Getting the most out of volunteering
For the Higher Education sector, volunteering is an integral part of a number of key institutional priorities, such as widening participation, student experience, teaching and learning, and social responsibility. For students, volunteering can develop transferable skills and for local communities, it can make a real difference to the quality of services and facilities.
Minna Ruohonen, Head of Community Partnerships and Volunteering and an Imperial consultant, has a wealth of experience in setting up volunteer programs, developing partnerships and evaluating the impact of student volunteering.
In 2002, Minna set up the College volunteering programme, an initiative that has received many HEFCE good practice recognitions as well as volunteering awards. Since then she has been active in seeking out ways to assess volunteering and establish the wide ranging benefits that it can have.
‘In 2008 I conducted an Imperial-only impact study, generating useful evidence on the skills that the students gained. I then went on to manage a joint study between 8 London-based universities. The findings of this collaborative impact measurement confirmed that volunteering provides development opportunities for university students.’
Though important, evaluations of volunteering and its impact on university, communities and organisations are thin on the ground. As Minna says,
‘Detailed research into the issue of student volunteering is rare. In the current economic climate and mindful of government priorities in this area, it is essential to demonstrate the ‘value’ of volunteering to all those involved in this activity.’
Informed consultancy
Minna uses research and experience to inform her consultancy work. She was involved in providing input and advice to the Institute for Volunteering Research(IVR)during their review of the Volunteering impact assessment toolkit. This toolkit enables organisations, large or small, to measure the impact of volunteering on their volunteers, themselves, their direct beneficiaries and the wider community, as well as identify how they can better manage their volunteers. Director of the IVR, Nick Ockenden, commented on her work:
‘Minna Ruohonen is a committed practitioner and incisive critic, with extensive knowledge and understanding of the volunteering sector that contributed greatly to the refresh of the Institute for Volunteering Research’s England’s Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit in 2010’.
Minna was also part of the steering committee that looked at volunteering research for the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). In 2010, the committee published a report titled ‘Bursting the Bubble’. As Jamie Darwen from the NCCPE comments,
“Minna Ruohonen has been one of the UK’s leading figures in student volunteering and community engagement over the last few years. She has played a key role in building our knowledge and understanding of the impacts of student volunteering, through setting up a research project across universities in London, and also as a member of the research advisory board for the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement. Through this work, Minna has been influential in building models of research and evaluation for student volunteering and encouraging others to understand the benefits of evaluation."
Services
- Evaluation of student volunteering and impact measurement
- Volunteer program set up and framework development
- Community partnership development and stakeholder inclusion
Minna offers consultancy on flexible terms, i.e. from ½ day to longer-term projects. To find out more or to access volunteer related services, please contact us.
