"2002 REPORT COMMISSIONED BY FED DEP FAMILIES & COMMUNITY SERVICES"'THE COMMUNITY'S MOST VALUABLE [HIDDEN] ASSET-' VOLUNTEERING IN AUSTRALIA A Acknowledgements B Table of Contents C Executive Summary D Background to new form of Remuneration A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mardi Flick Michael Bittman Jenny Doyle SPRC 2/02 Social Policy Research Centre University of New South Wales Revised July 2002 For a full list of SPRC Publications see, www.sprc.unsw.edu.au or Contact: Publications, SPRC, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. Telephone: +61 (2) 9385 7800 Fax: +61 (2) 9385 7838 Email: sprc@unsw.edu.au ISSN 1446 4179 ISBN 0 7334 1942 9 July 2002 The views expressed in this publication do not represent any official position on the part of the Social Policy Research Centre, but the views of the individual authors ‘the community’s most valuable [hidden] asset -’Volunteering in Australia Mardi Flick, Michael Bittman, and Jenny Doyle Final report prepared for the Department of Family and Community Services. The report was submitted in December 2000 and revised in July 2002 B TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary vi Part I: Research on Volunteering 1 1 The Significance of Volunteering in the Present Context 1 1.1 Policy Settings 1 1.2 Demand for Volunteers 2 1.3 International Year of the Volunteer 4 1.4 Dollar Value of Volunteering 5 1.5 Debates about Social Capital and Civil Society 6 2 Defining and Measuring Volunteers and Volunteering 9 2.1 Dimensions of Volunteering 11 2.2 Measuring Volunteering 14 2.3 Cross-cultural Issues 14 3 Who Volunteers in Australia and What Do They Do? 16 3.1 Social Characteristics of Volunteers 17 3.2 Barriers to Volunteering 18 4 Volunteer Motivation 19 4.1 Why is Motivation Important? 19 4.2 Volunteer Satisfaction, Motivation and Management 19 4.3 Altruism or Self Interest? 20 4.4 Life Cycle Factors 21 4.5 Measuring Volunteer Motivation 21 5 Volunteer Recruitment and Retention 23 5.1 Recruitment 23 5.2 Retention 24 6 Volunteer Management 27 6.1 What is Volunteer Management? 27 6.2 Best Practice 28 7 Trends in Volunteering in Australia and Overseas 30 7.1 Corporatisation 30 7.2 Professionalisation 31 7.3 Paid Volunteers 31 7.4 Student Volunteers 32 7.5 Targeting Older People 32 7.6 Internet Volunteering 33 7.7 Corporate Volunteering 33 7.8 Partnerships 34 7.9 Discussion 35/36 Part II: Projections of Volunteer Supply 37 8 Projections 37 8.1 The Effect of the Changing Age Structure of Australia (Assuming Unchanging Age Specific Propensities to Volunteer) 37 8.2 Is the Propensity to Volunteer Changing Over Time? 40 8.3 Trends in per Capita Hours of Hours of Volunteering 45 8.4 The Future Supply of Volunteers and Voluntary Work - Tentative Conclusions 47 Part III: Focus Groups of Volunteers and Non-Volunteers 49 9 Focus Group Methodology 49 9.1 Focus Group Organisation 49 9.2 Characteristics of Participants 50 9.3 Volunteers 50 9.4 Non-volunteers 50 10 Focus Group Results 51 10.1 Motivation 52 10.2 Pathways to Volunteering 60 10.3 Satisfaction with the Volunteer Role 63 10.4 Volunteering as a Pathway to Paid Work 64 10.5 Training and Support 64 10.6 Recognition and Rewards 66 10.7 The Role of Volunteering in the Community 67 10.8 Views on Mutual Obligation 68 10.9 Costs of Volunteering 701 10.10 Why don’t People Volunteer? 72 10.11 Encouraging Volunteering 75 10.12 Reliance on Volunteers 78 10.13 Supply and Demand 80 References 80 Appendix A: Comparability of Activity Classifications 89 Appendix B: Volunteer Focus Group Discussion Guide 98 Appendix C: Non-volunteer Focus Group Discussion Guide 99 List of Tables Table 1: Actual and Projected Number of Hours Worked by Volunteers by Sex and Age Group: 1995, 2011 and 2021 41 Table 2: Inclusion of Respondents in Analysis: Location of Respondents by Survey Year 42 Table 3: Weighted Daily Rates of Volunteering By Age Group and Sex: 1987, 1992 and 1997 44 Table 4: Age Breakdown of Volunteers 50 Table 5: Age Breakdown of Non-Volunteers 50 Table A1: Construction of the Voluntary and Community Work and Religious Activities Variables 90 List of Figures Figure 1: Projected Age Distribution of the Population by Age Group and Sex, 2011 38 Figure 2: Projected Age Distribution of the Population by Age Group and Sex, 2021 38 Figure 3: Males: Number of Volunteering Hours Per Capita by Age Group 46 Figure 4: Females: Number of Volunteering Hours Per Capita by Age Group 46 C EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A Volunteers play an important role in aged care, early childhood development, in restoring and maintaining the natural environment, community development and ultimately, in fostering democratic, social and political participation. Volunteering is also a pathway to employment and a method of contributing to the community. B Changing methods of government service delivery (funder/provider split, outsourcing, competitive tendering) have contributed to increased demand for volunteers. C First-ever, systematic projections to the years 2011 and 2021 show a trend towards increased participation in volunteering but it is difficult to assess whether this will be sufficient to meet demand. There is a need for better numerical information on the demand for volunteers. D Volunteering is a reciprocal arrangement. All the research shows that volunteers indirectly benefit from assisting others. E The advantages derived from volunteering form the basis of the motivation to volunteer. Without the incentive of payment, managing volunteers resolves itself into a question of providing opportunities attractive to volunteers. In the future this is likely to include appropriate working conditions, support and training. F Key current issues in volunteering are the significance of free choice, payment for volunteer activity and what to do about assistance provided informally. G Qualitative research into community attitudes showed that the potential danger in compelling volunteering (under the principle of mutual obligation) was a perception of ‘degradation’ of voluntary work. H The focus group participants felt that the value of volunteering to the community was neither fully recognised nor acknowledged. There is support for the International Year of the Volunteer as a method of educating the community about the unseen contribution of volunteers. I The costs of volunteering and uncertainty surrounding insurance cover for volunteers were mentioned as barriers to volunteering, especially in regional and rural settings.