Media contacts: Chelsea Newhouse (JHU/CCSS) Stephanie Herzfeld (Rotary) According to a new study released today by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, with just 563 paid employees globally, Rotary International annually mobilizes volunteer effort equivalent to nearly 27,000 full-time paid workers. What is more, this study reveals that the efforts of Rotary volunteers save communities an estimated US$850 million in service costs per year. The Scope and Scale of Rotary Volunteering presents 10 key findings that powerfully demonstrate the significant renewable resource of volunteer effort that service organizations like Rotary are generating. For a world challenged to meet a demanding set of Sustainable Development Goals in the face of withering environmental catastrophes and limited governmental and philanthropic resources, the lesson from this report is clear: volunteer service may provide an enormously valuable contribution toward the achievement of the ambitious goals that the international community has set for itself. This ground-breaking new report, undertaken by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies with support from Rotary International is the first systematic, empirical analysis of the extent of volunteer activity generated by a major global service organization using the definition of volunteer...
Continue readingThe Contribution of Rotary International Volunteering
Rotary International is partnering with the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies to capture an accurate picture of the amount, character, and value of volunteer work activities that Rotary either sponsors or organizes. At the core of this effort is the development of a representative survey of more than 10,000 Rotarians to document the scale, activities, demographic, and geographic profile of Rotarian volunteers worldwide. This effort will thus demonstrate, in concrete terms, the important impact Rotary International’s 1.2 million members have worldwide, improve the effectiveness of Rotary International’s support for its members, and will serve as a model for other organizations. The Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies has been at the center of efforts to highlight the contributions volunteering makes to the world’s most pressing problems through improved measurements of the scale and value of this activity and brings considerable global experience and a worldwide reputation to the service of Rotary International. JHU/CCSS was the first to design and manage the assembly of data on the scope and value of volunteering in more than 45 countries. The methodology for this project was subsequently adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission and the International...
Continue readingUN “Human Development Report” and OECD’s “How’s Life?” emphasize contribution of volunteering
Two major publications have made important recognition of the contribution of volunteering to well-being and human development and the need for improved information. The elevation of the recognition of the contributions of volunteers to this level of policy discussion, and the case that is made for the development of improved measures of volunteering, should be very heartening to volunteering and civil society advocates. Both publications clearly show how better measures of volunteering can lead to efforts to improve the enabling environment for volunteers. The task now for volunteering and civil society supporters is to take advantage of the opportunity these publications provide to escalate the development of data to additional countries and regions to ensure that the opportunities to engage in the policy discussion are available to all. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) How’s Life? Report First, the OECD dedicated an entire chapter on volunteering How’s Life?, its biennial publication reporting on the data from its Better Life Index: “Good decisions about investments for the future rely, among other things, on having good data today. How’s Life?, first launched in 2011, is a pioneering report that summarizes an extensive range of well-being indicators, putting the latest information...
Continue readingTwo new reports from Canada highlight volunteering and giving data
Statistics Canada has released two new reports drawing on the 2013 General Social Survey (GSS) on Giving, Volunteering, and Participating to profile volunteering and giving in Canada. The first report, “Volunteering and charitable giving in Canada” by Martin Turcotte (English | French) presents information about individuals who volunteered in 2013, their characteristics, the number of hours they volunteered, changes in both volunteer rates and hours, and charitable giving, including changes in donation rates and in the amounts given by Canadians of all ages. The second report, “Volunteering in Canada, 2004 to 2013” by Maire Sinha (English | French) provides a profile of volunteerism in Canada, examining trends in volunteer rates and hours volunteered, the characteristics of volunteers, the sectors benefiting from volunteering, volunteer activities, motivations for and barriers to volunteering, and patterns in informal volunteering. You can download the full questionnaire on Giving, Volunteering, and Participating in English or French, and you can learn more about the methodology for the General Social Survey here. ...
