop ‘At Home’ volunteering for those who lack confidence to even go out, maybe
online
Improve the sharing of statistics on volunteering, currently it is difficult to get VIOs to
supply up to date statistics, although the new Do-It system may help in this.
A.30 Comments on volunteer brokerage were in a similar vein to the discussion that had taken
place in July’s Big Assist/NCVO phone-in:
Brokerage is evolving rapidly as the more professionalised VIOs get more skilled
Most would-be volunteers sort out their own placements without any intermediary
being involved
Brokerage itself is no longer the key Volunteer Centre function, instead that lies in
offering extra support to the less confident and more vulnerable
However, many people register online with little real forethought, so interviews can still
be useful to sift out the truly uncommitted
There is a whole ‘pre-volunteering stage’ that many would-be volunteers need to go
through
Do-It is not the only online brokerage option; some Volunteer Centres have developed
bespoke solutions.
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A.31 Asked why Volunteer Centres were needed at all, three distinct themes emerged:
To lead on the strategic development of volunteering and promotion of good practice
To overcome inbuilt socio-economic and other biases in volunteering by finding ways of
supporting would-be volunteers who need or want extra help
To make web-based solutions such as Do-It work as well as possible for each local area.
A.32 Aside from brokerage, other activities frequently carried out at these Centres included
running networks for VIOs to offer regular meetings supported by newsletters and updates,
and promoting best practice by offering training to VIOs. One Centre saw a consultancy
opportunity in equipping VIOs to be volunteer-ready, although this was not yet a source of
much income.
A.33 All the VDAs hosting Volunteer Centres saw support for volunteering as one of their core
aims alongside strategic work in support of the voluntary and community sector.
A.34 Staffing in these Volunteer Centres was broadly in line with the national picture although
with rather more part-time than full-time staff. They generally called on input from
volunteers too, and Sheffield Volunteer Centre described two particular benefits of doing so:
involving volunteers meant that the Volunteer Centre was better able to understand the
issues affecting other VIOs and advise them on best practice, while the volunteer-to-
volunteer encounter offered unemployed or otherwise vulnerable would-be volunteers a
more credible mentoring experience.
A.35 All except one of these Volunteer Centres offered a face-to-face service to would-be
volunteers. Brighton was the exception, as it had ceased doing so around four years ago, at
that point focusing efforts onto online brokerage. It had found the open door service very
resource-heavy, offering no pathway into the extra support that clients who could not sort
out their own volunteering needed. So it raised a small amount of funding for tailored
support for people with extra needs, though with no scope for developing special
volunteering opportunities or following up new volunteers once placed. More recently it
raised a larger three-year sum from Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities programme to
support people with learning or mental health needs, working intensively with individuals
and agencies to make them volunteer-ready. Interestingly, however, Brighton Volunteer
Centre is now looking at how to re-introduce other aspects of a face-to-face service as the
conversion rate is so much higher than for a purely online service. Brighton is still in the
process of resolving how to do so in a way that can be effective in a large geographical area.
Whatever the answer, volunteers themselves will be heavily involved in delivering this
service.
A.36 Back in the North East, a spokesperson for North Tyneside VODA commented, “It isn’t about
brokerage. It will look after itself, most people do sort themselves out. We meet the ones
who’ve no idea where to start or need additional help. This brings us into contact with the
most vulnerable”. With support from Big Lottery and the Public health authority, North
Tyneside VODA employs a staff member for two days a week, who is fully occupied carrying
out four or five interviews a day with would-be volunteers needing extra help, despite very
little promotion of the service taking place. Specific support is aimed at youth volunteering
and people with poor mental health. Volunteers are involved in updating the Do-It website
with details of local volunteering opportunities.
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A.37 Sunderland Volunteer Centre actually runs its own charity shop to supplement a Big Lottery
grant. Its spokesperson confirmed that its core business was now extra support and
mentoring, not brokerage. Using volunteers as mentors and guides, it supported around 150
vulnerable would-be volunteers annually.
A.38 Evolution Darlington has coined the term ‘pre-volunteering’ to describe the support required
by some people to become volunteer-ready, and which is now at the heart of the Volunteer
Centre offer. As a minimum it appears to consist of:
Information on what it means to volunteer
Awareness of the breadth of what is on offer
Reflection on personal motivation
Identification of personal goals
Fitting personal motivation and goals with what’s on offer
How to get support and advice during a placement
Self-presentation, reliability and communication.
