Vision for Volunteering – One Year On

One year on from the launch of the Vision for Volunteering we assess the progress made against our objectives.

As anyone connected with the voluntary sector knows “the collective efforts of millions of volunteers not only support the nation’s economy [to the tune of £18 billion annually] but also build a more inclusive and supportive society. Moving forward, the continued encouragement and support of volunteerism will be essential in addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.” (Spark! 2024)

Responding to the post-pandemic decline in volunteering, and wider societal changes, Voluntary Norfolk has been collecting evidence of the key issues impacting volunteering locally. In Autumn 2023 we launched the Norfolk Vision for Volunteering (NV4V) which lays out the need for action and ways of tackling the main challenges. And we asked a wide spectrum of organisations to work with us to address these urgent, but complex, issues.

The progress we have made following the Vision for Volunteering

One year on we have made progress and this work is gathering momentum. We have worked collaboratively to deliver:

  • Formal endorsement of NV4V by Norfolk Public Sector Leaders’ Board, October 2023
  • Public launch of NV4V with 70+ organisations pledging to support it, November 2023
  • Online workshops for 90+ VCSE professionals to support development of organisational volunteering strategies, good volunteer management and inclusive volunteering practice, January – April 2024
  • Establishment of NV4V Strategic Steering Group and Operational Group, with wide representation of VCSEs and statutory bodies, April 2024
  • Volunteering Extravaganza held at Norwich Forum, with 50+ VCSE organisations showcasing volunteer roles and 1000+ visitors, June 2024
  • Volunteering survey launched to update local understanding, September 2024
  • Norfolk County Council Cabinet formally endorse NV4V and appoint a strategic lead to champion volunteering, October 2024

The headline message of the Vision is that, aside from the benefits to society mentioned at the top, volunteering is important because it brings so many benefits to volunteers themselves.

Objectives going forward

Research demonstrates that volunteering can give people a greater sense of purpose and personal achievement, improve mental health and wellbeing, boost skills and confidence, initiate new friendships, and broaden people’s interests and life experience. For these reasons volunteering needs to become more inclusive and available to everyone throughout their lives. And the resources and mechanisms need to be in place to ensure that this can happen.

With this in mind, the NV4V Strategic Steering Group and Operational Group have identified these objectives:

  • Demonstrate the scale, value and multiple benefits generated through volunteering, and the ongoing need for support and investment
  • Enable training and development opportunities (for staff and volunteers) so all volunteers have the best possible experience of volunteering
  • Make volunteering attractive to a wider range of people through a broad-based communication & PR campaign and new recognition/rewards systems
  • Focus on attracting more children, families and young people into volunteering to promote a long-term culture of volunteering
  • Increase skills, effectiveness and diversity of representation of trustees, board members and non-exec directors to embed change
  • Encourage growth in Corporate Volunteering and flexible opportunities so more working-age people volunteer time and expertise

To date we have focussed on the first two objectives, but from January 2025 cross-sector Task & Finish Groups will be established to address these wider challenges.

Latest updates

In addition, a partnership led by Norfolk & Waveney Integrated Care Board and Voluntary Norfolk has been awarded a 3-year grant for a linked initiative – Volunteering for Health. This will pilot innovative ways of engaging people who face health inequalities in volunteering. It will be overseen by the NV4V Strategic Steering Group. In the light of this successful bid the Norfolk Vision will be re-titled the Norfolk & Waveney Vision for Volunteering in future. Read more about the project here.

To gather more insights the NV4V survey is remaining open for another few months – complete it here. We will circulate an interim report on the responses to all respondents in January.

If you have any queries or comments, would like to get involved, or for your organisation to formally endorse the NV4V please contact nicky.stainton@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk