Youth Volunteering Innovation Project report: SG response

Youth Volunteer Experience

Accessibility

Accept

- We suggest theses are developed together as a single and coordinated suite of activity
- This work will be best developed by building upon existing materials, resources and training that is already in the market via Volunteer Scotland and Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs).
- We suggest this should encompass volunteering for those under 12
- Development by and with young people, engaging through Youth VIP members and in discussion with other key partners including Young Scot, Youthlink and #iwill is recommended
- Consideration of opportunities for e-learning modules, and hosting as required on national platforms (e.g. Volunteer Scotland) will be beneficial.

Action: We recommend Project Scotland take forward next phase of this work building upon investment into Youth VIP activity, linking with key partners as above and improving existing content and approach as well as developing new activity as required. Activity should include a review of the existing offer and mapping gaps in content and training delivery.

Youth Volunteer Experience

Sector Approach

Accept Intention

- TSIs already have this designation and many have established and run Volunteer Manager Forums in their local area that should be first point of engagement.
- Recommend working with TSIs to ensure that young people are engaged with and contributing to these Forum meetings
- This recommendation has application across the Volunteering Outcomes Framework, with a need to ensure Volunteer Manager Forums and Local Authority engagement with Volunteering are inclusive

Action: We recommend Project Scotland take forward the next phase building upon investment into Youth VIP activity, working firstly with TSIs to map existing activity and good practice and exploring opportunities to build local engagement.

Accept Intention

- The strength of the Youth VIP activity has been ensuring it is rooted in the national Volunteering Outcomes Framework and that young people's voices have been heard across the breadth of activity, not just that which is related to youth volunteering.
- As stated in the Volunteering Outcomes Framework, we will be working to develop a prioritised Delivery Plan for this framework, and we expect that Delivery plan to take into account the specific recommendations of the Youth VIP as well as building on the wider recommendations made for those across public, private and voluntary sectors.
- We would recommend ensuring young people are embedded into the governance structures for developing and overseeing the totality of the Framework and Delivery Plan, as opposed to limiting input around the Youth VIP recommendations alone. - We would also recommend that any legacy group of young people engages and is linked with existing structures and platforms, namely #iwill, youth councils, Scottish Youth Parliament and that key youth work partners are engaged in developing and scoping how any legacy group would be developed and supported in line with those wider structures.

Action: We recommend that Project Scotland and Young Scot work with Youthlink, the #iwill team and other partners to further scope out the purpose, remit and supporting arrangements for any legacy youth group. In parallel, the Scottish Government commits to ensuring a place for a young person on the national governance structures for the development and implementation of the National Outcomes Framework Delivery Plan. Should the legacy group be progressed it would make sense for a young person from that group to be engaged in the national governance groups. Alternatively, we will work with Project Scotland and Young Scot to consider most appropriate representation.

Accept Intention

- Accept intention behind this recommendation but incorporate to the national volunteering conference to maximise impact of young people's voices.
- Work with Volunteer Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and TSIs to ensure young people are involved in shaping the national volunteering conference in Scotland in 2020.
- Explore opportunities to align Youth VIP activity and ambition via existing events such as the Gathering and National Youth Work Conference.

Action: The Scottish Government will work with Project Scotland, Volunteer Scotland and SCVO to ensure young people are involved in planning for the national volunteering conference 2020. Connections to existing events as outlined above (and others) to be developed through national framework delivery plan governance structures and built into communications and engagement plan.

Youth Volunteer Experience

Accessibility

Accept Intention

- The wider question of volunteering inclusion and participation rates should form part of any review.
- This should be in line with the Volunteering For All and form part of activity to deliver the Volunteering Outcomes Framework.
- It will be beneficial to take account of the review of Investing in Volunteers (UK) which the Scottish Government has fed into.

Action: The Scottish Government will ensure review of Quality Assurance marks as described above is built into national Outcomes Framework Delivery Plan. Linking Quality Assurance marks to volunteer listings will require further discussion.

Personal and Professional Development

Stigma

Getting into Volunteering

Accept Intention

- Link to recommendation 10 which is viewed as a sub set of this one
- Ambition is resource intensive to develop as stand-alone posts and activity, but points to need to do more to align and support the existing structures, (TSIs, Local Authority, Youth Work practioners etc) and programmes (Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), #iwill, Saltire).
- This also highlights the need for inclusion of excluded groups and communities, as well as for young people.

Action: The Scottish Government will work with partners to map existing structures and programmes and build opportunities for more cohesive and coordinated activity, seeking to reduce duplication, ensure young people and others with lived experience are supported to lead and engage with existing outreach activity and develop better provision.

This work will take account of the concluding review of the Saltire programme, which seeks to reduce administrative burden for TSIs and others and free up time for meaningful local engagement.

Connections to existing events as outlined above (and others) to be developed through national framework delivery plan governance structures and built into communications and engagement plan.

Personal and Professional Development

Stigma

Getting into Volunteering

Accept Intention

- This requires further discussion internally to ensure alignment with education and young people's outcomes.

Action: Scottish Government will explore with relevant internal colleagues. We will work with Project Scotland and Young Scot on planning subsequent steps to support the intention.

Personal and Professional Development

Getting into Volunteering

Accessibility

Accept Intention

- This requires further discussion linked to the Employability Review "No One Left Behind: Next Steps for Employability Support in Scotland" and the wider Fair Work agenda.
- Also consideration of how this is linked to other recommendations (specifically 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13) will be beneficial.

Action: Scottish Government will continue to explore as part of implementation of activity on Youth VIP recommendations and as part of the Outcomes Framework Delivery Plan.

Accept Intention

- This is one of most commonly discussed needs
- Emerging good practice available from events based volunteering developed and delivered through Volunteer Scotland will provide useful learning.
- There is scope to be working with third sector organisations to build inclusive practice to mainstream the expectation that expenses are paid as a minimum and upfront if possible.
- There is scope to be supporting organisations to build sponsorship connections with local businesses (linked to points below)
- Scoping work would be beneficial to understand the extent to which funding criteria (Scottish Government and independent) take into account the need to provide volunteering costs.

Action: Subject to budget being available the Scottish Government will lead on further scoping for an Access Fund pilot as part of the National Framework Delivery Plan, working in partnership with key public, private and voluntary partners.

Accept Intention

- National forum for businesses and third sector focussed around volunteering would be unlikely to secure representation or traction.
- We would instead recommend ensuring business/private sector are embedded into the governance structures for developing and overseeing the totality of the national Volunteering Outcomes Framework and Delivery Plan.
- Links should also be made to existing activity around Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) via Volunteer Scotland's national ESV group.
- Opportunities to better harness existing Scottish Government platforms for business engagement around Fair Work should be explored.

Action: The Scottish Government commits to ensuring business and private sector interests are invited onto the governance structures for the development and implementation of the National Outcomes Framework Delivery Plan.

Accept Intention

- It is suggested this is viewed as a sub set of Recommendation 12 and further activity to explore viability and refine focus is developed
- Exploration to ensure longer term sustainability should be embedded in wider activity underway to build relationships between communities and business via for example the Place Principle (and Place Standard) and Community-led regeneration.