How we developed the Vision

More than 350 people from more than 300 organisations contributed to the Vision for Volunteering.

Vision for Volunteering is led by NAVCA, NCVO, Volunteering Matters, and the Association of Volunteer Managers.

In late 2021, we ran a series of 14 workshops across seven strands. Each workshop was co-chaired by at least two members of our steering group - one with a national perspective, and one with a local perspective. Around 350 people attended a workshop.

We looked at who had attended workshops, and identified gaps in who we had heard from and the different kinds of volunteering we had heard about. We ran a series of interviews and a further workshop to fill those gaps, as well as reviewing existing research, particularly research that engaged directly with volunteers.

We also invited written submissions, and provided an engagement toolkit to help organisations run their own workshops to inform their submissions. We received 43 submissions.

With the partners and the steering group, we mapped out how volunteering was changing using the Three Horizons model (see About volunteering for more on Three Horizons) . Several themes emerged, which we tested and iterated and then used to synthesise the rich insight from submissions, workshops and interviews.

Who was involved

The Vision was written by Ellie Brodie, Gethyn Williams, James Allen, Megan Gray, Rachel Bronstein and Sam Burne James. The 'three horizons, one Vision' graphic was created by Gethyn Williams. We’re grateful to the many people that provided feedback on drafts along the way.

The project was coordinated by Megan Gray, Michael Wall and Rachel Bronstein, supported by a working group. Gill Featherstone provided research support. Sam Burne James led communications.

The project was led on behalf of the partners by:

  • Jenny Betteridge, Strategic Lead Volunteering, Sport England

  • Maddy Desforges, CEO, NAVCA

  • Paul Reddish, CEO, Volunteering Matters

  • Ruth Leonard, Chair, Association of Volunteer Managers

  • Sarah Vibert, CEO, NCVO

Supported by a steering group:

  • Alex Krutnik – Canterbury District Volunteer Centre 

  • Anna Croghan – AgeUK 

  • Ben Grady – DCMS 

  • Emma Easton – NHSE 

  • Finn Grant – UK Youth 

  • Hannah Small – LGA 

  • Holly Notcutt – #iwill 

  • Jackie Rosenberg – One Westminster 

  • Jenny Betteridge – Sport England 

  • Jeremy Hughes – Shaping the Future with Volunteering 

  • Jon Eastwood – National Lottery Community Fund 

  • Louis Groarke – Warrington Youth Voice 

  • Mark Davis – Middlesbrough VDA 

  • Nick Gardham – Community Organisers 

  • Patrick Vernon – Centre for Ageing Better 

  • Stephen Craker – Communities 1st 

  • Soo Nevison – CABAD 

  • Tony Armstrong – Locality 

  • Victoria Marsom – Friends of the Earth

The working group was:

  • Catherine Goodall - NCVO

  • Clare Mills - NAVCA

  • Emily Lewis - NAVCA

  • Gethyn Williams - freelance, representing Sport England

  • Jarina Choudhury - NCVO

  • Jo Gibney - AVM

  • Lucy Straker - NAVCA

  • Mandy James - Volunteering Matters

  • Megan Gray - freelance

  • Michael Wall - Volunteering Matters

  • Rachel Bronstein - seconded from DCMS

The following organisations made submissions to the Vision:

  • Acorns Children's Hospice Trust

  • Active South Derbyshire

  • Age UK Thanet

  • ASNA

  • Be Collective

  • Believe in Me CIC

  • British Red Cross

  • Cambridge CVS

  • Canterbury and Herne Bay Volunteer Centre

  • Citizens Advice Bucks

  • Community Action Network

  • Community Links Bromley

  • Cumbria CVS

  • DCMS

  • Do IT

  • Embracing Age

  • Essex Wildlife Trust

  • Hillingdon Slipstreamers Children's Cycling Club

  • Hull CVS

  • If Everyone Cares CIC

  • Intergenerational Music Making

  • LC Inclusive

  • Making Space

  • Maldon and District CVS

  • Marina Harden

  • Maritime and Coastguard Agency

  • National Deaf Children's Society

  • NAVCA

  • NCVO

  • Norwich Food Bank

  • Pilotlight

  • Rob Jackson Consulting

  • Royal British Legion

  • Saint Francis Hospice

  • Sanctuary Care

  • Southdown

  • Spirit of 2012

  • St Elizabeth Hospice

  • SVS

  • Tempo Time Credits

  • Third Sector Leaders Kirklees

  • Volunteering Matters

  • Volunteero

  • Wessex Community Action

  • York CVS

We interviewed the following people for the Vision:

