PRESS RELEASE
13 July 2006
NHS trusts will be able to measure the true value of their volunteers for the first time in a study commissioned by Volunteering England, the national development agency for volunteers, and funded by the Department of Health.
It is calling on trusts to register their interest in this groundbreaking project that will provide hard data demonstrating the economic value of volunteers, as well as improving volunteer management practice. This will include the contribution of individuals in range of service development activities including PPI (Patient and Public Involvement), PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service), as well as the Expert Patients Programme.
The study will be carried out by the Institute for Volunteering Research using the Volunteer Impact Assessment Toolkit, a method of assessing the economic, social and cultural capital created by volunteers that has already been successfully used by many organisations over the past three years.
The Institute is recruiting six different trusts to participate in the 18-month project, who will be trained and given advice on stakeholders, research samples and data analysis. The information will be used to feed into the development of a brand, marketing plan and supporting material, which will demonstrate the value and impact of volunteering to NHS boards, chief executives and other key stakeholders.
Sheila Hawkins, head of health and social care at Volunteering England, said: “I would urge all trusts that are interested in evaluating the impact of volunteers to get in touch about participating in this exciting project.
“Many activities and services in health and social care would simply not exist were it not for the time and commitment of volunteers. The Volunteer Impact Assessment Toolkit will provide key stakeholders and funders with hard economic data, enable organisations that use volunteers to improve their management and demonstrate to the volunteers themselves that their contribution is making a real difference.”
Trusts wishing to register their interest should visit: www.volunteering.org.uk/hsc.
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Notes to Editors
The Institute for Volunteering Research is an initiative of Volunteering England in association with the Centre for Institutional Studies at the University of East London. For more information, contact Angela Ellis Paine on 020 7520 8907, email
angela.ellispaine@volunteeringengland.org, or Steven Howlett, on 020 7520 8903, email:
steven.howlett@volunteeringengland.org - For more information and to arrange interviews, call Cat Dean on 020 7520 8932 oremail cat.dean@volunteeringengland.org.For out of hours press enquiries, contact Sonya Roberts on 07952 128057.
Volunteering England’s aims are to increase the quality, quantity, contribution and accessibility of volunteering throughout England; secure and support an England-wide network of quality volunteer development agencies, promoting and enabling volunteering and community involvement; undertake research, policy and development activity; and provide grants, support and advice to sustain and develop volunteering. It understands the term volunteering to include formal activity undertaken through public, private and voluntary organisations as well as informal community participation.