Continue readingNew Irish data links volunteering to wellbeing
Ireland is the most recent country to have added questions about volunteering to a national household survey and to generate data about the number of persons that volunteer, the number of hours they dedicated and the types of activity carried out. The survey, conducted from July to September 2013, found that 28.4% of persons aged 15 and over volunteered nearly 233 million hours annually, and broke these data down by demographic variables, employment status, and geographic characteristics. Interestingly, the same survey also contained questions about well-being in Ireland, permitting data on the two topics to be linked. In doing so, the researchers found that “Those who volunteered, whether they were male or female, were more likely to rate their level of satisfaction as ‘very high’ or high’ than those who did not volunteer,” (76.2% vs. 71.7%, respectively). Further, “those who rated their wellbeing in the ‘very high/high’ category were more likely to be carrying out volunteering work.” More pronounced was the difference in how volunteers and those who did not volunteer answered the question: “To what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?” Among those who had volunteered, 84.3% responded “highly or...
Continue readingReflections on Volunteers, Civil Society, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
In September, the United Nations will adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an overarching set of collective objectives for the development of people and the planet that will replace the expiring Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on January 1, 2016. The SDGs For the next 15 years, the SDGs will drive the development agenda and will shape the way the United Nations, governments, development agencies, businesses, civil society (nonprofit) organizations, and volunteer groups engage in efforts to combat global poverty, income inequality, and environmental degradation. But more than just replacing the MDGs with a new set of goals, targets and indicators, the SDGs promise a new way of doing business. There are three especially important differences to be aware of. First, the SDGs recognize the inter-related nature of social, economic, and environmental development work and no longer keeps these work streams in separate silos. Second, the SDGs recognize that development work is not something that is confined to developing countries. The SDGs are will only be considered achieved if they are achieved for all, and no one should be left behind. This means that developed countries have a responsibility to work inside their own borders just as...
Continue readingMeasuring Volunteerism: Report on the UNV Side Event to the 46th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
The text of this post is drawn from a report authored by the United Nations Volunteers, which is available for download here. Center Director Lester Salamon, spoke at this event. _________________________ The UN Volunteer programme’s side event to the 46th session of the UN Statistical Commission (2015) took place on 5 March 2015 in New York. The event was a panel discussion titled “Data at the Lowest Possible Level: Measuring Volunteerism.” The panel consisted of Rafael Diez de Medina (Chief Statistician and Director of the Department of Statistics, ILO), Milorad Kovacevic (Chief of Statistics, Human Development Report Office, UNDP), Lester Salamon (Director, Center for Civil Society Studies, Johns Hopkins University), Jacqueline Butcher (Director, Centro de Investigación y Estudios sobre Sociedad Civil, A.C.) and Muna K.C. (Youth Task Team member of Restless Development, Nepal). The session was moderated by Mae Chao (UNV Volunteer Policy Adviser). This document presents the key insights from the discussion in terms of (i) framework; (ii) insights from measurement; and (iii) statistics for advocacy. The importance of volunteer work in promoting sustainable development, peace, and social inclusion is increasingly recognized within the development and humanitarian communities as well as national governments. However, measurement of...
Continue readingGood news, and more good news, about the measurement of volunteer activity
This post originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of the International Association for Volunteer Effort’s (IAVE) e-newsletter, ahead of an upcoming webinar presentation to IAVE members about the features of the ILO Manual on June 23. ____________________________________________ Despite what everyone seems to know inherently, volunteering is often overlooked, invisible, and under-funded in the policy agendas and discussions. A major reason is that reliable data about volunteers are hard to come by. Most existing data have been assembled through one-time surveys utilizing diverse definitions, or through large general purpose surveys that often use small samples and only one or two questions about volunteering. As a result, findings are inconsistent, no systematic comparisons are possible either across countries or over time, and opportunities to assess approaches to volunteer management and promotion are being lost. Good news! This changed in 2011 when the International Labour Organization, working in cooperation with the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies and a team of international experts, adopted the Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work for use by national statistics agencies. This ILO Manual represents the first-ever internationally sanctioned approach for gathering official data on the amount, character, and contributions of...
