A new strategy for sport is about to be written by government, and their non-departmental public body: Sport England, as Laura Ferguson reports.
Across the country, Volunteer Centres are becoming part of the success of sport in England. There are now an increasing number of Volunteer Centres working with sport, both at strategic and grass roots levels.
And it is at the grass roots levels that the expertise of Volunteer Centres is really needed. Here is where the majority of the millions of volunteers who deliver sport in this county are giving their time.
Volunteer Centres can provide their advice, support, training and brokerage expertise to all sports. There are huge rewards for both sport and Volunteer Centres in working together to get this expertise to sport volunteers.
Volunteer Centres thinking about their Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation coming up over the next 18 months can include examples from their sport work under strategic partnership working, marketing of volunteering and working with community groups.
Volunteer Centres looking to get involved in the excitement around the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games are going to be in a stronger position if they are strategically working with sport infrastructure: a long term relationship with County Sports Partnerships (CSP) should be seen as vital as working with your local Primary Care Trust. You may already be working with your local authority, but are you working with your local authority’s sport development team, who have direct links to hundred of community clubs in your area?
There is some way to go before sport clubs and Volunteer Centres really get it together to benefit sport volunteering, and sport in England. Volunteer Centres who have been successful in cracking this new market have told of successes that have come about through working strategically with sport partners to reach clubs and local organisations. CSPs and Local Authorities, and even governing bodies can open doors into local sport clubs and organisations for Volunteer Centres, but after that it is the usual marketing technique of repetition, repetition, repetition, that will really cement working relationships with local sport organisations.
Some sport organisations at a local level will need to have the basics of volunteer management spelled out to them. At the end of the day, Volunteer Centres can think of sport organisations that are run locally as part of the community sector: often they will not have been paying expenses to their volunteers, they might not have role descriptions and their volunteers may have 5 different roles each. This is exactly why sport needs the expertise of Volunteer Centres.
After running a number of articles in this magazine, and along with Volunteering England’s update that goes out to sport organisations and is available on our website, Volunteering England has heard from a number of Volunteer Centres about how you are working with the strategic bodies in sport: County Sports Partnerships, Community Sports Networks and Local Authorities.
We are now looking for examples, and even case studies of where Volunteer Centres have helped local sport organisations in their volunteer management. Do you have any? Let us know… laura.ferguson@volunteeringengland.org
For more about how to work with sport, see Volunteering England’s latest update on sport volunteering on our website
And to receive a copy of our forthcoming research into the impact of sport volunteering, please give us your details on the website
And keep your eyes peeled for the new Sport England strategy, coming out in the spring. Volunteering, and working with volunteering infrastructure and Third sector partners should be an important ingredient. Another important ingredient is the desire and action of the volunteering infrastructure and third sector to make this new work with sport a success.
With thanks to the Rugby Football Union and the Royal Yachting Association for sharing their photos of sport volunteers.
