Research

Time Well Spent is NCVO’s biggest research programme on people’s experiences of volunteering. Our first report, Time Well Spent: A national survey on the volunteer experience, was published in 2019 and based on 2018 survey data of 10,103 adults across Great Britain. Time Well Spent 2023 has been designed to compare with the original 2019 survey.

Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management, 2020. Volunteer Coordination in CDEM provides a broad overview of volunteer coordination, with a particular focus on CDEM-trained volunteers (community members who are registered, screened and trained during readiness), and spontaneous volunteers (who emerge during response).

Katene, Rahui. Playcentre Journal, 2010. This document contains a speech made by Rahui Katene, Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga, on the importance of every family’s contribution to our children’s and communities’ successful future. The speech also delves into how the volunteer base is supported. An online copy of this document is currently unavailable.

We have collated key volunteering data resources and highlighted some of the key insights drawn from this data. We have also captured key volunteering measures tracked by the public sector.

Migration Policy Institute, 2019. The report offers a few ways in which policymakers can help fill gaps, including by creating policy frameworks that allow agencies to engage volunteers or sponsors where they would add the most value; and provide dedicated resources to establish and maintain effective community engagement.

Gates, Trevor; Russell, Elizabeth; Gainsburg, Jeanne. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 2016. The study found that LGBTQ+ volunteers are motivated primarily by their personal values, mission of the organisation, and desire to develop and maintain social relationships with the LGBTQ+ community. Implications for volunteer resource management and research are explored.

The ‘What if Everyone Stops Volunteering?’ Report, from not-for-profit social enterprise Works4U, explores in detail the UK social and economic impact of no volunteers.

Key findings from dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master of Science in Psychology at the University of Canterbury, 2025. Based on data collected from 19 participants across five New Zealand emergency response organisations.

A theory of change that can be used to promote investment in Volunteer Management

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