+

Management Module

Topic 5d

Volunteering in your Country

+Learning Outcomes

To understand the opportunities for undertaking voluntary work in the cultural heritage sector.

To identify the motivations and benefits of volunteering

To understand the role of volunteers within cultural heritage institutions

To understand the relevant policy and legislation cultural institutions must take into account when recruiting volunteers

+What is Volunteering?

Any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or

someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close

relatives.

(Volunteering England)

+Volunteering Roles

There are a number of different volunteering roles within different organisations, including but not limited to:

Internships

Administrative support

Customer service

Mentoring and Befriending

Trustees and governance

Volunteer Driving

+Why Volunteer?

For Leisure

Free time

Social reasons

Academic path

Personal learning and enrichment

To pursue a career (e.g. interest in gaining access to museums, galleries and heritage sector)

+Volunteering Statistics

In 2008/09 41% of adults volunteered formally (giving unpaid help through a group, club or organisation) and 62% volunteered informally (giving unpaid help as an individual to someone who is not a relative)(2008/09 DCLG Citizenship Survey).

In 2007/08 formal volunteers contributed an estimated £22.7 billion to the UK economy (UK Civil Society Almanac).

The average number of hours spent volunteering per volunteer declined by 30% between 1997 and 2007 (Helping Out, 2007).

Evidence also suggests that there is a trend towards more episodic volunteering (The UK Civil Society Almanac 2009).

(Institute for Volunteering Research: http://www.ivr.org.uk/ivr-volunteering-stats)

+Who Volunteers?

Volunteers are involved in a range of sectors. In 2008/09 the most popular sectors for formal volunteers were: sport/exercise (53%), hobbies, recreation/arts/ social clubs (42%). religion (36%), children’s education/schools (34%), youth children’s activities (outside school) (32%), health, disability and social welfare (25%), local community or neighbourhood groups (24%), the environment, animals (20%) (2008/09 DCLG Citizenship Survey).

Volunteers carry out a range of activities in their roles. In 2008/09 the most popular activities for formal volunteers were: organising or helping to run an event (55%), raising or handling money/ taking part in sponsored events (52%), leading the group/ member of committee (37%), providing transport/ driving (26%), giving information/advice/counselling (24%), visiting people (24%), secretarial, clerical or admin work (23%), befriending or mentoring people (21%) (2008/09 DCLG Citizenship Survey).

(Institute for Volunteering Research: http://www.ivr.org.uk/ivr-volunteering-stats )

+Volunteering and Employment

87% of employers think that volunteering can have a generally positive effect on career progression for people aged 16-25. However, nearly 30% felt that volunteering was irrelevant when considering a particular job application. A further 30% felt that volunteering was only relevant if linked directly to the field of work (Youth Volunteering: Attitudes and Perceptions, 2008, v).

In 2007/08 over 2 million people in England volunteered through an employer supported volunteering scheme. A quarter (25%) of employees are offered a scheme by their employer, with 43% of those offered a scheme taking part at least once in the last year (2008/09 DCLG Citizenship Survey).

(Institute for Volunteering Research: http://www.ivr.org.uk/ivr-volunteering-stats )

+A Volunteer’s Perspective Have you volunteered in a museum/gallery/heritage site? (If

not, try to find someone who has and ask them the following questions):

1. Why did you do it?

2. What type of jobs did you do?

3. What did you get out of it?

4. Was the experience disappointing in any way?

5. Was too much or too little asked of you?

6. What contribution did you feel you gave?

7. Did you feel appreciated/valued, or unappreciated? How was this expressed?

8. Did you feel ‘managed’? In what ways?

+Benefits of Volunteering - Personal

Enhancing study

Contributing to a cause

Gaining new knowledge, skills and experience

Developing existing skills and knowledge

Enhancing a CV

Improving employability

Meeting new people

Using one's professional skills and knowledge to benefit others

+Task One (1 hour): Benefits of Volunteering - Institutional

Read Chapter 2 of the following publication:

Goodlad, S. and McIvor, S. (1998) Museum Volunteers: Good Practice in the Management of Volunteers. London: Routledge

Take a few moments to write down a few reasons why cultural institutions use volunteers. Things to consider:

What roles do volunteers carry out? How are these roles beneficial for cultural institutions? What problems may arise? How can volunteers be managed successfully to prevent these

problems from arising?

+The Role of Volunteers within Museums and Cultural Institutions

Assist museums in meeting their core aims and objectives

A significant and influential audience

To undertake specific, tailored projects such as documenting and researching collections

To act as ambassadors for the institution

To undertake work that institutions may not have the funding, staff or resources to dedicate to e.g. tackling backlogs.

To provide a direct link with the local community

+Volunteer Policies – Considerations

Why involve volunteers? Museums and heritage institutions must carefully consider their reasons for offering volunteer opportunities and how they will support volunteers in their roles. Many develop volunteer policies that outline key factors that must be considered before embarking on volunteering projects. These include:

Recruitment of Volunteers

Induction and training

Expenses

Supervision and Support

Health and Safety

Problem Solving and managing disputes‘Developing a Volunteer Policy’ Museum Practice, November 2010:

+Task Two (1 hour)

In order to develop a better understanding of current practice in volunteering in the cultural and heritage sector, search for relevant information about volunteering at museum and heritage sites in your own country and share your findings with fellow course mates through a wiki. Things to consider:

Available opportunities

Volunteering statistics

Relevant policies and legal frameworks

Challenges and opportunities for organisations

+Good Practice for Managing Volunteers

Devise mini-projects with a definite life-span

Prepare tailored job descriptions for recruitment of volunteers

Take into account the volunteer’s requirements as well as the institution

Evaluate the extent to which volunteers can be offered training and, in some cases, responsibility

