Timeline: Month 6–20 (February 2020–May 2021)
Main Activities:
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Partners conduct a needs analysis with their stakeholders about the content and functions of the toolbox.
- The toolbox is set up with tools from IO1, the translations of which are finalised for publication. This phase coincides with the final part of IO1.
- Monitoring and improvement. During this phase, partners monitor the use and collected feedback from their users about the usefulness of first sections of the toolbox.
- The toolbox is set up with tools from IO2, the translations of which are finalised for publication. This phase coincides with the final part of IO2.
- Publication of completed tool. Before this phase all the elements and tips for adapting new international tools to volunteer management are collected based on work from IO3.
Short-term joint staff training event
Training event leader: AHE, Poland
Location: Łodz, Poland
Date: October 2020 (exact date TBC)
Title: New methods in volunteer management course
Main Activities:
The “New methods in volunteer management” course is aimed for volunteer managers from the participating organisations or their members or associates. The aim of the activity is to offer them professional development opportunities that will allow them to succeed at their work. They will also be able to network and build on their own European partnerships. The content is determined by the material selected during IOs 1 and 2, providing an overview of current European volunteer management methods and tools, and workshops on their use and facilitation skills.
Each partner will select 2 participants. They are key persons to the success of this project, as they will need to commit to using the tools in the testing phase with their own volunteers. Some project staff members will accompany the participants and be present at the event. The language of instruction is English.
The content and methods of the training will be documented and published on the website to offer interested organisations an opportunity to organise a similar event.
Multiplier Events
Location: every partner country
Date: Month 20–21 (April–May 2021)
One multiplier event will be held in each partner country. Each partner should engage 25
multipliers through the event (people with the potential to spread the project further).
The multiplier event focuses on promoting the tools and methods collected during the
project in an experiential way so that along with presentations from project staff and
stakeholders involved in the testing phase it will offer stakeholders, volunteer managers in
particular, a chance to try out some of the tools.
Aims:
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Promoting the collection of methods and tools and the toolbox
- Offering a sample of tools for taster training
- Offering networking opportunities for volunteer managers in every participating
country.
There is a budget of 100 € per multiplier present at an event. Evidence of attendance must be collected.
Dissemination
Leader: BOSEV
Timeline: Ongoing throughout project
Main Activities
Output leader BOSEV
- Produce dissemination plan
- Develop branding and logos
- Create Word and Powerpoint templates for the project
- Coordinate collection of dissemination reports among partners
- Assess quality of dissemination at interim and final report.
All partners
Analysis of partners' and stakeholders’ needs. Partners will ask their stakeholders which kinds of tools and methods they would need. This will direct part of the work.
During the project
Results:
The new knowledge and competences rely on the usefulness of the intellectual outputs.
- For IOs 1-4, these shall be assessed through user feedback (collected by web
surveys after each intellectual output) and partner feedback collected throughout the
project.
- For IO3 (testing), the participating volunteer supervisors will collect feedback from
their users on whether the tools improved their volunteering experience.
- For IO4 (website), we will monitor its use. The content will mainly comprise the tools and recorded learning events shared and produced in IOs 1-2, so it will be evaluated prior to publication with the learners.
Process:
joint checklists for completed activities, progress reports, discussions at partner meetings.
Reporting system: Every 6 months partners deliver an activities and expenses reports and time-sheets to the coordinator. On the base of these documents, the coordinator and quality manager assess the quality of the work completed thus far. After this, the coordinator's ask is to refund partners eligible costs. Mutual and organisational learning is assessed through surveys and group interviews at the four skype meetings, related to the project checkpoints.
At the end of the project
Results:
- Survey of users' experiences after using the tools (learning experience, quality of work)
- Interview with partners at the final meetings
Process:
- Survey of partner's satisfaction with project.
Indicators
Results indicators
- For the 2 skill packages (managerial + supervision, communication + cooperation), the indicators will be the same for each of them: at least 150 people have accessed some of the tools in the related part of the toolbox. Volunteer managers participating in the virtual expeditions (webinars, web clinics, discussions) will be sent a short satisfaction survey (benchmark: 2/3 of users satisfied).
- For the testing phase, participating volunteer managers will collect a short survey or interview with their volunteers to ask if their volunteering experience has benefited from the new methods. (benchmark: 2/3 of users satisfied).
- Overall learner satisfaction at the end of the project: short survey to establish whether they feel they have gained new competences and networks (benchmark: 2/3 of users satisfied, over 50 % can indicate a positive change in their work).
- Dissemination activities:
- Website:
- user statistics (quantitative goal: 500 visits)
- user feedback (qualitative; indicator: users are leaving feedback, mainly positive, and their feedback is used for improvement)
- Social media:
- is attracting interaction (quantitative goal: 300 followers, qualitative: partners and users are sharing information and discussing issues).
- other social media: active discussions maintained on other sites where applicable.
- Other
- each partner gets mentions in other media (newspapers, trade journals, radio…) or presents their work at an external event at least 2 times
- partners receive feedback from users.
Process indicators
- Project is running as planned. Indicator: outputs are delivered on time (measured
against the checkpoint system presented above), time management and workload
management are on a satisfactory level (constant feedback from partners, consensus reached) - Mutual learning: each partner is benefiting from participation and able to give their expertise for the benefit of other partners (indicator: common consensus)
- Financial: financial reports are timely and correct, the project stays within its budget.
Sustainability
The sustainability of the VolExpo project depends on the following factors: 1. Quality of the products i.e. the toolbox and the training event plan and instructions; 2. Active dissemination throughout and after the project's lifespan; and 3. Services provided.
-
The quality of the tools and the toolbox will be assessed throughout the intellectual
outputs. The work undertaken in this section focuses on whether users find the tools
accessible and the toolbox of sufficiently high quality.
- Each partner will promote the project's results. Partners will also use the tools and methods in their ordinary training and supervision activities, integrating them into their work.
