This joint event by NCVO and the ONS took place on Friday 2 June 2017. Chaired by Karl Wilding, director of public policy and volunteering at NCVO Speakers: - Chris Payne, senior research officer economic wellbeing at ONS - Matt Hill, senior researcher at NCVO - Kristen Stephenson, volunteering development manager at NCVO - Alex Peace-Gadsby, chief commissioner for England at the Scout Association

1. BREAKFAST SEMINAR:
TRENDS IN VOLUNTEERING
RESEARCH

2. KARL WILDING
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AND
VOLUNTEERING, NCVO

3. Changes in the value and
division of unpaid volunteering
in the UK 2000 to 2015
Chris S Payne and Dominic Webber,
Office for National Statistics

4. Contents
• Household Satellite Accounts – what is this and
how does it relate to the measurement of
volunteering?
• Time Use Surveys – what are they? Why are they
significant?
• Formal Volunteering – How is formal volunteering
defined in this report? What does it include? What
doesn’t it include?
• Results- What are the findings taken from the latest
time use survey

5. The UK Household satellite account (ONS,
2016)
• Values productive activity
which is not included in GDP
• Activity could be contracted
out to market but households
do themselves
• Allows a holistic picture of
the economy – paid work
plus unpaid work
• Traditional activities but also
some work to scope new
‘digital’ forms of unpaid work
Reference year: 2014
Source: ONS, HHSA 2016

6. Time Use Surveys

7. Defining ‘Formal Volunteering’
• Formal Volunteering could be carried by paid
employees but is done free of charge by
volunteers.
• Volunteering for or through an organisation,
for the benefit of other people.
• Main and secondary activities - not inclusive
of ‘micro-volunteering’ or religious events
during ceremonies.

8. Changes in the value and division
of unpaid volunteering in the UK,
2000 to 2015
ONS Report, released March 2017:

9. Women and young commit more time
to volunteering
39% 39% 40% 37% 45% 40% 41% 32% 39%41% 42% 51% 38% 46% 42% 36% 37% 41%
0
5
10
15
20
25
Male Female 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65+ All
Gender Age
Participation
rate (printed in
base of bars)
Mean mins
volunteering per
day 2000 2015

10. Women from low income households
commit more time to volunteering
33% 49% 38% 50%
0
5
10
15
20
Low income High income Low income High income
Male Female
Participation
rate (printed in
base of bars)
Mean mins
volunteering
per day

11. Women and other types of unpaid
household work
0 10 20 30
Childcare
Adultcare
Cooking
Housework
DIY
Gardening
Laundry
Volunteering
Transportatio
n
Total unpaid
work
Average hours per week
Male
Female
• Women’s time per
week which is
committed to unpaid
work is higher than
men’s in all but 3
categories
• Women provide
59% of the total time
committed to unpaid
work in the UK

12. EXPLORE THE LIVES OF VOLUNTEERS
BASED ON THEIR INCOME
Using time use data to:-

13. A day in the life of a volunteer

14. Volunteers vs. non-volunteers (high
income)
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Informal volunteering
and participatory
activities
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20% Formal
volunteering
Social, cultural,
sports and hobbies
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Housework
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Paid work/study
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Mass media and
resting/time out
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Sleeping, eating
and other
Above 0 = More
volunteers participating
Below 0 = More
non-volunteers participating

15. -20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20% Formal
volunteering
Paid work/study
Volunteers vs. non-volunteers (low
income)
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Childcare
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20% Formal
volunteering
Mass media and
resting/time out
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Formal
volunteering
Social, cultural,
sports and hobbies
Above 0 = More
volunteers participating
Below 0 = More
non-volunteers participating

16. Concluding remarks…
• Women still out perform men in terms of the
average time they commit to volunteering,
particularly women from low income households.
• However, volunteering participation is higher for
those from high income households regardless of
their gender.
• Volunteering across stage-of-life looks to be
changing with those in the 25 to 34 age group
committing less time to volunteering than in 2000.
• Volunteers are active people, but paid work and
childcare may be barriers to volunteering for
those from low income households.

