MAKING VOLUNTEERING SPECIAL: ADDING VALUE

1
MAKING VOLUNTEERING SPECIALADDING VALUE

• Professor Margaret Talbot
• Chief Executive,
• Association for Physical Education

2
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENTA contradiction in terms?

• SHIFT FOCUS TO
• VALUING VOLUNTEERS

3
REASONS FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT

• To give back what I have enjoyed
• To continue to do what I enjoy, have fun
• To work with other people, in something I believe
  in
• To work with young people
• To use my time well, offer skills to others
• To do something different from my job
• To help my children/partner/community (often
  continue long after first motivation).

4
?DOUBLE STANDARDS?

• Rights v/s responsibilities
• Skills audits whose expertise is valued
  deployed?
• Tensions between using volunteers skills to fill
  staff gaps, expectations
• Qualifications, baseline skills

5
CHALLENGE COMMUNICATION

• With between our membership create
  delivery/policy communities
• With elected officers
• With volunteers, in every role
• Are mission and objectives, policy priorities,
  embraced?

6
IS IT WORTH THE HASSLE?Role of VCOs protecting
volunteers

• Insurance, policy procedures for liability
  claims
• Tax implications (clarity of expectation,
  contracts
• Child protection (perceptions of potential
  volunteers)

7
TYPES OF CAPITAL
8
1. PHYSICALCAPITAL

• Technical knowledge
• Pitches, stadia, arenas assets in trust for
  the community organisations may act as
  independent guardians.
• Partnerships with local authorities, private
  sector, education. Trusts.
• Power of association (eg Wembley with football,
  Wimbledon, Murrayfield with rugby) ownership,
  symbolism heritage. Volunteers contribute to
  experience, iconic identity Commonwealth Games
  2002, Athens Olympics 2004.

• Physical capital possibly the weakest for most
  sport organisations few own or directly control
  facilities. BUT they still make a contribution,
  eg -

9
2. NATURAL CAPITAL

• Countryside, air and water.
• A duty of care and trust rather than ownership,
  often led by volunteer enthusiasts. Kinder Scout
  mass trespass.
• Especially important in the UK because of
  scarcity of space, clean water and air.
• Role in protecting access, contributions to
  community, economy, conservation.
• Critique, eg Countryside Rights Of Way Act.

10
3. HUMAN ANDSOCIAL CAPITAL

• Human capital a strong and valuable asset.
• Skills, capacities and abilities, learned through
  education and experience.
• Under-written by passion for primary purpose /or
  commitment to client group.
• Exemplar for active citizenship.
• Some criticism that sport strong on BONDING
  capital, weak on BRIDGING capital.
• SOCIAL capital based on continuity of
  professional voluntary organisations
  institutionalised structures.

11
4. INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL

• Exists in individuals but presented through
  organisations networks knowledge and how to
  use it, eg
• Coaching, teaching, instruction, leadership
• Performance development, craft, technique,
  science practice
• Symbolic knowledge, values, representation,
  history
• Education, awards, accreditation, rewards
• Ethics, codes of practice, child protection, risk
  management, equity and diversity (?moral
  capital?)
• Knowing in their bones
• Critique, advocacy, promotion campaigning
  political influence.

12
5. CULTURAL CAPITAL an under-valued asset

• Sport organisations are responsible for
• Governance rules, competitions, exhibitions,
  events
• Development of excellence and international
  performance, including selection of teams and
  representatives
• Development of activities, including
  participation
• Guardianship and control of events, competitions
  and performances
• Club/group development and support.
• All under-written by enduring bureaucracies, work
  of paid staff volunteers education,
  technology symbolic systems.
• GOVERNANCE major element of voluntary
  organisations independence

13
FUNDING A DOMINANT CONCERN

• CHALLENGE support and sustainability
• Range and number of sources restricted, partly
  because cash and physical assets poor.
• Significant government and commercial support
  increasingly limited to few organisations.
• Recovery of core costs still not fully achieved
  or understood.
• Giving as a source varies.

14
FUNDING A DOMINANT CONCERN

• CHALLENGE support and sustainability
• Government takes for granted that majority of
  voluntary organisations receive no state
  financial support.
• Tensions between statutory policy agendas and
  sport organisations primary interests cf size
  of respective budgets (eg between sport and
  health).
• Value of members subscriptions, volunteer hours,
  often overlooked or ignored by funders.
• Fragile infrastructure engenders further tensions
  for organisations, may discourage volunteers
  increasing accountability burdens for trustees.

15
COLLABORATIVE ACTION CAN BRING RESULTS

• Independent influence of voluntary cultural
  organisations and power of government to act,
  when used together, can bring about positive
  change, eg
• Change Up Futurebuilders where is sport?
• NCVO and Home Office -gt Compact, Treasury
  Guidance to Funders
• CCPR, all party politicians and Minister for
  Sport -gt tax rate relief for CASCs.

16
INDEPENDENCE PRICE OR PRIZE?

• Independence allows lobbying and campaigning
  to be Governments critical friend. How can we
  use volunteers?
• This is a POLITICAL role, both
• Politics as the art of the possible (RAButler)
  and
• Politics as pushing back the boundaries of what
  is possible (David Milliband)

17
afPEs BEST ASSETS

• The distinctive role of physical education in
  childrens development and the school system and
  as a life-long experience.
• Our independence as a voluntary, member
  organisation able to be a critical friend to
  government and its agencies. Use government value
  for single subject associations. Independence
  grounded upon good governance, the quality of our
  advice and active membership.
• Our members
• Their expertise and knowledge (eg HS, NC
  implementation, physical literacy, childrens
  development
• Their position in the delivery system knowing
  the real position and our client groups
• Their energy and primary purpose.

18
4 AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT

• Advocacy and influence
• Leadership
• Member services
• Organisational development and capacity-building
• WHERE ARE THE VOLUNTEERS, AND HOW DO THEY WORK
  WITH STAFF, IN WHICH AREAS?

19
EMPOWERMENT

• Having control, gaining further control of own
  affairs
• Having a say and being listened to
• Being able to create and define from ones own
  perspective
• Being able to influence decisions and choices
  affecting the organisation and its primary
  mission whatever your role
• Being recognised and respected as equal partners
  with a contribution to make major and primary
  stakeholders.

20
ENTITLEMENT AND EMPOWERMENT

• Entitlement is a right to resources (United
  Nations 1994)
• Empowerment consists of the skills, access and
  other resources that make it possible to exercise
  an entitlement (United Nations 1994)
• Dual role of Association for Physical Education
  to argue the case for rights, in for physical
  education to create enabling environments
  for its members critical voice (Blunden 2004)
• How to entitle and empower our volunteers?