Volunteer Strategy Call to Action
Submitted by geoff, 5 Dec 2011
Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for Social Inclusion and Minister for Human Services, yesterday launched the National Volunteering Strategy at the Volunteering Australia Conference. The development of this strategy is the culmination of consultation and research overseen by Minister Plibersek and previously, Senator Ursula Stephens. A key element to the consultation was a National Volunteering Strategy Advisory Group, of which I was a member.
The release of the strategy coincides with the 10 year anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers that was spearheaded by the United Nations. This has been formalised into a global United Nations campaign called IYV + 10, which is focussing on recognising the contribution of volunteers toward peace and development.
All of this is worthy of our support because my sense is that Volunteering has gone into a sort of holding pattern in the last decade. We haven’t really seen the level of innovation required to ensure Volunteering is best placed to respond to significant societal change like increased migration, the rise of Social Media, Boomers retiring in large numbers and both parents in families staying in paid work. Not responding effectively to these changes will have catastrophic implications for those accessing community services, for the not for profit sector and for our society as a whole. I still remember the International Year of Volunteering in 2001 and the momentum off the back of the Sydney Olympics. There was a great sense of hope and optimism but, like Sydney post the Olympics, it seems Volunteering itself has suffered a similar malaise.
The Strategy released by the Commonwealth is a good shot in the arm for Volunteering
The Strategy released by the Commonwealth is a good shot in the arm for Volunteering with a few important qualifications. From the outset of the work of the Advisory, Minister Plibersek was rightly at pains to point out that the Commonwealth should not play a heavy hand in volunteering, being very clear on where Government’s role ends and society’s begins. Volunteering is and should be community lead and were it to be controlled by Government it would be inherently compromised. In addition to this Minister Plibersek also acknowledged the significant budget constraints of the Commonwealth and as a result the limited available spend.
All that said, through this strategy the Commonwealth has tried to hold up a mirror to the Voluntary Sector and other stakeholders to highlight the enormous social upheavals that are impacting volunteering. The hope is that this will spark some new self initiated activity to innovatively respond to key trends such as technology and demographic changes for young people and older Australians. The paper also identifies a range of insightful examples of what is already being done globally and locally. The paper itself makes a range of funding announcements that are focused on improving Volunteering infrastructure, such as $5m for local volunteering centres, and funding for new initiatives such as the Foundation for Young Australians’ Young People without Borders volunteering program. The big ticket items identified in the paper, such as the National Broadband Network and Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission, are in reality initiatives that create a secondary benefit for Volunteering.
Invariably the release of the strategy will lead to vested interests who will be identifying gaps and missed opportunities. My own thoughts are that the strategy hasn’t adequately come to terms with the under representation of migrants in formalised volunteering. Whilst people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds often participate in ‘informal volunteering’, largely through supporting their families, there is more to be done in providing opportunities to work more closely with not for profit organisations which can promote greater levels of social cohesion.
The other element that could have been given more focus is Employee Volunteering and funding Social Innovation. The report acknowledges that 40% of volunteers are employed and from the perspective of a strengths-based approach, one would have to think that this channel of volunteers must be mined further. In simple terms the workplace is the easiest and most cost-effective way to access the largest amount of people with a propensity to volunteer. Coupled with the rise in Corporate Social Responsibility, this presents an opportunity that can’t be ignored.
In simple terms the workplace is the easiest and most cost-effective way to access the largest amount of people with a propensity to volunteer
At United Way we find that there is no end to the opportunity to engage Employee Volunteers and up to 42% of our volunteers are first timers. In other words, it’s a great gateway for new volunteers. The challenge is developing the models that harness this talent and finding the Not for Profit partners with the level of professionalism to meet expectations. I think that some sort of investment in this area and more broadly, in the area of Social Innovation, could have made an enormous difference in helping Not for Profit organisations be more responsive to the way prospective volunteers want to get involved.
But perhaps this is where the Commonwealth sees their role as ending and the role of others starting. The Minister has said that this report is a ‘call to action’ and I think it’s an opportunity for the Voluntary Sector and Business to step up and work together to ensure volunteering continues to be part of our culture, an important resource for Community Services and fundamentally a catalyst for future Social Innovation. I hope that there are enough of us who won’t leave the future of volunteering to circumstance but collaborate intentionally; involving all sectors to ensure that volunteering continues to adapt and grow in the future.