17. REFLECTIONS FROM WIDER
RESEARCH
2ND JUNE 2017

18. RATES OF VOLUNTEERING
18

19. 41
27

20. 60
34

21. • Civic core (Mohan and Bulloch, 2012)
• 8% contribute 49% of hours
• Stability masks a hidden dynamism
• Kamerade (2014) analysis of BHPS showed
that over a 10 year period:
• 11% volunteered every year
• 13% never volunteered
• 76% moved in and out of volunteering

22. TIME SPENT VOLUNTEERING
22

24. FEAR OF (ANOTHER) SOCIAL RECESSION…

25. TIME AS A BARRIER TO VOLUNTEERING
25

27. • Some pressures are increasing
• But…
• Evidence suggests that busy, connected
people volunteer more
• How much does it really tell us?
• More to do with instability and irregularity
• Time may be overstated with wider social
trends more important
NEED TO BE CAREFUL WITH TIME

28. GENDER, AGE & CLASS
28

29. • Gender
• Women tend to take on caring roles
• Women less likely to be in leadership roles
(Hill, 2015)
• Age
• Youth volunteering has increased
considerably (Ockenden, 2016)
• Rates drop sharply for over-75s (Nazroo
and Matthews, 2014; Cabinet Office, 2016)
• Class
• ????

30. ECONOMIC VALUE OF VOLUNTEERING
30

31. • Strongly welcome the valuation of the
productive output of volunteering
• But, limitations of cost-replacement approach:
• Volunteering is not free
• Volunteering is not work
• No measure of value is neutral
• Distinctive contribution of volunteers

32. • Need to capture the wider benefits of
volunteering
• To volunteers themselves (Haldane, 2014)
• Health (Musick and Wilson, 2002;
Jenkinson et al, 2013)
• Wellbeing (Fujiwara et al, 2013)
• Less evidence on employment (Ellis Paine et
al, 2013)
• Society
• Less evidence around benefits for
community cohesion, social capital, trust
etc

33. THANK YOU

34. Q&A

35. Kristen Stephenson
Volunteering Development Manager
New ways of giving time:
The changing face of
volunteering

36. 36

37. 50% report a lack of time as a barrier to
volunteering

38. http://pathwaysthroughparticipation.org.uk/
38
http://pathwaysthroughparticipation.org.uk/

39. 39
www.casseroleclub.com

40. 40
@NorthLDNCares

41. “We’re getting our power back. I think, for a long time, people have
been frightened or apathetic of doing things, because they think
they’re going to get knocked back.”
Telford & Wrekin Resident
“It’s about understanding what [communities] think is important,
and building bottom up approaches with them. This will inform
place based work that we do in future - this is a recent
development.”
Director of Public Health, Portsmouth City Council
CITIES OF SERVICE UK HAS TRANSFORMED RESIDENT AND
COUNCIL RELATIONSHIPS

42. 42

44. GET IN TOUCH
kristen.Stephenson@ncvo.org.uk
@KristenVols
44

45. Thinking differently
about flexible volunteering
Alex Peace-Gadsby

46. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
How things used to be…

47. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Things have moved on…
• Busier lives
• Irregular shift patterns
• Family and volunteer commitments
• More varied interests
• Life on their own terms

48. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Square pegs, round holes…

49. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Parent rotas…
• Create a family atmosphere
• Lets them spend quality time with their child
• Lets them see how Scouting works
• New skills and rewarding experience
• Fun and sociable

50. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Role sharing…

51. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Role sharing…

52. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
‘If you’re not having fun, you’re not
doing it right…!’

53. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Role models…

54. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE

55. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
The Four Week Challenge…

56. LIFE CHANGING ADVENTURE
Top tips…
• Talk to potential volunteers
• Find out about their likes, dislikes
• Find out what skills they have
• Find out how much time they have
• Don’t expect too much too soon
• Create a role around them
• Keep it manageable
• Keep it fun!

57. Thank you

58. Q&A