A key activity of the V4V project is the European Skills Survey on Sport Volunteering which had been open for six weeks before the meeting.
The partners were excited to learn more about the first findings from the survey and discuss how the results can inform the V4V Mapping Report of the Sport Volunteer Workforce in Europe and two new sport volunteering toolkits.
The survey closes today (30 June 2022) so please take the time to complete it if you haven’t done so already.
By the date of the meeting, just over 2,000 responses had been received from sport organisations across Europe, with over 80% coming from sports clubs or federations. Over 37% of respondent organisations have no paid staff showing the survey successfully reached grassroots sport.
36% of respondents stated their number of volunteers had decreased during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, showing there is a need to attract people back to sport volunteering.
Other key findings of the survey so far confirmed that:
The survey also confirmed the need for sport organisations to get support with recruitment, management, retention, and training of volunteers – a key objective of the V4V project.
Following a final push to achieve the maximum response rate, the partners look forward to using the survey results, along with results of interviews with volunteers and desk research, to produce a report of new knowledge for the sector on sport volunteering in Europe.
A large part of the meeting in Helsinki was devoted to discussion of an innovative toolkit to facilitate engagement, development and retention of volunteers in sport organisations in Europe.
This key output of the V4V project is being led by Leeds Beckett University and will be based on the survey results, desk research, and the expertise of all partners. At the meeting partners discussed the purpose, audience, format and contact of the new toolkit.
A further output of the project is to create a Competency Based Self-Assessment Tool to identify and showcase prior learning, transversal skills and attributes gained through sport volunteering. This was also discussed with valuable contributions from partners helping to shape this new tool.
Martin Lindsey, Chief Operating Officer at the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said: “It was great to join EOSE and the V4V project partners for our first face-to-face meeting since the launch of the V4V project.
“It was exciting to hear about progress with the European Skills Survey on Sport Volunteering and the plans for developing volunteering toolkits and assessment tools for the next phase of the project alongside sharing and learning from experiences with members of the partnership.
“The Sport and Recreation Alliance is looking forward to reviewing the final results from the survey and supporting the next stages of the project, including the production of the research report on sport volunteering in Europe and the development of the volunteer toolkit and the Competency Based Self-Assessment Tool.”
Learn more about the V4V Project.
Contact: Aurélien Favre - EOSE Executive Director - aurelien.favre@eose.org
Full list of partners:
Here is an end-of-week wrap on some key workstreams we’re undertaking for you, our members, that we want to bring to your attention. It covers a number of important pieces of information for consideration or action.
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International Women’s Day serves as a reminder of the importance of gender equality, not just in society at large, but in all sectors, including sport and recreation. While progress has been made in many areas, there remains a glaring need for greater representation of women in leadership roles, particularly on boards and as chairs of sports organisations.
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