Volunteering in museums Challenges and opportunities for volunteering

IVR: researching and evaluating volunteering • Independent research agency focusing on volunteering • Part

Volunteering in museums • Could not function without volunteers • 25, 000 volunteers involved

What does volunteer involvement look like? Staff-led Volunteer-supported Supporting paid staff services Co-producing services

The impact of volunteer involvement • Museum • Enhancing what it can do •

Staff-volunteer relationships • Staff perspective • Understanding – securing staff buy-in strategically • Skill

Engaging the wider community 33% of the population 90% of volunteering hours 80% of

What does this mean for volunteering? • More will be asked of volunteers and

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Volunteering in museums Challenges and opportunities for volunteering in service delivery Nick Ockenden The Transfer of Public Leisure Facilities to Volunteer Delivery – Exploring Good Practice Sheffield University, 5 th November 2014

IVR: researching and evaluating volunteering • Independent research agency focusing on volunteering • Part of NCVO • Undertake impact assessments, evaluations and research for volunteering programmes • Recent research on behalf of Luton Culture, HLF, National Trust, English Heritage, Natural History Museum, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Happy Museum Project

Volunteering in a changing world

Volunteering in museums • Could not function without volunteers • 25, 000 volunteers involved in museums • 1 in 3 museums volunteer-run • But not the most popular area of volunteering nationally • 8% of current volunteers involved in ‘arts, museum’ • 8% in ‘conservation, environment, heritage’ • But considerable amount ‘below the radar’? • Volunteer management practices can be variable • Limited diversity amongst volunteers References: Helping Out: national survey of volunteering and charitable giving (2007); Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (2004) Learning for Change: Workforce Development Strategy; IVR (2005) Volunteering in Museums, Libraries and Archives

What does volunteer involvement look like? Staff-led Volunteer-supported Supporting paid staff services Co-producing services Volunteer-run Staff-supported Running heritage assets / museums Paid staff involvement Volunteer power and decision-making

The impact of volunteer involvement • Museum • Enhancing what it can do • Saving from closure / decline • Connecting to local communities • Staff • Skilling-up in volunteer management • Volunteers • Enjoyment and satisfaction • Confidence and self-esteem • Skills and employability

Staff-volunteer relationships • Staff perspective • Understanding – securing staff buy-in strategically • Skill - lacking volunteer management expertise • Time – concerns about increasing workload • Security – real and perceived job replacement • Volunteer perspective • Power – role in decision-making processes • Relationships – being valued by paid staff • Potential ways forward • Designing appropriate roles – ensuring added-value • Communication with staff and involving trade unions

Engaging the wider community 33% of the population 90% of volunteering hours 80% of money given to charity Reference: Mohan, J. and Bulloch, S. (2012) The idea of the civic core TSRC: Birmingham

What does this mean for volunteering? • More will be asked of volunteers and volunteering • Is there a limit to what they can or should do? • The challenging economic climate will not go away • How do we put into practice the principle of ‘freely given but not cost free’? • Interest in increasing rates of volunteering will continue • How do we promote quality and access as well?