Continue readingNew data on volunteering in Italy
Italy is the latest country to implement the ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work, allowing the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) to collect national-level data on the amount and character of volunteering in Italy. The survey found that 12.6 percent of the population, or about 1 in 8 Italians, engage in volunteering. Moreover, these data allow us to see how Italians volunteer in more detail – about 4.4 million volunteered through a group or organization, while about 3 million volunteered directly for other people. This exceeds the total 6.63 million individuals reporting volunteer work in the time frame covered by the survey, showing that many volunteers work both directly and indirectly. The survey also revealed rich data on the distribution of volunteers across fields and the demographics (including age, educations attainment, level of employment, and geographic distribution) of Italian volunteers. This survey on voluntary work is the result of an agreement between Istat, the National Coordination of Volunteer Support Centres (CSVnet), and the Volontariato e Partecipazione Foundation. The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies provided some technical guidance on ILO Manual concepts and methodologies. Click here to read the full press release....
Continue readingTwo important volunteering policy developments
In recent months, there have been two important developments in volunteering policy that will impact the ongoing efforts to highlight volunteer labor in Europe and around the world. First, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has officially adopted volunteering as a form of “work” that should be measured along with the other measures of employment regularly produced by national statistical agencies. Second, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has issued an opinion on statistical tools for measuring volunteering, and strongly recommends countries follow the standards set forth in the International Labour Organization Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work for doing so. The ILO Resolution The International Labour Organization’s International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) meets once every five years in Geneva to consider possible updates to the framework of international standards that most countries follow for measuring labor. In its most recent meeting, the 19th ICLS adopted a resolution identifying volunteering as a form of unpaid “work,” – an unpaid activity that produces a good or a service for organizations or persons outside of the household on a non-compulsory basis. The resolution identifies this type of activity as distinct from “own-use production work” (defined...
Continue readingBeating the Odds: The Center in 2013
According to Viking tradition, Loki, the uninvited 13th guest at a banquet of gods in Valhalla, orchestrated the assassination of Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and goodness. Reflecting this and similar stories, folkloric traditions around the world have long attributed a pall of misfortune to the number 13. Fortunately, our Center was able to beat these odds and turn this nearly completed thirteenth year of the twenty-first century into an abundant source of joy and goodness. More specifically, 2013 for us was full of Culminations, Beginnings, and Connections. Perhaps the most gratifying source of 2013’s joy and goodness has been the range of long-standing Center initiatives that came to culmination during this year. New Frontiers of Philanthropy Book. A major highlight of the past year was the completion of a major volume on the New Frontiers of Philanthropy edited by Center Director Lester Salamon. This book, to be published by Oxford University Press, brought together an all-star team of experts to author chapters on such topics as “capital aggregators,” “social secondary markets,” “social stock exchanges,” “foundations as philanthropic banks,” “loans and credit enhancements,” “securitization,” and other strange lifeforms occupying the “new frontiers of philanthropy,”...
Continue readingThe measurement of voluntary work: Always in the spotlight!
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ Institutions and the not-for-profit sector keep working on the issue of the measurement of voluntary work. To this end, on June 15th the Province of Treviso together with the Provincial Liaison Body on Volunteering organised a Conference on the economic valorisation of voluntary work, at the headquarters of the Province. The conference was opened by the President of the Province of Treviso, Leonardo Muraro, the councilor for social policies of the Province of Treviso, Paolo Speranzon. Renzo Razzano, Vice-President of CEV – European Volunteer Centre and Tania Cappadozzi, in charge of the MESV (Measurement of the Economic and Social Value of Voluntary Work) at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) also participated in the programme. In addition, the ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work has been published on the website of the national coordination body of the Management Committees of the special funds for volunteering, the Consulta Nazionale of Co.GE. Click here to download the conference flyer (pdf). _______________________ originally posted on 24 June 2013...
Continue readingThe results are in: Statistics Portugal’s Survey on Volunteer Work for 2012
More than one in 10 adults in Portugal gives their time to volunteer activities, Statistics Portugal reports. The volunteer rate of people that participated in a volunteer activity either through an organization or directly for other individuals is estimated to be 11.5% of residents aged 15 or older—about 1,040,000 people. This represents the equivalent of approximately 4% of the total hours worked in Portugal, or about 1% of GDP. 51.6% of these individuals participated in a volunteer activity through an organization, of which about 90% were social economy organizations. This corresponds to about 40% of the total hours worked in this kind of organization, which means that volunteer work represents a very substantial resource for the sustainability of the Portuguese social economy. These data were gathered via a pilot Survey on Volunteer Work 2012. This pilot survey was conducted as an annex to the Labour Force Survey on the 3rd quarter of 2012 as part of Statistics Portugal’s development of the satellite account on the social economy, and was developed based on the principles outlined in the ILO Manual on Measurement of Volunteer Work. However due to space and cost limitations it was not possible to...
