Virtual Volunteering in Europe 2013

A free resource for nonprofit organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations,
charities, schools, public sector agencies & other mission-based agencies
by Jayne Cravens
via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

Virtual Volunteering in Europe

From April through October 2013, I researched and wrote about Internet-mediated volunteering (virtual volunteering, online volunteering, microvolunteering, online mentoring, etc.) in European Union (EU) countries for the ICT4EMPL Future Work project, undertaken by the Information Society Unit of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.

The final paper is here, as well as all of the resources I used.

The overall ICT4EMPL project was focused on employability (developing job skills, exploring careers, etc.) and social inclusion, so all of my analysis in the narrative regarding virtual volunteering for the EU ties back to those goals. Here's some analysis about what I found in my research that either aren't in the paper I've submitted, but I think they should be out in public for discussion, or, that are in the paper, but I wanted to highlight them in particular on my web site, outside of the official materials, for deeper and ongoing discussion:

Virtual volunteering is happening all over Europe. It's not a new practice in Europe, just as it isn't in North America. There are thousands of people in Europe that are engaged in virtual volunteering, in some way, either through a formal virtual volunteering or microvolunteering program, or just as a part of their volunteer engagement, without calling it virtual volunteering or any other associated name. I found more than 60 organizations involving online volunteers in Europe in a very short time, I image there are far, far more that I didn't find, just because of my lack of skills in languages other than English. True, virtual volunteering still isn't as widespread in Europe as it is in the USA, but its well-established and seems to be growing.
Traditional volunteer centers in Europe are ignoring virtual volunteering. The web sites of volunteer centers in European capitals, as well as most national web sites focused on volunteering in Europe by Europeans, were of little help in this research - they rarely mentioned online volunteers, virtual volunteering, microvolunteering, etc. Also, many of their online search engines for volunteering opportunities offer no way to list virtual opportunities. What is it going to take for this to change?
Spain is the European leader regarding virtual volunteering. Organizations involving online volunteers and web sites talking about voluntarios virtuales, voluntarios en línea, voluntarios digitales, voluntarios en red, microvoluntarios, voluntariat virtual, voluntaris digitals, voluntariat virtual abound in Spain. I could have done this report JUST on Spanish virtual volunteering and had 50 pages of narrative! Fundación Hazloposible, an NGO established in 1999 in Spain, launched HacesFalta.org the following year, an online portal for the promotion of volunteerism, including virtual volunteering, and its been growing ever since. Academic articles about this and other online efforts are plentiful. But why did Spain embrace virtual volunteering so early, and why did it spread so quickly, compared to other European countries? I would love to hear your thoughts as to why.
Lack of French virtual volunteering efforts. French is spoken by 74 million people, including in 31 francophone countries of Africa. It's one of the official working languages of the United Nations. And, yet, information about virtual volunteering in French is sparse; even when the France-based France Bénévolat, talks about it, they just mention the phrase and then link to Canadian materials. Why the lack of information in French - and the apparent lack of interest in France regarding virtual volunteering, compared to Spain and England in particular?
Where are the online discussion groups for managers of volunteers in European countries? The United Kingdom has the wonderful UKVPMs, which brings together hundreds of people that work with volunteers, regularly discussing everything from legislation to day-to-day challenges in working with volunteers. There's E-Voluntas, un canal para compartir experiencias de intervención e investigación sobre voluntariado. But where are the discussion groups in French, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, German, Czech, Polish, Estonian, Swedish and on and on? In fact, where are the associations of managers of volunteers in these countries - not the volunteer centres, that promote volunteerism, but the associations that talk about effective management and support of volunteers? I found nothing on the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) site nor on the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) about such groups. Without such associations/communities of practice, there's little chance of volunteering be elevated to the level of importance many of us believe it deserves, far beyond "feel good" activities. What will it take to change this?
Where are materials in languages other than English to help organizations involve online volunteers? I don't mean just the Guía de voluntariado virtual, the translation of the Virtual Volunteering Guidebook I co-authored with Susan Ellis back in the 1990s, or translations of web materials I've written. I don't mean just the UN's Online Volunteering service English materials translated into French. I mean advice written in Spanish about Spanish experiences for a Spanish audience, or advice written in French about Francophone African experiences for a Francophone African audience, regarding how to identify tasks that might be undertaken by online volunteers, how to screen online candidates for volunteering, how to keep online volunteers motivated, how to supervise and support online volunteers, how to create an online mentoring program, how to create microvolunteering opportunities how to work with virtual teams of online volunteers, and on and on? I am so hungry to read a non-USA perspective about how to create online volunteering tasks, how to support online volunteers, the benefits of such engagement for organizations (not just the volunteers), etc. Are these out there and I've missed them? And I am ready to write an impassioned endorsement for anyone who wants to undertake such an endeavor for his or her respective country/region.
There are far, far, far more efforts in Europe to promote virtual volunteering, including microvolunteering, to potential volunteers than to volunteer hosting organizations. I found lots of material geared towards potential online volunteers, or talking about online volunteers and how they benefit, but scant information about why organizations in Europe involve volunteers, and why they should. Without focusing much, much more on hosting organizations, Europe is in danger of creating many thousands of disappointed people - people that wanted to volunteer online but couldn't find tasks to do.

