Program Assessment

In this e-Volunteerism feature, author Jill Jukes from the March of Dimes Canada’s Western Region argues that it’s time to update how organizations plan and prepare for volunteer involvement. Taking a close look at what she calls the traditional “Volunteer Engagement Cycle,” Jukes outlines why the current sequence of planning, recruitment, intake/onboard/screening, placement, training and supervision, recognition and retention, and evaluation does not always reflect current trends and realities. The remedy? Jukes proposes an entirely new Volunteer Engagement Cycle, one that that she calls Version 2.0. “This isn’t a monumental change to the traditional cycle,” Jukes writes, but one that renames and reimagines how organizations plan and prepare for volunteer engagement. Is it better? Will it work? Has Jukes merely proposed new words for the same things? In the end, Jukes asks you to decide.

What does it mean to move beyond volunteers as a “program” and, instead, embrace engagement as a strategy to fulfill your mission? The shift starts by understanding the benefits of developing a strategic plan for volunteer engagement. In this article, writer Beth Steinhorn highlights some of the research behind volunteer engagement strategies and shares a step-by-step process for developing a volunteer engagement strategic plan. She traces how one regional humane society developed such a plan and, as a result, is now lightening its staff’s heavy workload, bringing more skills into the organization, gaining more advocates, increasing resources, and ultimately helping more animals. 

 

Andrew G. Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England, recently stated that “whether seen from an economic or social perspective, volunteering is big business, with annual turnover well into three-figure billions.” And in his recent lecture to the Society of Business Economists in London, Haldane also pointed out that volunteering “is a well-hidden jewel, whose social worth is rarely the subject of a public valuation.”

In this special feature, e-Volunteerism presents an edited excerpt of Haldane’s lecture, which provides what Haldane describes as “a valuation, however imperfect” to help understand the social value of volunteering and exactly why this economist thinks it is so important. “If the value of volunteering remains largely out of sight, it is likely also to remain out of mind,” Haldane predicted. “The potential economic and societal benefits from volunteering then risk remaining un-tapped. Yet with a nudge, that volunteer army could swell further.”

Because Haldane is an internationally recognized economist, his presentation carries considerable influence and importance for the volunteer community. Haldane’s lecture includes a description of the fascinating volunteer service called Pro Bono Economics that he helped establish in the UK, which will be of great interest to all e-Volunteerism readers. 

 

The ability to measure the processes and outcomes of organizational initiatives is vital to understanding whether an organization has achieved its mandate. But determining the best method to measure the impact of volunteers and how to successfully report on those findings are distinct challenges in volunteer administration.

In this excerpt from a new, yet-to-be-published book called Measuring the Impact of Volunteers: A Balanced and Strategic Approach, authors Christine Burych, Alison Caird, Joanne Fine Schwebel, Michael Fliess, and Heather Hardie review the limits of statistical reporting and suggest ways to measure and communicate more useful data once it is collected. Using examples and outlining strategies, the authors present the basic touchstones of reporting results and note that it’s important to consider your audience, how and who should deliver the reports, and what to do if the news is not good. 

“Utilizing the strategies we have outlined for reporting on the engagement of volunteers can play an important role in articulating the impact and contribution of volunteers,” the authors write. “Reporting in a strategic way helps us to focus our priorities and to communicate to volunteers, key stakeholders, our executives, and boards that we are achieving our mandate to support the mission and vision of our organizations.”

This quarter’s Research to Practice contributes to the theme of Volunteer Centers. Reviewer Laurie Mook looks at a study of the direct and secondary impacts of the HandsOn Network and its affiliated member organizations: Measuring the Impact of HandsOn Network: An Evaluation of Direct and Secondary Impact from the Stakeholder Perspective.

Based in Atlanta, GA, HandsOn calls itself “the largest network of local volunteer centers around the world,” with 250 affiliates. Whereas previous studies relied on self-reports from affiliates to provide evidence of their impact, the researchers in this study used surveys and interviews to collect data directly from affiliates, community partners, and volunteers. Based on the perspectives of these groups, the researchers developed a conceptual framework that other Volunteer Centers and other intermediaries can use to measure the impact of their work.