Launching the New National Strategy for Volunteering

Volunteering Australia is delighted to announce the opening Plenary Session of the 2023 National Volunteering Conference will be the Launch of the new National Strategy for Volunteering.

National Strategy Director Sarah Wilson will provide an overview of the new National Strategy for Volunteering, which will be followed by a panel discussion on the ambitious agenda set out in the National Strategy and what comes next. The conversation will consider where we are now and how we get to where we want to be in 10 years’ time. Throughout the Conference, there will be opportunities to dig deeper into the themes and ideas in the National Strategy.

Don’t miss this historic event as we launch Australia’s first National Strategy for Volunteering in a decade and hear firsthand how the National Strategy will move from development into implementation.

Volunteering Research Papers Initiative – Round 2

Thank you to everyone who attended the Volunteering Research Papers Round 2 Launch.

The Volunteering Research Papers Initiative aims to capture evidence on a wide range of topics related to volunteering and outline key insights for policy and practice. The Volunteering Research Papers are peer reviewed, and insights will directly inform the new National Strategy for Volunteering.

The online event was introduced by the Chair of the National Strategy for Volunteering Research Working Group, Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, and included a series of brief presentations in which contributing authors highlighted the findings and policy and practice implications of their research.

Draft National Strategy for Volunteering

Volunteering Australia is delighted to present the Draft National Strategy for Volunteering.

The Draft National Strategy is a culmination of feedback, ideas, and information from our Discovery Phase, Visioning Workshops, Volunteering in Australia research, and Volunteering Research Papers.  The Draft National Strategy identifies three focus areas, three strategic objectives, and eleven ‘systemic shifts’ that are required to achieve our vision for volunteering over the next ten years. We encourage you to have your say and share the draft with your volunteers, colleagues, networks, and other stakeholders.

The survey is now closed and we thank everyone who provided feedback on the Draft National Strategy for Volunteering.

2023 National Volunteering Conference

Join us at the 2023 National Volunteering Conference as we launch the new National Strategy for Volunteering. There will be an opportunity to hear firsthand how the strategy will move from development into implementation.

The 2023 National Volunteering Conference is being held on Ngunnawal Country, Canberra at the Australia National University from 13-14 February 2023 and promises to be the premier event on the volunteering calendar.

Volunteering in Australia 2022

Volunteering Australia has published landmark research presenting a full picture of volunteering in Australia as told by volunteers and organisations. This major research project provides new and exciting insights into the contemporary state of volunteering in Australia. The launch included the release of two reports:

• Volunteering in Australia 2022: The Volunteer Perspective
• Volunteering in Australia 2022: The Organisation Perspective

The Volunteering in Australia research draws on two major surveys undertaken earlier this year: one of the Australian population (including volunteers and non-volunteers) and one of volunteer involving organisations.

The launch event included presentations by lead researchers from the Australian National University Centre for Social Research and Methods, Curtin University, Griffith University, and the University of Western Australia, and a Q&A session.

Visioning Workshops

The National Strategy for Volunteering Visioning Workshops came to an end this week with our final session in Canberra. Thank you to everyone who shared their vision for the future of volunteering in Australia.  

The workshops provided an opportunity for rich and diverse input from across the country. The next step is to synthesise and make sense of this diversity to build a draft national strategy that is meaningful for the whole volunteering ecosystem. 

Volunteering Research Papers Initiative Launch

Over 200 people attended the online launch of the Volunteering Research Papers Initiative. An initiative of the National Strategy for Volunteering Research Working Group, the Volunteering Research Papers summarise important research on volunteering and outline key insights for policy and practice. These insights will feed directly into the development of the National Strategy for Volunteering.

The first round of publications from the Volunteering Research Papers Initiative includes eight papers, each of which addresses a key area of research on volunteering.

The launch event was introduced by the Chair of the National Strategy for Volunteering Research Working Group, Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, and included a series of brief presentations in which contributing authors highlighted the findings and policy and practice implications of their research.

Visioning Workshops

We are delighted to announce we have scheduled our first Visioning Workshops for the National Strategy for Volunteering project!

The workshops are designed for everyone – volunteers, Managers of Volunteers, community leaders, people who work in local, state, or federal government, people who volunteer through their workplace, people who benefit from volunteering, and people who aren’t currently volunteering. We want to hear from as many voices as possible about their vision for the future of volunteering in Australia.

Volunteering in Australia research – The Organisation Perspective

The Volunteering in Australia organisation survey was undertaken from May to June 2022 and we have produced an Early Findings Report that summarises the key findings. new data explores current trends in volunteering, including recruitment and support practices, volunteer contributions, and predictions about future need.

Lead researchers Professor Kirsten Holmes and Associate Professor Patrick Dunlop presented the early findings, followed by a discussion on how the research relates to the National Strategy for Volunteering project and a facilitated question and answer session.

Discovery Insights Report

The Discovery Insights Report summarises the feedback we heard from stakeholders during our Discovery Phase.

Read the Discovery Insights Report to see the 12 insights we uncovered and suggestions for how some of the challenges facing volunteering might be solved.