Inclusive Volunteering at the Ripon Museum Trust

Research Team

• Martin Webber

• Beth Casey

Co-Investigators 

• Annette Bauer, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Stephanie Tierney, University of Oxford

Project Summary

Volunteers play an important role in communities as they use their skills and expertise for the benefit of others. Their unpaid contributions make a real difference, and many community or voluntary sector organisations cannot operate without them. The Ripon Museum Trust (RMT) in Ripon, North Yorkshire, uses volunteers to help run the museums, for example, by working on the front desk, showing visitors around, hosting school groups and conducting research for exhibitions. 

People volunteer for several reasons, such as to gain new skills for future employment or to find a fulfilling role in retirement. Volunteering is also being increasingly recognised as important for our mental wellbeing. However, people with low mental wellbeing or a diagnosed mental health problem often find it difficult to engage with formal volunteering opportunities. 

Inclusive volunteering provides a way for people who require additional support to access volunteering opportunities. However, limited research has been conducted on inclusive volunteering so we do not know enough about how, and if, it might help people. 

Aims:

This project aimed to evaluate inclusive volunteering at RMT and had three objectives:

• To explore how and why inclusive volunteering works and develop a guide to share this with others. 
• To explore outcomes for people receiving inclusive volunteering and the organisation providing it. 
• To assess costs and potential economic consequences of inclusive volunteering.

Methods: A range of qualitative methods were utilised to provide a choice for participants and to facilitate participation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven volunteers and eight staff members providing support within Ripon museums. In addition, three volunteers completed a written diary about their experiences (two of whom were interviewed as well). Ten fieldwork sessions were also conducted, observing the individual support provided and wider organisational context.

In addition, outcome questionnaires were completed with new volunteers receiving support when they first started volunteering; then after 3 and 6 months. The questionnaire asked questions on access to social resources; loneliness; mental wellbeing and service use.

Outputs:

The Inclusive Volunteering Guide can be accessed here:

A Guide to setting up an Inclusive Volunteering Programme (PDF , 4,488kb)

This Guide is now being evaluated in a new study. If you have looked at the Guide, we are keen to hear from you. Please drop us a line to let us know how it has informed inclusive volunteering in your organisation or just to keep in touch with our work