Doing this project was a lot like when I began researching virtual volunteering back in the 1990s for the Virtual Volunteering Project:

Back then, a lot of traditional volunteer centers and national organizations focused on traditional volunteering had nothing on their web sites, in their publications or in their trainings regarding virtual volunteering - and many were openly reluctant, if not hostile, to the idea of talking about online volunteering as anything normal or soon-to-be mainstream. I encountered the same unwillingness - and even hostility - by many of the primary institutions in charge of promoting volunteerism in various European countries (except for Spain) - or for all of Europe.
In the 1990s, because traditional volunteer centers and national associations focused on volunteerism in the USA didn't take the lead in researching and promoting virtual volunteering, I had to go to the grassroots level, talking to individual volunteer-involving organizations, rather than umbrella or research institutions, to gather the research I needed for the Virtual Volunteering Project. The same was true this time for Europe: volunteer centres and the primary institutions in charge of promoting volunteerism in Europe don't or won't talk about virtual volunteering, so I had to go directly to volunteer-involving organizations themselves. It was easier this time, however, because there was Google - something that wasn't fully formed back in 1996 when I started research for the Virtual Volunteering Project.

One of the most important tools in my research for this initiative was archive.org; it allowed me to go through earlier iterations of web sites to determine when an organization first started talking, at least online, about virtual volunteering. I could not have done the research without it.

As part of this project, I created a wiki of all of the various resources I used for my research and many of the appendices. It includes:

References used in early drafts of the paper (not all made the final version of the paper)
Online Volunteering-related recruitment or matching web sites
Organisations that involve online volunteers in the EU
Resources related to volunteering as a contributor to employability
Resources and research related to Internet-mediated volunteering (focused on, but not limited to, Europe)
Resources related to volunteer engagement and volunteerism in EU countries statistics, studies, volunteer centres, volunteer matching sites, sites for volunteers, sites for those that want to involve volunteers, etc.

In addition, several portions of the paper were cut before it was finalized. I've used that cut information to create these two resources:

It's real: the unpaid internships & volunteers controversy (blog post)
Online & print articles about or addressing controversies regarding volunteers replacing paid staff, a compilation of articles NOT authored by me. These are articles about controversies in both Europe and the USA.

Please note that I am no longer researching virtual volunteering in Europe. You can feel free to use all of this data in any report or resource you are putting together, so long as I am credited in some way with providing the data.

Now, it's time for traditional volunteer centers and volunteerism institutions in Europe to embrace their role in tracking and promoting virtual volunteering - as well as group volunteering, family volunteering, episodic volunteering, and all of the various other forms of non-traditional volunteering. I look forward to seeing this information added to their web sites, publications and trainings.

Also:

The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook

available for purchase as a paperback & an ebook

from Energize, Inc.

It includes the basics for getting started with involving and supporting volunteers online, but also offers detailed information to help organizations that are already engaged in virtual volunteering with improving and expanding their programs. It is a practical guide, though it does include some case studies and research.