Continue readingMESV – The project comes alive!
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ Circular n.6 of 28 March 2013 The Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) has begun conducting interviews for the “2013 Daily Life Aspects” survey, involving 24,000 families across the Italy. The Measuring Economic and Social Value of Volunteer work (MESV) project is inserted within this survey; thanks to the agreement signed between ISTAT, CSVnet and the Volunteering and Participation Foundation, the Volunteer Support Centres (VSC) network offered its invaluable contribution to the new survey module devoted to volunteering, called “Unpaid Activities.” This module will allow us to measure unpaid activities carried out by the population and the economic value and social impact of voluntary activities in Italy. The joint training sessions for VSC liaison staff and INSTAT regional officers working on the new module, held in February in Rome, achieved very positive outcomes. CSVnet and VSC staff constituted a solid reference point in all of the regions for the INSTAT officers in charge of the survey. CSVnet prepared the additional materials for training interviewers and in support of the field work;...
Continue readingTechnical workshop on volunteer measurement | Brussels | 21 Februrary 2013
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ On 21 February 2013, CEV and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted, in Brussels, Belgium a technical workshop on volunteer measurement. The objective of the event was to gather input for a European Parliament pilot project proposal for the systematic collection of comparable data on volunteering across Europe. Various European Union policy documents stress the need to gather comparable data on the amount, character and role of volunteering and recommend the use of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work for this purpose. The workshop aimed to help translate these policy recommendations into action at the EU Member State level. The meeting gathered national statistics experts from EU countries as well as European stakeholders, and facilitated the discussion and planning of technical aspects for the implementation of a volunteering module in national statistics, as part of a European Parliament pilot project. This initiative is part of an on-going advocacy campaign supported through the Network of European Foundations by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and...
Continue readingEVMP partners present a paper at the 10th ISTR Conference | Siena, Italy | 11 July 2012
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ EVMP partners presented a paper at the 10th edition of the biennial International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference, which took place in Siena, Italy, from 10-13 July 2012. The paper “Institutionalising the measurement of volunteering: Insights from the European Volunteer Measurement Project,” (English and Italian) by Daniela Bosioc of CEV, Lester M. Salamon of CCSS, and Ksenija Fonovic of SPES, addresses “the breakthrough that has recently been made in developing an approach for generating systematic data on at least the scope and scale of volunteering in countries around the world” with the adoption of the ILO Manual for the Measurement of Volunteer Work, the progress that has been made in to encourage the adoption of this Manual in Europe through our European Volunteer Measurement Project, and identifies the next steps needed to fulfil the promise that this Manual presents for scholars and volunteer promotion organizations in Europe and elsewhere. What emerges most clearly from the discussion in the paper are three central conclusions: First, despite the methodological and policy...
Continue readingEVMP Phase 1 Wrap-up Conference: ISTAT announces implementation in 2013 | Rome | 19 April 2012
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ Over 100 people participated in the EVMP Phase 1 Wrap-up Conference held in Rome on 19 April 2012. The conference gave EVMP partners the opportunity to thank the funders and report on the Project’s progress in completing, disseminating, and encouraging adoption of the ILO Manual in Europe. The event, titled “The value and role of volunteering: Presentation of the ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work,” convened in the prestigious conference hall of the Italian National Council of Economy and Labour (CNEL), was organized by EVMP partner SPES in collaboration with the funding partners ACRI, Forum del Terzo Settore, CONVOL, Consulta dei Comitati di Gestione, Consulta del Volontariato presso il Forum del Terzo Settore, and the Italian National Coordination of Voluntary Support Centres (CSVnet). ...
