Volleyball England and Social Value Engine launch pioneering volunteer impact pilot

Over the next nine months, a pioneering pilot will use the My Impact platform to capture and measure the social value created by volunteers across the sport.

The pilot will involve selected Volleyball England-affiliated clubs, major events, National Teams and the HEVO programme, creating a detailed picture of how volunteering contributes to individuals, organisations and communities.

Volunteers from clubs, regions and local leagues will also be able to use My Impact directly, recording activities across coaching, officiating, administration and other roles and seeing the social value associated with their own contribution.

My Impact records volunteer activity and uses evidence-based values to help show the social value those activities create. Each area of activity includes information explaining how the value has been calculated and the evidence that supports it.

Volleyball England believes this will be the first time a national governing body in sport has set out to capture and value volunteering in this level of detail, building the picture from individual volunteers through clubs, programmes and events to the sport nationally.

The pilot will give Volleyball England new insight into its volunteer communities and help inform future planning, particularly as the organisation develops its new strategic plan.

“We’re hugely proud and thankful for the amazing contribution volunteers make to volleyball in all its formats across England,” Volleyball England Chief Executive Officer Charlie Ford. “As we have said many times, the sport simply would not exist at the level it does today without them.

“What this partnership gives us is the opportunity to understand that contribution in far greater detail than we have been able to before. We will be able to see the impact volunteers are creating through their day-to-day and week-to-week activities, both individually and collectively as part of a club, competition or programme.

“For clubs, that could be incredibly valuable. Being able to demonstrate the contribution their volunteers make to their local communities in meaningful figures could strengthen funding applications, support conversations with partners and give them new ways to recognise the people who make their activities possible.

“We believe the partnership with Social Value Engine and My Impact will be mutually beneficial. It will help us understand and demonstrate the contribution of our volunteers while giving the Social Value Engine team valuable insight into how the platform can work for sports clubs, organisations and national governing bodies.

“We are very grateful to the team at Social Value Engine for giving Volleyball England this opportunity and for their willingness to work alongside us as we explore what this could mean for the sport.

“I would also like to place on record our particular thanks to Jo Maher for bringing the two organisations together. Without Jo’s support and introduction, this opportunity would not have come about.”

Social Value Engine Marketing and Product Director Maddie Kortenaar said: “What makes this partnership particularly exciting is the level of detail we will be able to capture. We already know that volunteers create enormous value across sport, but much of the evidence available is at an aggregated level. This pilot gives us the opportunity to build that picture from the individual volunteer upwards.

“My Impact enables people to record what they actually do and understand the social value of those activities. Bringing that information together can then show what volunteers are contributing across a club, an event, a programme and ultimately an entire sport.

“That creates a much richer evidence base. It can help volunteers see and communicate the difference they make, give clubs stronger evidence for funding and planning, and give Volleyball England new insight into where and how volunteering is creating value.

“We’re delighted to be working with Volleyball England on something genuinely pioneering. What we learn together will play an important part in shaping how My Impact supports volunteers and organisations across the wider sports sector.”

The pilot will run for nine months, with learning from participating volunteers, clubs and programmes used to further develop My Impact ahead of a wider rollout across the sports sector.

Volunteers and individuals who would like to measure and understand their own social value can register for My Impact at here.