Project title:
Volunteer Management e-Learning – VOLMANEL
Programme: Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation Projects
Project summary:
The European ‘Third Sector’ is made up of voluntary organizations, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and NGOs. The work of the third sector across Europe addresses key issues of social cohesion (Bruges Communique, 2010), for example ageing population, asylum seekers /refugees, people with disabilities, people from disadvantaged communities, etc. Many of the people involved in the sector are themselves volunteers – often from the target beneficiary group. Managing these volunteers so that they feel valued and can benefit from the experience is a significant challenge. The European Parliament has announced 2011 as the European Year of Volunteering. The GMK study (Volunteering in the European Union, 2010) notes a common challenge is the ‘management of human resources within organizations engaging volunteers’. This project aims to develop an e-learning course from existing materials used by PNE in the delivery of a UK-based vocational management qualification programme (Management of Volunteers) to a new partnership. These hard copy materials have been tested in a previous Transfer of Innovation project with different partners in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Italy (Umbria). This new project works with a new partnership to test the applicability of the e-learning materials in three new countries / languages (Spain, Lithuania and Poland), and a new partner in a new region of Italy (Piedmont). Three of the four importing partners are specialist third sector organizations, the fourth has highly relevant experience.
This project will:
Develop and transfer an e-learning version of the materials thereby widening access in different countries and in different languages: and, work with new partners (with different skill sets and expertise) to create an interactive and engaging European e-learning programme. The ultimate target group for the project’s e-learning materials are small NGOs (small charities, social enterprises, voluntary organizations, community groups, cooperatives etc) whose staff support hard to reach/disadvantaged communities.
The main results of the project will be:
– the establishment of a new partnership;
– the development of new online and interactive course materials that have applicability across Europe;
– a pilot delivery of the e-learning materials by partners in four countries;
– widely disseminated information and materials arising from the programme;
– an externally commissioned evaluation to highlight key strengths and opportunities from the transfer, and to identify any risks and threats to future sustainability.
Project partners:
– Project North East (UK) – project coordinator;
-European Network for Transfer and Exploitation of EU Project Results (Austria);
– FONDO FORMACION EUSKADI (Spain);
– VsI Socialiniu inovaciju centras (Lithuania);
– Centro Servizi per il Volontariato Sviluppo e Solidarieta in Piemonte (Italy);
– Regionalne Centrum Wolontariatu w Katowicach (Poland).
Project duration: 2011-2013