Being a volunteer - key lessons from research in Ilkeston Study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council

Volunteering and policy 2005 - the Year of the Volunteer The voluntary and community sector is the invisible glue that holds society together, builds social capital and empowers individuals to make a difference in people’s lives………….. the passion of people who give their time and talents is a great strength of today’s Britain (Home Secretary Charles Clarke 2005). The YEAR OF THE VOLUNTEER The Home Office, as the government department with responsibility for encouraging active citizenship, is working in partnership with two well-established volunteering organisations Volunteering England and CSV to coordinate the Year.

Expectations of volunteering Build social cohesion - ‘social capital’ Support public services Combat worklessness

Changing context for volunteering - Some issues More formality in volunteering Training, selection, appraisal, accreditation Less altruism, more emphasis on what the volunteer can gain? Some survey evidence of more interest in gaining skills as a motive for volunteering National Survey of Volunteering 1997 At a national conference Modernising Volunteering it was claimed that we are no longer a society where the numbers of people needed as volunteers can be recruited on a purely altruistic basis Modernising Volunteering: Royal Society of Arts, London, 19 - 20 March 2002 “’Voluntary work’ is a fragile concept, carefully nurtured over the years and in danger of being misunderstood, misused and over-loaded” Age Concern 1999 Millennium Paper: Future Work and Lifestyles: Interim Report

Volunteering - who participates? Numbers 17 million (in England and Wales) Most likely groups to volunteer: Higher incomes Living in affluent areas High education levels Middle aged Employed Men and women volunteer – but in different roles (Source Home Office) Men – Sports, hobbies, arts and culture, representing people, driving Women – Social welfare, children, the elderly, education, shopping, providing food, befriending

Being a volunteer in Ilkeston: Why we did this research We wanted to know more about The ‘work’ of volunteering How people manage time Commitments and responsibilities What volunteering means Capture Context, complexity detail that are not accessible by statistical methods Explore negotiation, uncover dynamics of social process

What we did Visited volunteering sites, observed meetings events Interviewed Volunteers Former volunteers now paid Managers Stakeholders Focus groups

Becoming a volunteer Giving back for help received Giving to ‘the community’ Wanting to be needed Being asked Changing direction - gaining new skills

Being a volunteer Volunteers sometimes go beyond the formal remit of their role Volunteering can be a household activity rather than an individual one People call their volunteering ‘work’ Structuring daily life – some volunteering needs to be managed like a job (eg. finding childcare)

Rewards and consequences Increased confidence Making a difference for others Having a role Accreditation Paid work - new careers Reject the idea of monetary rewards

Conclusions Distinctions between paid and voluntary work are not sharp Volunteering can substitute for paid work Demands on (and rewards for) families as well as individuals