The Development Role

of Volunteering Leadership Organizations

IAVE (International Association for Volunteer Effort) identifies development as one of three primary functions of national leadership for volunteering. IAVE’s Report on the First Global Dialogue on volunteering leadership, held in Mexico, November 2016, defined development as:

“

deliberate efforts to build community and organizational capacity to mobilize and effectively engage volunteers; training; research; and development of local and/or regional structures to promote and support volunteering.

This assessment of the development role is echoed in the findings of the 2021 IAVE research report Leadership for Volunteering: the COVID-19 Experience.

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84%

became more involved in strengthening the capacity of volunteer involving organizations in their geographical area/network to promote and organize volunteering

90%

involved in developing the leadership capacity of other organizations through activities such as training and consultancy

The Impact of COVID-19

  • COVID-19 opened up new opportunities and/or changed priorities for National Volunteering Leadership Organizations (VLOs) to undertake capacity building work.
  • Working in partnership has been important with 71% of survey respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing to the statement that they have been part of new coalitions of volunteer involving organizations supporting capacity building in the volunteering sector.
  • There have also been significant challenges with 54% of survey participants indicating that COVID-19 has negatively affected their capacity building work while 64% indicated that some of the volunteer involving organizations they work with have ceased to operate or have closed.
  • Challenges for volunteering included restrictions around public gatherings and not being able to meet face to face; challenges have also been concerned with how to leverage resources and tap volunteer talents.
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Volunteers at CSV Lazio (Italy) prepare groceries for vulnerable members of the community during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research data shows…

part of new coalitions of volunteer involving organizations supporting
capacity building in the volunteering sector71% of respondents
COVID-19 has negatively affected their capacity building work54% of respondents
some of the volunteer involving organizations they work with have ceased
to operate or have closed64% of respondents
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Volunteers receiving their virtual mentorship certification in Peru. (Peru Voluntario)
  • VLOs had to be adaptive in finding solutions and implementing new ways of operating such as creating online platforms to support volunteer recruitment; rebuilding programs and making online activities available for program delivery; supporting and delivering training to volunteers virtually rather than face to face.
  • Capacity building was geared towards ensuring quality standards in volunteering programs. For 76% of the survey respondents, promoting quality standards for volunteering has become more important for their work due to the pandemic.
  • Another area of focus in capacity development has been the upskilling of leaders. 69% of survey respondents indicated that they focused their capacity development activities on training and consultancy in developing the leadership capacity of other organizations.
  • Responding to the pandemic created specific demands; 87% of survey participants had to change their programs to respond to issues arising out of the pandemic. 72% of survey participants indicated that they have been involved in building community level volunteer capacity to support responses to COVID-19 while 45% of survey participants indicated that they plan to be involved in building community level volunteer capacity to support vaccination programs in relation to COVID-19.
  • As people stepped forward to help the emergence and recognition of informal volunteering at the community level became part of the VLO experience. In some places this posed complex issues in terms of e.g. coordination, providing appropriate support and aligning the informal with the delivery of more formal volunteering.

The research data shows…

promoting quality standards for volunteering has become more important
for their work due to the pandemic76% of respondents
focused their capacity development activities on training and consultancy in
developing the leadership capacity of other organizations69% of respondents
changed their programs to respond to issues arising out of the pandemic87% of respondents
involved in building community level volunteer capacity to support
responses to COVID-1972% of respondents
plan to be involved in building community level volunteer capacity to
support vaccination programs in relation to COVID-1945% of respondents
  • The development role of VLOs includes the generation and dissemination of knowledge and VLO capacity building during the pandemic drew on VLO experiences with previous pandemics and crises such as SARS of the early 2000s.
  • Research is also used to develop a knowledge base and a number of VLOs explored the impact of the pandemic through research and publishing of results.
  • The pandemic experience enhanced a sharing of information and knowledge through coalitions and networks including at a transnational level.
  • technology has become a significant avenue for knowledge building and capacity development. Webinars for example, have become a popular means of engagement among many VLOs, involving the use of digital technology for remote online activities including Zoom, Teams, Google Meet to conduct training webinars and more.
  • The impact of COVID-19 has resulted in an acceleration of the use of digital technology, with VLOs exploring innovative approaches to both internal and external practice. There has been a movement towards new approaches to volunteer mobilization alongside the development and greater use of online models of volunteer management training.
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Emirates Foundation (United Arab Emirates) volunteers providing support on the frontlines, from awareness campaigns to PPE distributions.

To find out more about what the research is saying about the Development Role of Volunteering Leadership Organizations please go directly to Section 2 of the Report.