Volunteering Research - now and the future

1. Volunteering Research - now and the future Volunteering New Zealand Conference 2009 29 October 2009 James King – Policy Analyst, Office for the Community Sector

2. Format of session • A discussion • Please interrupt often! • Overview of 2008 results announced last night • Taking time to consider and discuss • Volunteering research in NZ – a quantitative focus • Past – where have we come from?… • Now – what do we have? • Future – what is going to be most useful? • Discussion about research priorities

3. All about me • Analyst, Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector • Focus on research • Study of the NZ Non-profit Sector • How do New Zealanders give? Series • While at Statistics NZ • Developed the volunteering statistics in the Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004 (released August 2007) • Successfully advocated for volunteering questions in the General Social Survey, the first results being released today

4. Definitions: what is volunteering? • Fluidity of boundaries • Little point being wedded to tight definitions… • Generally agreed three broad types of ‘volunteering’ • Formal (unpaid work outside of the home for or through an organisation) • Informal (unpaid work outside of the home, but not for or through an organisation) • Housework (unpaid work within the household) • We are focussing on formal volunteering

5. Context of formal volunteering

6. How do New Zealanders give? 2008 Update • Changes in the patterns of volunteering and donating between 2007 and 2008 • Unit of measurement is the ‘rate’ • Percentage of people aged 10 years and over who did the activity in the previous 12 months • Respondents answer survey throughout the year • So ‘previous 12 months’ is different for each respondent

7. Key results Support for the community and voluntary sector remained stable from 2007 to 2008 The ‘total’ support rate was 75.8% for 2008, compared to 75.4% for 2007. The difference is not statistically significant. The ad hoc donating rate increased slightly in 2008 Increased from 47.4% for 2007 to 49.6% for 2008. This increase is statistically significant. The volunteering and committed donating rates remained stable in 2008 The volunteering rate was 34.0% for 2008. Similarly, the committed donations rate 33.4% in 2008. Neither of these are statistically different from their 2007 result.

10. Up 4.9 percentage points, or 2,000 people Up 0.6 percentage points, or 39,000 people Up 1.7 percentage points, or 42,000 people Down 5.2 percentage points, or 35,000 people

13. Up 10.5 percentage points, or 24,000 people Up 2.9 percentage points, or 101,000 people Up 3.5 percentage points, or 14,000 people Down 4.4 percentage points, or 7,000 people Up 2.0 percentage points, or 52,000 people Up 3.7 percentage points, or 23,000 people

16. Up 4.3 percentage points, or 12,000 people Down 2.2 percentage points, or 15,000 people Down 2.7 percentage points, or 20,000 people

19. Volunteers and donors spread their support wider in 2008 than in 2007 While overall donation and volunteering rates remained stable or increased slightly, donation and volunteering rates for all individual subsectors increased in 2008 when compared to 2007. These results indicate that volunteers and donors spread their voluntary effort and donations across more subsectors in 2008. Many New Zealanders support a large number of causes in different ways over the course of a year. At a national level this creates a complex portfolio of support, influenced by short- term responses to community needs alongside shifts in priorities associated with significant life changes, such as having children. Conclusion: support for the community and voluntary sector is stable yet dynamic Based on available data, the overall rates of volunteering and donating appear to be stable, yet people who volunteer and donate seem to be doing so across more subsectors in 2008. The complexity of how and where people choose to give their support causes fluctuations in volunteering and donation rates for specific subsectors. Further research is required to firmly establish the reasons for these fluctuations. Conclusions • The results indicate that volunteers and donors spread their voluntary effort and donations across more subsectors in 2008. • Many New Zealanders support a large number of causes in different ways over the course of a year. • This creates a complex portfolio of support, influenced by: • short- term responses to community needs • shifts in priorities associated with significant life changes, such as having children.

20. Conclusions • Support for the community and voluntary sector is stable yet dynamic. • The complexity of how and where people choose to give causes fluctuations in volunteering and donation rates for specific subsectors. • Needs more research! • Revisit some of the 2007 results

21. Combined levels of types of support for the community and voluntary sector in the previous 12 months, estimated numbers of people 10+ (2007) Donated money or goods to an appeal 1.709 million Volunteered 1.217 million 249,000 only volunteered 586,000 only donated goods/money 378,000 45% of donators also volunteered Compared to 33.8% of the population 10+ 315,000 only made a direct donation/sponsorship 439,000 152,000 306,000 ~80% of volunteers also donated Compared to 60.3% of the population 10+ Direct donation or sponsorship 1.213 million Source: Nielsen Media Research Panorama Jan–Dec 2007/Nick Jones & Associates Ltd “Consumer who Cares".

22. Numbers of sub-sectors supported in the previous 12 months, as a percentage of the population 10+ (2007) 1.7 MILLION NEW ZEALANDERS Active supporters? Note: These results are based on those that have supported the sector, so do not add to 100%. Source: Nielsen Media Research Panorama Jan–Dec 2007/Nick Jones & Associates Ltd “Consumer who Cares".

23. Volunteering research: Past, Present, Future…

24. The recent past • Census 1990, 1996, 2001, 2006 • Various attempts and variable quality • Useful if handled with care • Not the right survey vehicle ultimately • Time Use Survey 1999 • Really the ‘gold standard’ • Large, comprehensive, covers all unpaid work • Other ad hoc research • Tends to be one-off, sector specific • For a more comprehensive analysis, see http://www.anztsr.org.au/New%20Folder/CharactersticsofVolunteers.pdf • Qualitative • Mahi Aroha (OCVS)

25. Recent developments • General Social Survey • Results being released as we speak • Also ask about the Time Use Survey • Currently in the field • Visit the Statistics NZ table for more information

26. Development of Nielsen’s Panorama Survey • We have been investigating with Nielsen a redesign Panorama to collect quarterly data on • Numbers of volunteers and hours volunteered • Numbers of donors and amount donated • All this by subsector (i.e sports clubs, social services etc) • Currently Nielsen is testing the questions

27. The Future – Where to from here?

28. Research Questions

29. Questions • Given the sources we have or are developing • What do we want to know? • What are the gaps? • Are these gaps significant? • How can we ensure this data is used?