Voluntary action and the struggle for heritage Dr. Andrew Curtis Institute for Volunteering Research

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Outline Case study 1 Definitions of volunteering Types of organisations Types of volunteering activities Who volunteers Small and medium heritage organisations Case study 2

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04/02/2019

Of benefit to others or the environment definitions Many definitions of volunteering Three defining principles (Ellis Paine et al, 2010) Unpaid Of benefit to others or the environment Freewill

definitions Serious leisure: systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial, interesting, and fulfilling for the participant to find a (leisure) career there acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience. Casual leisure: immediately, intrinsically rewarding, relatively short-lived pleasurable activity, requiring little or no special training to enjoy it. Project-based leisure: short-term, reasonably complicated, one- off or occasional, though infrequent, creative undertaking carried out in free time, or time free of disagreeable obligation. (Stebbins 2007) (Ellis Paine et al, 2010)

Types of organisations Source: NCVO/TSRC, Charity Commission

Types of organisations Source: NCVO/TSRC, Charity Commission

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Types of ACTIVITIES Source: Charity Commission

Types of ACTIVITIES Source: Charity Commission/ Populus

Who volunteers? All Volunteers: data from ONS 2017 (UK) which uses the over 55 category. Conservation: averages from Ockenden 2008 and Russell 2009 (two regions of England).

Who volunteers? All Volunteers: 2014-15 CLS reported in UK Civil Society Almanac 2016 (England). Heritage: averages of data from Rosemberg et al 2011 (England and Wales) Holmes and Slater 2012 (UK). Conservation: averages of Ockenden 2008 and Russell 2009 (two regions of England).

Who volunteers? General Population, all Volunteers Harflett 2014. Heritage: Rosemberg et al 2011 (England and Wales). Conservation: averages of Ockenden 2008 (figure taken to be 95%, i.e. all those who reported their ethnicity, and Russell 2009 (two regions of England).

Who volunteers? People from lower socio-economic groups and Black or ethnic minority groups less likely to visit a heritage site or museum, or engage with the arts than those in higher socioeconomic groups and White people (Taking Part Survey, Department for Culture Media and Sport, 2013) People from lower socio-economic groups and Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups less likely to visit the natural environment than the rest of the adult population (Natural England, Burt et al., 2013) (From Harflett 2014)

Small and medium heritage organisations Issue Detail Geography Especially challenging in rural settings in the heritage sector. These included umbrella and support organisations not covering the UK uniformly There were also issues around time, cost and travel as the main barriers to self-directed capacity-building in small local heritage organisations. Aging workforce and volunteers   A growing challenge was the ageing workforce of volunteers and staff in the heritage sector and the related skills gap. Therefore tailoring support could be vital. In certain cases respondents wanted to avoid the ‘same old training courses’, and explore alternative forms of training, such as peer support and mentoring. Relationship with funder The importance of a good relationship with the funder and flexibility from the funder.

Small and medium heritage organisations Aspirations of organisations Following three types: ‘happy with the status quo’ (little appetite to dramatically expand) ‘need to consolidate’ (maintaining current levels of capacity) ‘looking to expand’ (modest as well as fundamental expansion)

Case study Challenge Key learning points Funding Micro and small organisations are less affected by funding cuts Medium-sized organisations are struggling due to the funding cuts Larger projects need an organisation-wide capacity-building element Limited staff capacity   Staff struggle to balance duties and bidding. Funding that covers staff buy out in the development stage would be useful Governance A need for new trustees Social media training needs of trustees were frequently identified Volunteers A need for more volunteers and training around volunteer recruitment A need to train volunteers in different areas, including fundraising and social media Dealing with large and unexpected repair bills The need for organisations to build reserves for contingencies The need to share learning around maintaining historic properties even if this is not the direct focus of their HLF grant Started by one person walking and exploring the yard to stay healthy Rescued vital materials from a skip Others joined the group looking to make the activities systematic Considering a charging model

Conclusion Data capture: Categories of voluntary groups and volunteering not capturing heritage and/ or campaigning volunteering sufficiently Diversity of volunteers: Research suggests that perhaps an issue with diversity of volunteers in heritage Emblematic of the sector as a whole: Issues around organisational capacity and sustainability Distinctive aspects: Include issues around geography and artefacts