ProVol Digital – Professional volunteer management and training through digitalisation

"<< Background >>During the Covid-19 pandemic, we identified a critical need for digital transformation in the voluntary sector. Many volunteer-led NGOs were unprepared to shift their work online, which limited their ability to continue providing their services. The need to improve digital competence became apparent as organisations struggled with remote work, online communication, and digital volunteer management. Many organisations are led by older individuals and have limited resources, which often leads to doubts and concerns about the usefulness of digital tools. What is missing is general training for developing a digitalization strategy and digital skills development to enhance professionalism and efficiency in volunteering. We had developed such a training, but our professional volunteer training needed to be transformed into a digital version. This project addressed this pressing need for digital upskilling within the voluntary sector, enabling organisations to adapt to a digital landscape, operate more efficiently, and ensure that volunteering opportunities remain accessible and impactful in a rapidly changing world.<< Objectives >>The main objective of our program, as outlined in the proposal, was to support Volunteer-involving Organizations (ViOs) in digitising and professionalising their services, activities, volunteer work, and management to increase efficiency and effectiveness in their operations. We identified five key areas: First, we aimed to educate ViOs on the benefits of digitalization in a simple and understandable way, equipping them with specific tools, skills, and competencies. Additionally, we focused on organisational development and building the capacity of ViOs and volunteer coordinators by training them to effectively use digital management tools. Our program also aimed to promote digital volunteering through workshops and informational booklets, ensuring it becomes more accessible and better managed while reaching diverse volunteers. Furthermore, we sought to digitise the existing ProVol Training, enabling people to benefit from it regardless of any barriers they might face. Finally, we aimed to establish a ProVol network to deliver high-quality virtual volunteering training across Europe. This way, more volunteer coordinators could access the ProVol training, and it could be adapted to other countries as well.<< Implementation >>Following activities have been implemented to address the need for volunteer coordinators to be trained, professionalised, reskilled, upskilled, and equipped with digital skills: a) We developed a general training named “Digitalisation in Volunteering – The Basics of Digital Work” for ViOs to help them understand the need for change and see the opportunities digitalisation offers. We provided recommendations for the transformation process and delivered a toolbox with step-by-step guides as useful low-cost or free digital tools and services.b) To improve organisational development and building capacity, we defined “Recommendations on Digital Volunteer Management” for ViOs in the form of a handbook. The handbook includes recommendations for utilising digital tools and services for recruitment, placement, and volunteering management, making good use of digital volunteer platforms and working with digital marketing and PR tools and services.c) We produced a guideline and a booklet on virtual volunteering in order to capitalise on its benefits and gain access to a new group of volunteers across a diverse pool of skills and geographic locations. It includes practical recommendations for managing digital volunteers and some good practices of digital volunteering opportunities. Additionally, we held a workshop on this topic. d) We transformed the existing 'Professional Volunteering Training' into a digital format as a means to improve the impact of volunteer activities. In this way, more volunteer coordinators could have access to the training, and it will become much easier to replicate the model in other countries as well.e) We established a ProVol network, developed a quality label system, and trained new ProVold trainers and ProVol expert trainers. The Europe-wide dissemination will deliver high quality virtual volunteering training programs across Europe. Our activities were accompanied by dissemination activities and multiplier events. << Results >>This project successfully delivered a variety of concrete outputs, designed to improve digital competencies in volunteer work across Europe that fully aligned with the original objectives. The key results include the following:IO1:Report on “Digitization Trends in Volunteer Work”Recommendations on “Values, Attitudes, and Working Principles in the Digital World”Toolbox “Good Digital Tools” with Step-by-Step GuidesReport on ""Pedagogical Methods of Digital Work and Learning""Guidelines on ""Possibilities and Limitations of Adapting Offline Activities to the Digital Sphere”Training Curriculum “Digitalization in Volunteering – The Basics of Digital Work”Internal and external pilot tests of the training (10;41 participants)Finalisation and Translation of all materialsIO2:Handbook ""Digital Volunteer Management""IO3:Booklet ""Volunteering from Anywhere!""Handbook ""Digital Volunteering""Training curriculum and materials “Prepare Volunteer Organizations for Digital Remote Volunteers”Pilot tests of the training (66 participants) IO4:Training Curriculum “ProVol Digital”Training materials for “ProVol Digital”Handbook “ProVol Digital” for participantsInternal and external pilot tests of the training (7; participants; 104 participants)IO5:Training Curriculum “Train-the-Trainer”Training materials for “Train-the-TrainerHandbook “Train-the-Trainer”4 trained ProVol expert trainers; 14 trained ProVol trainersBooklets for Volunteer Coordinators and NGOs on becoming a ProVol trainer or network partnerProVol quality label and network concept Quality Assurance and Accreditation SystemDevelopment of the ProVol Network, including a Contract Template and Self-Assessment Tool for CentersThe founding agreement signed by founding members (four partner organisations and Volonteurope)"