Post-Olympics volunteer push for cultural organisations

New research has revealed that 82 per cent of cultural organisations in London believe their need for volunteers will increase over the next two years, according to a survey commissioned by Greater London Authority and London Cultural Quarters which studied 90 not for profit organisations in the sector. Over half say they would not be able to operate without volunteers, and two-thirds already have a waiting list of people wanting to volunteer. The London Cultural Quarters group, which brings together cultural organisations, business groups and local authorities across the city, has highlighted volunteering as one of its key legacy priorities for the 2012 Olympics, and a citywide volunteering framework aimed at raising the profile of volunteering and enhancing the status of volunteers for the arts and cultural sector has been developed by London Mayor Boris Johnson. It is the first time such a plan has encompassed the whole sector, drawing on the knowledge and expertise of arts and cultural organisations, policy makers and volunteering representatives. A draft strategy has been published, together with a new guide called ‘Culture and Volunteering’ which illustrates the wide range of ways that volunteers are active within arts organisations.
This new initiative coincides with the recent publication of “Unshackling Good Neighbours” by the Red Tape Task Force, which makes recommendations for reducing the bureaucracy which currently puts people off volunteering. A key proposal is for the development of a ‘reasonableness’ test to protect volunteers from the consequences of well-intentioned voluntary acts, for example if an elderly person slips on a pathway which a charity volunteer has cleared of snow. Another is for a CRB ‘passport’ to avoid the present system of expensive and time-consuming repeated individual checks which can delay the time at which a volunteer can begin to work. The Association of British Insurers has already signalled that it will revise its definition of non-business ‘social driving’, which currently puts people off using their cars for volunteering because they have to pay higher insurance premiums.