National Volunteering Forum: Time Well Spent
On 25 January we held our National Volunteering Forum where we launched Time Well Spent, our report detailing the findings from our national survey on the volunteer experience. Around 120 delegates from several volunteer-involving organisations, public sector bodies and academic institutions came together for a great day of discussion and learning.
I have blogged about what happened on the day. You can also access the slides and re-watch the livestream of the opening session. My blog explains more about what happened on the day and also includes presentation slides. You can also re-watch the livestream video recordings of some of the presentations and discussions. Amy McGarvey, NCVO’s senior research officer, has also summarised the key Time Well Spent findings and Shaun Delaney, NCVO’s volunteering development manager, has blogged about his five key insights from the report. You can access the full Time Well Spent report here.
Employer-supported volunteering (ESV)
We are now busy producing a series of short reports focusing on some key themes raised in Time Well Spent. We plan to publish the first report looking at employer-supported volunteering (ESV) in the spring. For this report, we are pleased to be working in partnership with the Corporate Volunteering Network (CVN).
Our aim is to bring together the latest evidence on ESV, looking at this area from the different perspectives of employers, volunteer-involving organisations, intermediaries and volunteers. We will consider what the challenges are – but importantly, the opportunities for the future to maximise the potential of this kind of volunteering. For more information on this, read Amy’s blog on the key ESV findings from Time Well Spent and the upcoming report.
We will be conducting workshops and other activities in March. So, we want to hear from employers who provide ESV opportunities, as well as volunteer-involving organisations and brokers/intermediaries. If you’re keen to share your perspective or want to be informed of what we’re up to, please register your interest here if you’re a volunteer-involving organisation/broker or here if you’re an employer.
Members’ Assembly
We hosted our Members’ Assembly on 4 February in Oxford in partnership with Oxford and Community Voluntary Action. Amy shared a condensed version of the Time Well Spent findings and Jarina Choudhury, NCVO’s volunteering development consultant, led a session that got delegates talking about how they engage and retain volunteers, and what their challenges were in doing so.
These meetings enable us to gather vital intelligence from the sector and understand the challenges that voluntary organisations face, which informs all our work. Our assemblies are also a great opportunity for our members to network with each other, share ideas about current issues and talk directly to NCVO staff about how we can support them. We hold 10 meetings throughout the year, aiming to reach all nine English regions, the next meeting will be on 25 March in Bradford.
Volunteer Management Conference 2019
The Volunteer Management Conference 2019 organised by Inside Government was held on 29 January. Delegates heard from volunteering policy experts and practitioners about ‘the latest updates and guidance in supporting outstanding recruitment, retention and management of volunteers across the voluntary sector.’
NCVO Annual Conference 2019
NCVO’s Annual Conference 2019 will be held in London on 1 April 2019. Join 600 colleagues from across the sector to explore trends and tools that you can harness to strengthen and support your organisation.
This event is for chief executives, directors or senior managers of voluntary organisations. It will also be useful to trustees, chairs and anyone working closely with an organisation’s management team. You can view the full programme for conference and book your place here.
Sir Stuart Etherington to step down later this year
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, will be retiring later this year after 25 years in the role. Recruitment for Sir Stuart’s successor has begun with an open application process launched on 4 February. The deadline for applications is Friday 15 March 2019 and an appointment is expected to be made in the summer.
Evidence-based volunteer management: a review of the literature
Christopher Einolf, director of the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies at Northern Illinois University, has released a 2018 literature review of 81 articles that directly tested the effectiveness of volunteer management practices. The review has been released following the Building Bridges event last year, and is available for free until 31 July 2019 as part of Voluntary Sector Review Editors’ Choice.
10 top tips on recruiting and retaining young volunteers
Using evidence from the National Youth Social Action Survey (NYSAS) and NCVO’s Time Well Spent research, #iwill ambassador Stephen Tutin explains how organisations can recruit and retain younger volunteers.
Why is enjoyment taboo in volunteering?
NCVO’s Time Well Spent research showed ‘enjoyment’ as the top-ranked benefit of volunteering, but why is other research often reluctant to acknowledge this? Dr Eddy Hogg, lecturer in social policy at the University of Kent, tells us that we should break free from this taboo and use the Time Well Spent research as a rallying call to recognise that volunteering can and should be enjoyable.
Heritage Volunteering Conference 2019
Heritage Volunteering Group’s annual Heritage Volunteering Conference will be on 10 May at the National Railway Museum in York. Emma Faragher Smith, volunteer coordinator at the National Railway Museum tells us: ‘Whatever your position if you manage volunteers Heritage Volunteering 2019: Leading at All Levels is the conference for you. With speakers and workshops from Science Museum Group, Canal & River Trust and The Museums Association the event will help you become a better leader of volunteers. The event will also host the Heritage Volunteering Group’s Volunteer Manager of the Year Awards. Bookings will open later in February.’
Investing in Volunteers (IiV)
Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. This month, congratulations go to the most recent IiV achievers – several are newly accredited organisations while others are renewing their accreditation. Well done to all.
Training and events
Keep up to date with latest volunteering policy, research and practice at our sector-leading training and events:
Assessing the impact of your volunteers – 2 May 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
This workshop will give you step-by-step guidance on how to assess the impact your volunteers are having on your organisation, your beneficiaries and themselves, as well as on the wider community and other stakeholders.
Good Practice in Volunteer Management – 17 May 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
This course introduces the key principles of good practice in volunteer management and shows how to apply them to your organisation.
NCVO Annual Conference 2019 – 1 April 2019 – The Brewery, London
Join 600 colleagues from across the sector to explore trends and tools that you can harness to strengthen and support your organisation.
Volunteering and the Law – 12 July 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
Understand volunteering and the law in relation to issues such as safeguarding, data protection, health and safety, equality and diversity, insurance and benefits.
Charlie is a trainee volunteering development policy officer at NCVO, supporting NCVO's volunteering policy work. He has been volunteering since childhood in various roles, including at a community development charity working with the eastern European Roma community in Glasgow, as an adviser at a Citizens Advice bureau, and as a Scout leader. 