  • Ali Harris - Equally Ours

  • Chrissy Hunter - Opening Doors London

  • David Thomas - Nottingham CVS

  • Immy Robinson - Active Citizens, Relationships Project

  • Jane South - Leeds Beckett University

  • Janet Thorne - Reach Volunteering

  • John Williams - Association of Chairs

  • Dame Julia Unwin

  • Kamran Mallick - Disability Rights UK

  • Katie Aston - Home Office

  • Kunle Olulode - Voice4Change England

  • Malcolm John - Action for Trustee Racial Diversity

  • Hannah Tankard and Nicola Burton - BITC

People from the following organisations attended the Vision workshops:

  • Abbey Centre

  • Action Hampshire

  • Active Black Country

  • Active Devon

  • Active Lancashire

  • Advance

  • Age Concern Westminster

  • Age UK

  • Age UK Kensington and Chelsea

  • Age UK Thanet and Kent Arts and Wellbeing

  • Age UK Westminster

  • Alike

  • Alzheimer's Research UK

  • Alzheimer's Society

  • AMAT UK

  • Arthritis Action

  • Ashgate Hospice

  • AVOW (Wrexham)

  • Barnsley CVS

  • Barnsley Museums

  • Basingstoke Voluntary Action

  • BH Community Works

  • Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust

  • Birmingham FOE

  • Brampton Manor Academy

  • Brighton & Hove Libraries

  • Bristol Zoological Society

  • British Cycling

  • British Red Cross

  • British Sikh Nurses

  • British Youth Council

  • Brunelcare

  • Buckinghamshire Council

  • BVSC

  • Cabinet Office

  • CAFOD

  • Calderdale Council

  • Cambridgeshire ACRE

  • Canterbury Volunteer Centre

  • Care Network

  • Catalyst Stockton

  • Caudwell Children

  • CCVS

  • Central Bedfordshire Council

  • Change Grow Live (Bridge)

  • Change Grow Live (The Bridge Project)

  • Chanzo

  • Checkout.com

  • Chelmsford CVS

  • Chelsea Methodist Church Community Volunteer Team

  • Cheshire Community Action

  • Cheshire West Voluntary Action

  • Chester Zoo

  • Chichester Cathedral

  • Christian Aid

  • CIPD

  • CITiZAN (Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network)