Also see

Studies and Research Regarding Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering
While there is a plethora of articles and information about online volunteering, there has been very little research published regarding the subject. This is a compilation of publicly-available research regarding online volunteering, and a list of suggested possible angles for researching online volunteering. New contributions to this page are welcomed, including regarding online mentoring programs.
Microvolunteering and Crowd-Sourcing: Not-So-New Trends in Virtual Volunteering/Online Volunteering
Provides a long list of what online volunteering as microvolunteering looks like, examples of organisations engaging such short-term online volunteers, and tips for making these specific types of volunteer engagement work.
Short-term Assignments for Tech Volunteers
There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations to involve volunteers to help with short-term projects relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term assignments are what are sought after most by potential "tech" volunteers. But there is a disconnect: most organizations have trouble identifying such short-term projects. This is a list of short-term projects for "tech" volunteers -- assignments that might takes days, weeks or just a couple of months to complete.
One(-ish) Day "Tech" Activities for Volunteers
Volunteers are getting together for intense, one-day events, or events of just a few days, to build web pages, to write code, to edit Wikipedia pages, and more. These are gatherings of onsite volunteers, where everyone is in one location, together, to do an online-related project in one day, or a few days. It's a form of episodic volunteering, because volunteers don't have to make an ongoing commitment - they can come to the event, contribute their services, and then leave and never volunteer again. Because computers are involved, these events are sometimes called hackathons, even if coding isn't involved. This page provides advice on how to put together a one-day event, or just-a-few-days-of activity, for a group of tech volunteers onsite, working together, for a nonprofit, non-governmental organization (NGO), community-focused government program, school or other mission-based organization - or association of such.

Finding a Computer/Network Consultant
Staff at mission-based organizations (nonprofits, civil society organizations, and public sector agencies) often have to rely on consultants, either paid or volunteer, for expertise in computer hardware, software and networks. Staff may feel unable to understand, question nor challenge whatever that consultant recommends. What can mission-based organizations do to recruit the "right" consultant for "tech" related issues, one that will not make them feel out-of-the-loop or out-of-control when it comes to tech-related discussions?
Myths About Online Volunteering (Virtual Volunteering)
Online volunteering means unpaid service that is given by volunteers via the Internet. It's also known as virtual volunteering, online mentoring, ementoring, evolunteering, cyber volunteering, cyber service, telementoring, online engagement, and on and on. Here is a list of common myths about online volunteering, and my attempt to counter them.
Hosting International Volunteers: A Where-To-Start Guide For Local Organizations In Developing Countries
For organizations in developing countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and South America interested in hosting volunteers from other countries.
Recruiting Local Volunteers To Increase Diversity Among the Ranks
Having plenty of volunteers usually isn't enough to say a volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of success is if your volunteers represent a variety of ages, education-levels, economic levels and other demographics, or are a reflection of your local community. Most organizations don't want volunteers to be a homogeneous group; they want to reach a variety of people as volunteers (and donors and other supporters, for that matter). This resource will help you think about how to recruit for diversity, or to reach a specific demographic.
Using Third Party Web Sites Like VolunteerMatch to Recruit Volunteers
There are lots and lots of web sites out there to help your organization recruit volunteers. You don't have to use them all, but you do need to make sure you use them correctly in order to get the maximum response to your posts.
Using Video to Support Online Volunteers/Remote Volunteers.
Video is a great way to further support volunteers, and your computer probably already has all of the tools you need to make a video, or to engage in a live video conversation with others. Video isn't something to use only with online volunteers or remote volunteers (those providing onsite service at a different location than yours). It's also a tool you can use with new and current volunteers. In addition to an organization producing videos for volunteers, it can also work the other way around: volunteers can produce videos for organizations. This resource provides information on your options, and links to my own short video on the subject.
Using Real-Time Communications With Volunteers
A growing number of organizations are using real-time communications -- including video conferencing, online phone calls, chats and instant messaging -- to hold online meetings with volunteers, to allow volunteers to interact with staff, clients, or each other, or to involve volunteers in a live, online, real-time event. This resource provides more information on real-time communications with volunteers -- what the various tools are, how agencies are using them to interact with volunteers, and tips to encourage and maintain participation in synchronous communications.
Recognizing Online Volunteers & Using the Internet to Honor ALL Volunteers
Recognition helps volunteers stay committed to your organization, and gets the attention of potential volunteers -- and donors -- as well. Organizations need to fully recognize the efforts of remote, online volunteers, as well as those onsite, and not differentiate the value of these two forms of service. Organizations should also incorporate use of the Internet to recognize the efforts of ALL volunteers, both online and onsite. With cyberspace, it's never been easier to show volunteers -- and the world -- that volunteers are a key part of your organization's successes. This new resource provides a long list of suggestions for both honoring online volunteers and using the Internet to recognize ALL volunteers that contribute to your organization.

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