Continue readingEVMP Phase 1 Wrap-up Conference: ILO Manual Implementers Discuss the State of the Art | Rome | 19 April 2012
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ Representatives of 6 European national statistical institutes and EVMP partners discussed progress in measuring volunteering through the implementation of the ILO Manual at a Technical Workshop in Rome on 19 April 2012. The workshop took place within the framework of the EVMP Phase 1 Wrap-up Conference entitled “Value and Role of Volunteering: Presentation of the ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work.” Representatives from Italy, Poland, Hungary, Montenegro, Portugal, and Germany shared lessons learned to date, addressed the challenges of translating the Manual standards into the local cultural context, and pinpointed some initial comparative opportunities in a stimulating process of peer-learning. All participants showed great interest and availability to continue and further this work within a developing EVMP platform to ensure that they can remain engaged as a group, share resource materials, and collaborate in planning for the promotion and dissemination of data with EVMP partners. The participants also agreed that it is necessary for Eurostat and national governments to clearly endorse and support a common, obligatory, and sustainable...
Continue readingCEV Director brings volunteer measurement to the attention of European Commission Vice-President Rehn
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ Together with a delegation from the Social Platform, CEV Director Gabriella Civico, met Vice-President Olli Rehn, European Commissioner of Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro on 5 June 2012. The topics of discussion were the inclusion of social objectives in European economic governance, the sustainability of public financing for social services, and the use of civil dialogue to improve the democratic process at EU level. The CEV Director brought attention to the fact that volunteering is already recognized at the EU level as being relevant for achieving EU strategic objectives and to act as catalyst for European values and she stressed the important role that European policy and decision-making can play in protecting and supporting volunteering. Referring to recommendations formulated by Civil Society in the Policy Agenda for Volunteering in Europe (P.A.V.E.), Commissioner Rehn was asked to take the opportunity to use volunteer time as co-funding for EU programmes mandatory and to introduce a mandatory EU volunteer measurement programme using the National Labour Force Surveys according to the model proposed...
Continue readingMEPs continue to voice support for the measurement of volunteering in Europe
Following the recommendations to implement the ILO Manual issued by the European Commission in its September 2011 Communication on volunteering and by and the Council of the European Union in its October 2011 Conclusions the European Parliament adopted on 12 June 2012 a Report on recognising and promoting cross-border voluntary activities in the EU. The adopted text includes a recommendation to the Member States to: …adopt the use of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work and the United Nations’ Handbook on Non-Profit Organisations with a view to making available comparable statistics and data providing a clear picture of the significant contribution made by volunteering and of the needs of volunteers and providers throughout the European Union.” Furthermore, the Report calls on the European Commission to recommend the implementation of the Manual across the EU, “in order to ensure robust comparable data which can help improve monitoring and policy-making.” “I believe that the adoption of such a Report shows that volunteering is an indispensable tool and active support for the expansion of a common public spirit,” declared Rapporteur MEP Marco Scurria in a press statement issued after the vote. Initiated within...
Continue readingPrince of Spain Endorses EVMP at Workshop in Madrid
The EVMP and the Plataforma del Voluntariado de Espana hosted a workshop on March 28 in Madrid that brought the leadership of the volunteering community in Spain together with government and Statistics officials from Spain’s National Institute for Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, INE) to discuss the measurement of volunteering, and explore possibilities for implementation of the ILO Manual in Spain. This workshop was as part of a pre-conference event of the Service Innovation Summit which was hosted by Meridian International Center’s Global Service Leadership Initiative, the U.S. Embassy in Spain, and the Rafael del Pino Foundation. The Summit was designed to present innovative solutions to addressing social challenges in Spain through service and volunteering, surface collaborative opportunities, and call participants to action. The importance of having better, more reliable and comparable data on volunteering came up throughout the Summit and was highlighted in the conclusions as one of the concrete recommendations made by the Summit working groups. In his opening remarks at the Summit, His Royal Highness, Felipe, Prince of Asturias, recognized the EVMP saying, “I want to thank the European Volunteer Measurement Project that was a product of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, which...
