Volunteering & Student-Led Engagement Working Group

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL) Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

How It Began…

Dec 2012

Actioning Engagement

Conference (HEA, Campus Engage) at DCU

Apr 2013 Jun 2013

Convenors invited all HEIs to action plan meetings: Vol WG meeting at UL SLE WG meeting at DCU WGs Convenors prepared and presented action plans to Campus Engage Steering Committee and HEI reps

Outcome:

4 HE civic engagement activities identified for further development: SLE, Vol, CBL, CBR 4 working groups established

Outcome:

Agreed action plan for Vol WG Agreed action plan for SLE WG

Outcome:

Agreement and proposal to merge the Vol-SLE WGs, and CBL-CBR WGs Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

National Student Volunteering/Student Led Engagement Workplans Agreed (1/2)

Priorities Training & Development Vol WG Plan SLE WG Plan

National learning events; training workshops; national conference Network and learning community; training modules for student leaders

V/SLE WG

Campus Engage Collaborative Learning Day SLE Roadshow National V/SLE Conference

Networking and Shared Resources

Online community; best practices; toolkit of resources Opportunity mapping; website; framework; best practices; toolkit of resources Campus Engage Collaborative Learning Day to inform issues to be addressed in toolkits of resources Campus Engage website National Volunteering Management System and Database Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

National Student Volunteering/Student Led Engagement Workplans Agreed (2/2)

Priorities National Events Research/ Evidence Vol WG Plan

National conference Research on student volunteering; research/eviden ce framework; best practices; toolkit of resources

SLE WG Plan

National conference; national student friendly campaign to promote SLE Opportunity mapping; website; framework; best practices; toolkit of resources

V/SLE WG

National V/SLE Conference SLE Roadshow Campus Engage Collaborative Learning Day National Volunteering Management System and Database Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

Delivered So Far

Training & Development April 13 – present Project Plans, SC Approval Process, CE Away Day, Volunteering Day, Today’s Event Networking & Shared Resources HEIs Collaborative Days, Volunteering Day, SC Updates, Vol Ireland, SU, Socs, Community Orgs NSVMS Documents & Processes: Proposal, Tender, Procurement, Project Plan, SC Approval Process Phase 1 – Discovery Completed Promotion Convenor Meetings, Reports to WGs (Plans, Collaborative Day), SC Reports, CE website (case studies). How-To Volunteering Guide

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

NSVMS - Context

• • • Student volunteering and student led engagement make a valuable contribution to HEIs internal and external communities and the profile of HEIs. The administration of student volunteering involves a significant range of activities: – building University/Community relationships – – – – – creation and dissemination of volunteer opportunities promoting student volunteering connecting volunteer organisation and students and supporting both in the process capturing the diversity of communities and students engaged reporting all this activity The problem: even though a small number of HEIs have built a volunteer infrastructure, no HE infrastructure exists.

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

NSVMS - Context

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Effect on Stakeholders:

– Students: No national picture on the range of volunteering activities students are involved in and/or student led volunteering initiatives and/or their impact on their student experience and communities’ experience. – – – Community Organisations: No national picture or database on the organisations engaging with HEIs. HE Civic Engagement Practitioners: Duplication of effort and costs involved in building bespoke volunteer management system; student volunteering policies and practices; creation and dissemination of volunteer opportunities; promoting student volunteering; connecting volunteer organisations to HE students. HEIs: No national demographics, experiences, impact on HE students, the communities they serve, HE profiles, and HE award systems. Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

NSVMS - Concept

• • The development of NSVMS, a centralised single national system, built in such a way to offer bespoke dimensions and flexibility for individual HEIs, will encourage, develop, support and report this activity across the sector. NSVMS will provide functionality to support the administration/management activities, provide evidenced based research on this extra-curricular student activity, and establish a national clubs, societies, and internal/external community based organisation database.

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

NSVMS - Concept

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The NSVMS will:

– profile student volunteers, and their volunteer preferences – profile clubs & socs and community organisations (internal/external) engaging with student volunteers – – – – profile student led engagement activities monitor performance of both students volunteers and their clubs, socs, community organisations produce local and national reports to facilitate responses to this activity provide a resource that will stimulate research in this civic engagement area Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

Why a National Student VMS?

Cost-effective, ready made infrastructure – less duplication of effort and cost

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

Why a National Student VMS?

• • • • • • • • Cost-effective national infrastructure: Less duplication of effort and cost of sustaining and building student volunteering activity across the HEI sector Increase student volunteering and student led engagement activities across the HEI sector Embed volunteering as a normal extra-curricula HE student activity Promoting cross-sectors dialogue, partnership and collaboration between HEI colleagues and national/local based organisations Stimulate and share good volunteer practice across HEI sector Acknowledge the contribution HEI student volunteers make to their local, national and international communities (innovation, practices, social and financial contribution Develop a local, national and international voluntary/community organisations database Establish a network of HEI volunteer practitioners with expertise in the National Student Volunteer Management System, student volunteering, student clubs/societies/internal/external community based organisations/oversees community based organisation Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

NSVMS - Work So Far

Tender process and interviews with tech companies – Monsoon Consulting selected (Nov-Dec 13) Consultations with Volunteer Ireland and Monsoon – strategic alliance, technical details and schedule of works (Dec 13-Mar 14) Prepared and submitted project proposal and funding proposal for Campus Engage Steering Committee – signed off (May 14) Discovery Phase for NSVMS completed based on UL PVAs spec; secured hosting on HEAnet (Apr 13-May 14) Project and funding proposals sent out to HEIs who expressed interest – 7 HEIs on board for the Development Phase (Jun 14) Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

Future Plans

• • •

Student-Led Engagement and Volunteering Roadshow (Oct 2014 – May 2015) – Working Group Needed

– – – To cover 5-10 campuses Student competition to showcase SLE initiatives Training events and workshops for students at launch and awards ceremony (Common Purpose, Enactus, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, RAG, Volunteer Ireland)

National Volunteering and Student-Led Engagement Conference (2015) – Working Group Needed

– – Call for papers, posters and presentations International speakers

Roll-out of National Volunteering Management System (February 2015) – Working Group Needed

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)

Conversations

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Q1: Community-based learning and volunteering – how do they differ?

– purposes & ethos – accreditation – – student leadership value in HE sector •

Q2: The value HE place on student volunteering

– contribution to student experience – – – – contribution to communities HEI profile student employability recognition – seen as “less”?

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Q3: Definition of higher education student volunteering

Gabriella Hanrahan (UL), Joanna Ozarowska (DCU)