After three years of intensive international research and development, the partners in the ground-breaking V4V project – including the Sport and Recreation Alliance – are proud and delighted to launch their final products, aimed at improving the recruitment, management, retention and training of European sport volunteers.
The volunteer workforce is absolutely vital to European sport. Sport, as we know and love it, simply could not exist without the tireless efforts of millions of people who freely give their help each week through coaching, officiating, supporting events, serving on boards and committees, providing food, refreshments, transport and a thousand other tasks that keep the wheels of sport turning.
But there is worrying evidence that volunteering is in decline and the V4V survey of nearly 3,000 sport organisations shows that most of them – especially those at grassroots level – face real challenges with volunteer recruitment, management and training. Research also shows they can do better, sometimes in quite simple ways. With small improvements, the contribution of their volunteers can be so much greater.
V4V, as a response, has produced two innovative online tools to support organisations and volunteers.
Any sport organisation can log in for free and find out how well they are doing with their volunteer management, by simply answering 20 questions for one or more of the following themes:
When they have completed the questions, the toolkit will give them some clear scores and charts to show what their volunteering strengths and weaknesses are.
However, knowing where a sport organisation can improve is just the start of their journey. This interactive toolkit can also point them in the right direction with 20 research-based learning resources covering all the themes listed above with many real-life good practice case studies.
Try the free V4V online interactive toolkit for sport organisations by clicking here.
People gain so much from sport volunteering, especially the chance to learn a whole new set of competencies and skills they would never get from their ‘day jobs’. These skills could help them to progress in life – maybe apply for a new job, move to a higher volunteering position, or get into further education. It would also reinforce the volunteer’s motivation and encourage others to get into volunteering, but sport volunteers have never had an easy way of tracking and recording the competencies and skills they have learned through volunteering.
V4V has filled this gap with an innovative volunteer self-reflection tool. Based on three years’ research, this easy-to-use app guides the sport volunteer through the process of analysing what they have done while volunteering and then provides an individual profile revealing the competencies, skills and personal qualities they have developed. It will then give them a downloadable report which can easily be pasted into a CV or resumé – all for free.
The whole process can be done in 30 minutes. It is easy to use, interactive and allows the user to return again and again and build up their profile as their volunteering career progresses.
Try the free online interactive sport volunteer self-reflection tool here.
What does the research say?
Both the tools described above are based on desk research, interviews and a massive online survey of 2,723 sport organisations, most at grassroots level. All the findings have been compiled into a detailed comprehensive report which explores the realities, opportunities and challenges facing European sport volunteering. As well as giving valuable insights into this vital topic, the report also provides conclusions and recommendations for sport organisation leaders to consider and put into practice.
The research report is available here.
How can I help spread the word?
The V4V partners are inviting sports organisations from all sports and nations to join in championing sport volunteering and taking practical steps promote positive change in the way sport organisations manage, develop and retain their volunteers:
> Try the tools.
> Read the report.
> Spread the word to everyone who could benefit.
Visit the project web page here.
Full list of partners
Contact
Mr Aurélien Favre – EOSE Executive Director – click here
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