Continue readingValue and role of volunteering: Presentation of the ILO Manual | Rome | 19 April 2012
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM On Thursday, 19 April, the partners of the European Volunteer Measurement Project will host a conference marking the final event of the EVMP Preparatory Phase. The public conference “Value and role of volunteering: Presentation of ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work” will be held from 9:30-1pm in Rome at the National Council of the Economy and Labour Conference Hall, and will feature EVMP’s progress to date in completing the ILO Manual, disseminating it widely among civil society and volunteering leaders, bringing it to the attention of statistics offices, and encouraging and supporting its implementation. Featured speakers include Adriana Mata from the International Labour Organization, Center for Civil Society Studies Director Lester Salamon, Leonardo Becchetti, University of Rome “Tor Vergata,” Linda Laura Sabbadini, Director of ISTAT’s Department for social and environmental statistics, Giuseppe Guzzetti, President of ACRI, the Association of Italian Foundations and Savings Banks, and Stefano Ragghianti, President of Fondazione Volontariato e Partecipazione. An afternoon session will subsequently bring together statistical offices that have completed...
Continue readingEVMP to partner with Meridian International Center’s Global Service Leaders Initiative for Service Innovation Summit | Madrid | 28-30 March 2012
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ EVMP is partnering with the Meridian International Center’s Global Service Leaders Initiative (GSL) on its inaugural conference in Madrid, Spain March 28-30, 2012. The 2012 Service Innovation Summit, co-hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Spain, the Meridian International Center, and the Fundacíon Rafael del Pino, will promote service and volunteerism in communities in Spain (and around the world). The Summit will bring together thought leaders from Spain, Europe, and the United States to explore how volunteerism and community service can address the challenges Spain faces, especially in light of the effects of the ongoing economic crisis. The Summit will showcase proven models and best practices of impact volunteerism. Through trainings, seminars, and networking opportunities, Summit participants will enhance their ability to make a difference in their own sectors. After the Summit, participants will stay connected on GSL’s virtual platform, an international “learning network” that allows service leaders to share tools, resources, and best practices. As part of this Summit, EVMP and the Spanish Platform for Volunteering will host a workshop in Madrid,...
Continue readingMembers of EU Parliament express support for measuring volunteering in Europe
This post was added to the Center’s blog on 29 June 2015 as part of a wind-down of the standalone European Volunteer Measurement website. ____________________________________ Just weeks after its First Vice-President issued a press statement calling on EU Member States to implement the ILO Manual, the European Parliament in Brussels was the meeting point of EVMP partners with MEPs from all major political groups, policy makers, representatives from civil society, and researchers, recognising the importance of data collection on volunteering in Europe. The 1 February 2012 Round Table at the European Parliament in Brussels was titled “Measuring the Value of Volunteering.” Organised by EVMP partners, and hosted by Ms. Patrizia Toia, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), the event aimed to take account of the amount, character, and impact of volunteering, and to address the policy recommendation on research and data collection made by the European Commission to EU Member States and reiterated by the Council of the European Union. In the opening remarks, Ms. Eva Hambach, President of the European Volunteer Centre (CEV), an EVMP partner, spoke about the need for collecting data on volunteering across Europe and reiterated CEV’s commitment to keeping volunteering measurement...
Continue readingEVMP Technical Workshop in Podgorica Brings 8 Statistical Offices | 27 January 2012
Statistics officials and civil society leaders met in chilly Podgorica, Montenegro on 27 January for a technical workshop hosted by the European Volunteer Measurement Project (EVMP), the Association for Democratic Prosperity-Zid (ADP-Zid in Montenegro), and Monstat, the Statistical Office of Montenegro. The aim of the workshop was to connect statistics offices with civil society, to provide them with training in the ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work approach, and to discuss the possibility for the implementation of the ILO Manual in these countries. The workshop took place within the International Conference “Improving the Quality of Community-based Voluntary Services.” The workshop attracted the participation of statistical offices and civil society representatives from eight countries including Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of these, Italy has already formally committed to adopting the Manual, and Poland has already produced results. Czech officials also currently measure volunteering as part of the work to produce annual satellite accounts on nonprofit institutions, however they do so using an organization based survey. In the end, perhaps the most important outcome from this workshop was the emphasis participants put on the importance of civil society and...
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