Renaissance-Volunteering-in-Stockton-Final-Report

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: m.j.wood8@gmail.com Contents Executive Summary 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Volunteering across the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees Background Viva Volunteers VIVA Volunteers’ level of brokerage activity 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 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 ‘prosocial’ 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 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 coordinator 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    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 Stocktonon-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 wellplanned 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 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 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-onTees 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 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:      1.13 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 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 of this report 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 8.0 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) 44 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 45 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:          A.5 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 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 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 46 A.6 Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations’ Views on Volunteer Recruitment and Management:            A.7 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 Larger or more established Volunteer Involving Organisations’ Views on Barriers to Volunteering    There is a general recognition that volunteering is not free, requiring professional coordination 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 47   A.8 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 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 48 The views of organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, communitybased volunteer involving organisations: A.9 The involvement in volunteering of groups in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer involving organisations:          A.10 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 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 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 49 A.11 Organisations in Stockton-on-Tees representing smaller, community-based volunteer involving organisations - their views on volunteer recruitment and management:          A.12 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 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 50        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:        A.14 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 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 51     A.15 Stockton-on-Tees Council officers’ views on volunteer management and recruitment:     A.16 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 The public wants more flexible, local volunteering opportunities that 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 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 52        A.19 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; 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 53      A.22 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 for volunteers who are involved for hours or more per week 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 54 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 Stocktonon-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:         A.27 Brighton Volunteer Centre Evolution Darlington Hartlepool VDA Middlesbrough VDA North Tyneside VODA Redcar and Cleveland VDA Sheffield Volunteer Centre Sunderland Volunteer Centre 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: 55 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 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 anything with A.28 The main strategic challenges were identified as:     A.29 As for specific gaps that an up to date strategy should seek to fill:       A.30 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 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 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 56 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-tovolunteer 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 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 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 57 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 58