“Study on Public’s Reception and Perception of Volunteer Services” 香港大學 民意研究計劃 The University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme Dr Robert CHUNG Ting-yiu 9 November 2002

Overview Participation: Actual and intended Social influence Barriers and expectations Evaluation of provider agencies and the local culture Other topics Conclusion Outline of Presentation

Overview

Stage One: Quantitative telephone survey of the general publicStage One: Quantitative telephone survey of the general public Stage Two: Quantitative telephone survey of the service recipientsStage Two: Quantitative telephone survey of the service recipients Stage Three: Qualitative focus group studiesStage Three: Qualitative focus group studies

Contact Information of Telephone Surveys Stage One Stage Two Date of fieldwork 28/9 – 5/10/200124/10 – 5/11/2001 Sample size 1, 555 successful cases204 successful cases Response rate 64.2%97.6% Standard error < 1.3%< 3.5% Target population Cantonese-speakers aged 15 or above Organization representatives Research method Random telephone survey with interviewers Telephone survey with interviewers Weighting method Adjusted according to age- sex distribution reported in 2001 Census Not applied

Information of Focus Group Studies Volunteers Service Recipients Date of fieldwork 21/12/200131/01/2002 Sample size 328 Target population Volunteers Organization representatives Research method Focus group discussions with experienced moderators

Participation: Actual and Intended

Experience of Participating in Volunteering Experience in Organized Volunteering only Experience in Mutual Aid only Experience in EITHER Organized Volunteering or Mutual Aid Yes22%55%62% No78%44%38%

Last Participation in Volunteering Organized Volunteering Mutual Aid

No. of times Participated in Volunteering [Excluding those who are certain that they have not participated in volunteering over the past 12 months ] [Excluding those who are certain that they have not participated in volunteering over the past 12 months ] Organized VolunteeringMutual Aid 1 time13%6% 2 times28%16% 3 times11%18% 4 times7%10% 5 times7% 6 times4%3% 7 times2%1% 8 times1%3% 9 times1%0% 10 times4%11% 11 times or above22%25% Mean Standard Error

No. of hours Participated in Volunteering* *Excluding those who are certain that they have not participated in volunteering over the past 12 months *Excluding those who are certain that they have not participated in volunteering over the past 12 months Organized Volunteering Mutual Aid Organized Volunteering Mutual Aid Mean Standard Error

Perceived Hourly Rate of Volunteer Work [Excluding those who are certain that they have not participated in volunteering over the past 12 months ] [Excluding those who are certain that they have not participated in volunteering over the past 12 months ] Organized VolunteeringMutual Aid $0 - $96%13% $10 -$1913%11% $20 -$2930%24% $30 -$3915%21% $40 -$496%9% $50 -$5913%15% $60 or above17%8% Mean $76.3 $32.4 Standard error $30.04 $1.83

No. of Volunteers Deployed* No. of Service Hours Contributed by Each Volunteer* *Excluding those who are certain that they have not received any volunteering service over the past 12 months

Intention of Involvement Volunteering* Deployment of Volunteers Yes83%98% No8%1% Don’t know / hard to say 9%1% *Only ask those who have participated in any form of volunteer work before

Reasons for not Volunteering* Intention for Future Volunteering* *Only ask those who have never participated in volunteer work

Social Influence

Experience of Encouragement Experience of encouraging others Experience of being encouraged Yes41%32% No59%68%

Main Source of Encouragement [Only ask those who have been encouraged to participate in volunteering] *Opinion from focus groups: Schools, business corporations, the elderly and new immigrant centers: good entry points for promoting volunteerism Schools as superlative bases for promoting volunteerism

Barriers and Expectations

Barriers to the Development of Volunteering VolunteersService Recipients Lack of time of HK people22%17% Poor economic conditions14%13% Lack of resources10%25% Lack of atmosphere for volunteering6%10% Lack of care for others of HK people6%2% Insufficient assistance from the government 3%2% Insufficient promotion3%5% Influence of the mass media2%1% Others5%14% Don’t know / hard to say30%13%

Ways to Promote Volunteering VolunteersService Recipients To improve the economic conditions12%7% To inject more resources8%20% To cultivate the atmosphere for volunteering 7%8% More promotion6%4% More governmental assistance6%17% To cultivate the care for others among HK people 6%3% To improve the conduct of the mass media4%1% More civic education2%4% More compliments to the volunteers1%5% Others (please specify)5%10% Don't know / hard to say43%23%

The Most Preferred Supporting Body VolunteerService Recipients The government38%32% People in Hong Kong26%11% Non-government organizations21%28% All of the above2%25% Others2% Don't know / hard to say12%3% *Opinion from focus groups: Genuine support from government is indispensable (volunteers) More civic education needed (volunteers) Additional resources from government and all walks of life urged (service recipients)

Perceived Social Status of Volunteers VolunteersService Recipients Respectable56%72% Non-essential17%16% Not respected2% Don't know / hard to say25%10%

Nature of Volunteering Service Service Received*Service Needed Recreational activities18% Visiting15%12% Clerical work9% Promotion and community-education 6%4% Escorting service5%3% Homework tutoring4% Counseling4%3% Skill coaching3%4% Labour work3% Others33%36% Don't know / hard to say0%4% Excluding those who are certain that they would not deploy volunteers again * Excluding those who are certain that they would not deploy volunteers again

Evaluation of Provider Agencies and the Local Culture

Evaluation of Services

Satisfaction with Various Aspects of Provider Agencies

Evaluation of the Influence of Government Policies and Local Culture

Other Topics

General Motivations for Volunteering General Hindrances for Volunteering

Channels for Learning about Ways to Volunteer [Only ask those who have participated in organized volunteering before ]

Need for Training before Volunteering [Only ask those who have participated in organized volunteering before] [Only ask those who have participated in organized volunteering before] *Opinion from focus groups: Success of volunteer services greatly enhanced by adequate training Regular training programs for potential and existing volunteers urged

Conclusion

Survey of General Public Over 60% of HK people had ever participated in any form of volunteer work Two-fifth of respondents volunteered over the past 12 months The majority of those who had volunteered would continue to volunteer Half of those who had never volunteered would consider volunteering Most people positively assessed volunteers and thought that volunteers were being respected Helping others and serving the community were perceived as the motivations for volunteering, while a waste of time as the major hindrance

Survey of Service Recipients Four-fifths of organization representatives had ever received volunteering service within one month ago Service recipients deployed 237 volunteers on average in the past year, each volunteer provided an average of 25 service hours Volunteer services received and needed in future were mainly recreational activities and visiting Arrangement of volunteering service provided by volunteer provider agencies and the performance of volunteers positively evaluated

Focus Group Discussions Communications and mutual understand between volunteers and organizations considered important Post-service follow-ups and training needed for volunteers Development of systematic database of volunteers called for Schools as superlative bases for promoting volunteerism Support from government (more resources) urged More research on volunteerism to be initiated

Thank you!