(UK)
Research questions:
Can heritage volunteering significantly improve social, mental and emotional wellbeing?
Can we successfully measure wellbeing using an SROI methodology?
Can working in partnership advocate for a change in how volunteers are valued and organisations invest in and sustain volunteer programmes in the future?
Can we demonstrate robust evidence to leverage further funding and to lobby policymakers?
Data presentation: Evaluation data will be presented in report format and shared on the project website www.volunteeringforwellbeing.org.uk . The website also holds case studies and a short film to support recruitment onto the programme. A final film will demonstrate the overall impact in 2016. We aspire to lead the sector in our approach to impact assessment, creating a framework that is both robust and specific to our sector and that may be used to evaluate a wider range of heritage projects in the future. Our approach to impact assessment and the evidence we will gather through its application will enable us to better articulate the social and economic benefits of heritage volunteering. Ultimately this will make our volunteering approach sustainable, as we will hold robust evidence to attract further funding for our volunteering programmes and to lobby policymakers.
Principal evaluators: Envoy, Our Life & Gaby Porter + Associates
Envoy Partnership is an advisor in evidence-based research and evaluation, specialising in measuring and demonstrating the value of social, economic and environmental impacts. Envoy works together with Gaby Porter, a Manchester-based heritage interpretation and activity planning expert, supporting the development of engaging and sustainable heritage around the country; and Our Life, a Manchester-based leader in engagement and empowerment services, whose mission is to improve wellbeing and empower communities.
Sites: Delivered at IWM North, Manchester Museum, Museum of Science & Industry and in partnership with several other partner venues in Manchester. These include Peoples History Museum, Manchester Jewish Museum, National Trust Dunham Massey, Manchester City Galleries, Whitworth Art Gallery and Ordsall Hall. Visit www.volunteeringforwellbeing.org.uk to find out more. Research is on-going each year. Volunteers are Interviewed at the start and end of the ten week training programme and again after their six week placement. The evaluation team re-connects with the volunteers after six months to assess the longer terms effects on their wellbeing. Alongside the interviews they contact selected family and friends of volunteers to find out if they have observed a difference in the volunteer's wellbeing. Surveys also collect data from heritage partners, training providers, museum staff and referral agencies.
Time span: If: Volunteering for Wellbeing (2013 - 2016) is a three year project currently funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It will help 225 participants, 75 per year, move away from social and economic isolation or exclusion through heritage volunteering and tailored accredited training.
Contact: Danielle Garcia, Volunteer Programme Manager, IWM North,0161 836 4080, dgarcia@iwm.org.uk