Make sure relevant staff members are are available for shadowing and supervision

Log what volunteers do and the hours they commit (e.g. via a signing in book)

Evaluate volunteer performance through written reports and formal meetings

Outline any training needs and assess the contribution of volunteers

+What should institutions offer their volunteers? The opportunity to contribute

Induction and training sessions

A manageable workload and appropriate responsibility

A sense of belonging and appreciation

Confidentiality of personal information

Insurance within the workplace

Refund expenses incurred for transport and food (often dependent upon number of hours worked)

+Legal Obligations for Institutions

Reimbursement

Health and Safety

Insurance:

Data Protection

Copyright

Complaint’s Procedure

Risk Assessment

‘Volunteers: Your Legal Obligations’ Museum Practice, November 2010: http://www.museumsassociation.org/museum-practice/volunteers/15112010-volunteers-legal-obligations

+Working with Volunteers – adhering to UK Legislation

Institutions must consider the following UK legislation when recruiting and working with volunteers

Equal Opportunities Policy

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Children Act 1989

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

+Volunteering Online – Crowdsourcing Projects

What is crowdsourcing?

‘The act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large

group of people in the form of an open call’

Jeff Howe, Wired Magazine

+Types of Crowdsourcing Projects facilitated by Cultural Institutions Correction and Transcription: E.g. correcting and/or transcribing outputs of

digitisation

Contextualisation: E.g. adding contextual knowledge to objects

Complementing Collections: E.g. pursuing objects to be included in an exhibit or collection

Classification: E.g. gathering descriptive metadata related to the objects in a collection

Co-curation: E.g. collaborating with non -museum professionals to create exhibits

Crowdfunding: E.g. pooling money and other resources together to support efforts initiated by others

(Oomen, J. Aroyo, L. (2011) Crowdsourcing in the Cultural Heritage Domain: Opportunities and Challenges)

+Examples of Successful Online Volunteering Projects in Cultural Institutions

What different types of crowdsourcing are reflected in the following examples?

Old Weather (National Maritime Museum, National Archives etc.) http://www.oldweather.org

UK Soundmap (British Library) http://sounds.bl.uk/Sound-Maps/UK-Soundmap

What’s on the Menu? (New York Public Library) http://menus.nypl.org

Citizen Archivist (American National Archives) http://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/

+Task Three (I hour)

Drawing upon the key themes of this topic, research a successful volunteering project (onsite or online) within a cultural heritage institution from your own country and present your findings in a blog post (1000 words max). If volunteering is not a common activity in your country, select a project from another country to complete the task.

Things to consider:

What does the institution do? (Mission statement, vision etc.)

What did the volunteering project entail?

In what way did it involve volunteers?

What was the role of the volunteers and what was the role of the institution within the project? How did the project benefit both parties?

In what way was the project successful?

+Volunteering Resources

Institute for Volunteering Research: http://www.ivr.org.uk

Volunteering England: http://www.volunteering.org.uk

American Association for Museum Volunteers (AAMV): http://www.aamv.org/about-aamv/

Time Bank – Volunteering Stats: http://timebank.org.uk/key-facts

Museums Association: http://www.museumsassociation.org/careers/volunteering

Volunteering England ‘Good Practice Bank’: http://www.volunteering.org.uk/goodpractice/themes

+Bibliography British Association of Friends of Museums (1999) The Handbook for Heritage Volunteer

Managers and Administrators. BAFM/Carnegie Trust

Da Milano, C. Gibbs, K.and Sani, M. (eds.) (2009) Volunteers in museums and cultural heritage : a European handbook. Ljubljana : Slovenian Museum Association. [Onine] Available at: http://www.amitie.it/voch/VoCH_Final_Publication_EN.pdf

Giles H. and Wolfenden, I.(1996) For Love, not Money: the role and organisation of volunteers in art galleries and museums. University of Manchester

Goodland, S. and McIvor,S. (1998) Museum Volunteers: Good Practice in the Management of Volunteers. London: Routledge

Green, T. and Stuart, M. (1998) The Good Practice Guide for Everyone Who Works with Volunteers. The National Centre for Volunteering, London

Heaton, D. (1992) Museums Among Friends: the wider museum community. Museums and Galleries Commission. HMSO, London

Holmes, K. (1999) Changing Times: Volunteering in the Heritage Sector 1984-1999. Voluntary Action 1(2):21-35. Available at: http://www.ivr.org.uk/images/stories/Institute-of-Volunteering-Research/VA-Documents/VA1_2/article2_holmes.pdf

IVR (2006) Exhibiting Support... Developing Volunteering in Museums, Institute for Volunteering Research: London. Available at: http://www.ivr.org.uk/images/stories/Institute-of-Volunteering-Research/Migrated-Resources/Documents/E/Exhibiting_Support.pdf

+Bibliography

IVR (2005) Volunteering in Museums, Libraries and Archives, Institute for Volunteering Research: London

IVR (2008) Volunteers in Museums: Key Findings and Issues from the Literature. [Online] Available at: http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/litreview.pdf

Millar, S (1991) Volunteers in Museums and Heritage Organisations: Policy, Planning and Management. London: HMSO

National Centre for Volunteering (2002) Getting it Right from the Start, Volunteer Policies – the Key to Diverse Volunteer Involvement, National Centre for Volunteering: London

Office of Arts and Libraries 1991 Volunteers in Museums and Heritage Organisations: policy, planning, management. HMSO, London

Oomen, J. Aroyo, L. (2011) Crowdsourcing in the Cultural Heritage Domain: Opportunities and Challenges.

Wasserman, C. (1990) Protecting Volunteers: guidelines for volunteer organisers in voluntary and statutory agencies. The Volunteer Centre, Berkhampstead