Objective Four - to increase the number of people involved in volunteering and community action

Action Points

Action By

D1: A baseline survey is required to provide information against which to measure the success of the Active Communities initiative. The survey should:

• Establish the numbers of people involved in volunteering and community action;
• Establish the extent, range and nature of public involvement in the community;
• Provide information about public attitudes to such involvement; and
• Devise indicators and measures against which to measure change in volunteering and community action.

Scottish Executive

D2: The network of local volunteering development agencies (LVDAs), community development agencies and other public access points (including Youth Enquiry Service points) should be supported and strengthened. In particular this involves:

• Mapping the current provision of such agencies and filling the gaps;
• Investing in information technology to network LVDAs and community development agencies to support and develop volunteering and community action; and
• Supporting these organisations to invest in training and development for their staff.

Scottish Executive, local authorities and other funders

D3: LVDAs, Youth Enquiry Service points and other public access points should be supported to improve the collection and dissemination of information about opportunities for volunteering and community action.

Scottish Executive, local authorities and other funders

D4: Funding should be provided to volunteer-involving and community organisations to:

• promote innovation;
• provide new opportunities for volunteering and community action; and
• pilot new ways of promoting volunteering and community action.

Scottish Executive, local authorities and other funders

D5: The importance of implementing best practice in order to recruit and retain volunteers and to develop and maintain community action should be recognised.

Volunteering and community organisations

D6: Funding should be provided to volunteering and community organisations to support and encourage best practice.

Scottish Executive, local authorities and other funders

D7: Volunteer-involving groups and local communities should be supported to engage with the media and resource materials should be developed to help them to do so.

Scottish Executive, local authorities and other funders, and sector lead bodies

D8: Volunteer-involving and community groups should:

• Identify new and flexible ways of involving volunteers to help deliver organisations' objectives;
• Offer as wide a choice of opportunities for involvement as possible to attract potential volunteers;
• Develop new opportunities for young people including (but not only) Millennium Volunteers;
• Use the media campaign (see objective 1) to promote volunteering and community action drawing on other promotional activity such as Volunteers Week, Whitbread Volunteer Awards, International Year of the Volunteer in 2001;
• Use high profile events and celebrities to help raise the profile of volunteering and community action; and
• Work with the media to promote volunteering and community action.

Volunteer-involving organisations and community groups

D9: VDS and local volunteering development agencies (LVDAs) and community development agencies should promote and encourage best practice by:

• Developing and disseminating information and guidance on quality standards;
• Developing and disseminating information and guidance on support and safety for volunteers;
• Developing further occupational standards and accredited training, e.g. for LVDA staff, to assist with the on-going improvement in the quality of volunteer management;
• Supporting the further development of opportunities for the accreditation of volunteer work and volunteer training;
• Encouraging organisations to have a volunteer policy;
• Sharing best practice and learning from other organisations.

VDS, LVDAs, and community development agencies

.