  • Citizens Advice

  • Citizens Advice Peterborough

  • Citizens Advice Sunderland

  • Citizens in Policing

  • Coastline Housing

  • Community Action Network

  • Community Action Suffolk

  • Community Action: MK

  • Community CVS

  • Community First

  • Community Impact Bucks

  • Community Links Bromley

  • Community Spaces Northampton

  • Connect Reading

  • CPRE

  • Craft4Smiles CIC

  • Cre8 Football

  • Croydon Voluntary Action

  • Cumbria CVS

  • DCMS

  • DEFRA

  • Devon and Cornwall Police

  • Dimensions UK

  • Diocese of Rochester

  • Dorothy House Hospice Care

  • Dover Big Local and Nest&Grow

  • Dudley Council for Voluntary Service

  • East Riding Voluntary Action Services

  • East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service

  • EMERGE 3Rs

  • England Netball

  • English Heritage

  • ERVAS

  • FareShare

  • Fircroft College of Adult Education

  • FOE

  • Food Train

  • Foresight NE Lincs

  • ForYouByYou 

  • Gateshead Carers

  • Gloucestershire Constabulary

  • Good Things Foundation 

  • GRCC

  • Great Annual Savings - The GF Community Foundation

  • Greater London Authority

  • GreaterSport

  • Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice

  • Groundwork London

  • Groundwork UK

  • Guide Dogs

  • Guide Dogs Cymru

  • H4All 

  • Hackney Council

  • Halton & St Helens VCA

  • Hambleton Community Action

  • Hart District Council

  • Hastings Voluntary Action

  • Havering Volunteer Centre

  • Headway Portsmouth & SE Hants

  • Healthwatch Somerset

  • Healthwatch Wiltshire

  • Help & Care

  • Helpforce

  • Herts Young Homeless

  • HEY Smile Foundation

  • High Storrs School

  • Hogarth's House

  • Hull and East Yorkshire Smile Foundation

  • Hull CVS

  • Humankind

  • Independent Age

  • India Welfare Trust

  • Interlink RCT

  • Jewish Volunteering Network

  • KEEN London

  • Kent Arts and Wellbeing Limited

  • Kent Wildlife Trust

  • KeyRing

  • Kirklees Active Leisure

  • KPMG

  • Lake District National Park Authority

  • Lakes College

  • Leeds Hospitals Charity

  • Leicester City Council

  • Leonard Cheshire

  • Lewisham Local

  • LGA

  • Local Trust

  • London School of Economics

  • London Sport

  • LTA

  • Macc

  • Mace

  • Macmillan Cancer Support

  • Making Space

  • Manchester FOE

  • Marie Curie

  • Marine Conservation Society

  • Mencap

  • Merton Connected 

  • Middlesbrough Volunteer Centre

  • MSSC

  • Mid Sussex Voluntary Action

  • Nailsea District Leg Club

  • National Deaf Children's Society

  • National Lottery Community Fund

  • National Trust

  • Natural History Museum

  • NCVS (Nottingham)

  • Neighbourcare

  • NHS England

  • Noah's Ark Children's Hospice

  • North London Hospice

  • One Westminster

  • Oral health foundation

  • OSJCT

  • Oxfam GB

  • Parkrun

  • Paul's Cancer Support Centre

  • Peterborough Cathedral

  • Peterborough CVS

  • Police Care UK

  • Porchlight

  • Princess Alice Hospice

  • Project 6

  • Qube

  • Queenscourt Hospice

  • Rainbow Trust

  • Ramblers Association

  • RDaSH

  • Reading Voluntary Action

  • Redcar & Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency

  • RFU

  • RNIB

  • RockCorps

  • Romney Marsh Community Hub

  • Royal British Legion Industries

  • Royal Trinity Hospice

  • RSPB

  • Rushcliffe CVS

  • Saint Francis Hospice

  • Salford CVS

  • Samaritans

  • SATEDA

  • SAVS

  • Scouts

  • SCVO

  • Sefton CVS

  • Shaping the Future with Volunteering

  • Shared Interest

  • Shelter

  • Sixty7.green

  • Slough Council for Voluntary Service

  • Smile For Life Children's Charity

  • Solihull Active, SMBC

  • Solihull Council

  • Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership

  • Somerset County Council

  • South Derbyshire District Council

  • Southend YMCA

  • Spark Somerset

  • Special Olympics Great Britain

  • Spirit of 2012

  • Sport Birmingham

  • Sported

  • SSAFA

  • St Andrew's Hospice

  • St Elizabeth Hospice

  • St Gemma’s Hospice

  • St John Ambulance

  • St Luke’s Primary

  • St Oswald's Hospice

  • St Peter and St James Hospice

  • St Peter's Hospice

  • St Richard's Hospice

  • St Wilfrid's Hospice

  • Stockport Council

  • Stoke on Trent City Council Libraries

  • Support Staffordshire

  • Sussex Police

  • Tees Valley Rural Action

  • Teignbridge CVS

  • Tempo

  • The Active Wellbeing Society

  • The Air Ambulance Service

  • The BUILD Charity

  • The Fire Fighters Charity

  • The Old Fire Station (GFS Community Enterprise)

  • The Pacahama Project

  • TTVS

  • University of Birmingham

  • University of East Anglia

  • University of Leeds

  • University of Nottingham

  • University of West London

  • VANEL

  • VANS (Voluntary Action North Somerset)

  • VAS

  • Venture Together

  • Versus Arthritis

  • Voluntary Action Epping Forest

  • Voluntary Action Islington

  • Voluntary Action Leicestershire

  • Voluntary Action North Somerset

  • Voluntary Action Sheffield

  • Volunteer Centre Dorset

  • Volunteer Centre Hackney

  • Volunteer Centre Sefton

  • Volunteer Centre Sutton

  • Volunteer Centre Swindon

  • Volunteer Cornwall

  • Volunteer Link Up (West Oxfordshire)

  • Volunteering Bradford

  • VSI Alliance

  • W4W

  • Warrington Climate Commission

  • Warrington Community Energy

  • Warwickshire Vision Support

  • WCVA

  • West Sussex County Council

  • Westminster Adult Ed Service

  • Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust 

  • Wirral Hospice St John's

  • Witton Lodge Community Association

  • Wood Green The Animals Charity

  • Worcester Community Action

  • Worcestershire County Council

  • Worcester Roots Foundation

  • YWCA Yorkshire

Workshops were run on the following strands:

  • Climate emergency

  • Employment and skills

  • Health and wellbeing

  • Healthy ageing

  • Resilient communities

  • Sports and physical activity

  • Young people leading change (with additional support from #iwill Ambassadors)

We also ran an additional workshop for people from local government.