Category: North Edinburgh News

Last year was busy for Volunteer Scotland’s research team.

We completed in-depth analysis of the 2022 and 2023 Scottish Household Survey data on volunteer participation, wrote three bulletins about the impact of the cost of living crisis on the Third Sector, published doctoral research on volunteering and associational life, shared findings from a literature review of employer supported volunteering, and commissioned research on the social value of volunteering in Scotland.

Each piece of research is part of a jigsaw puzzle that makes up a picture of volunteering in Scotland.

We’ve written a report that draws together all this research and presents five headlines about the state of volunteering in Scotland today.

The headlines: a brief overview

Volunteering is in crisis

The Scottish Household Survey reveals that 335,000 people stopped volunteering between 2019 and 2023 which means that there are fewer volunteers for third sector organisations to draw upon to meet increased demand for core services.

The cost of living crisis is closing doors to volunteer participation

Evidence from multiple sources points to the cost of living crisis making it harder for people in Scotland to volunteer. The cost of living crisis s is chipping away at people’s mental wellbeing and resilience as well as making it harder for people to justify the time and expense of participating in leisure activities, which our evidence shows are a crucial pathway into volunteering.

People are missing out on the wellbeing benefits of volunteering, when they need it most

With the decline in volunteer participation, we know that more and more people are missing out on the wellbeing benefits they can experience through volunteering. And, it is often the people who benefit most from volunteering who are missing out, particularly people living with a disability and those with poor physical or mental health.

The deprivation gap is closing, but it isn’t all as it seems

The gap between volunteer participation in Scotland’s least and most deprived areas is getting smaller, but it is not clear whether this is driven by positive social changes. Our evidence shows us that the relationship between deprivation and volunteering is complex, and while the gap is closing there are more questions to consider for ensuring that volunteering is a positive experience for people across all of Scotland’s communities.

The demographic profile of Scotland’s volunteers is changing

There have been multiple shifts in the demographic profile of Scotland’s volunteers, including a decline in volunteering among males, ethnic minorities and working age adults. In our report, we explore = the potential impact of this on future volunteering among retired adults.

To find out about these headlines in more and what evidence supports these conclusions, please read our report.

What action should we take?

Based on the research, we think there are several questions and actionable insights to consider:

• Leisure activities, including culture, sport and hobbies, are important pathways into volunteering. What can be done to protect these pathways in light of the impact of the cost of living crisis?
• Volunteering can play a role in improving the health and wellbeing of Scottish adults, but it cannot only be for people who have good physical and mental health. What opportunities are there to broaden volunteer participation among those with poor physical and mental health so that they can access the wellbeing benefits of volunteering? How can the third sector encourage decision-makers to recognise the wellbeing benefits of volunteering when introducing or reviewing relevant policy or legislation, including around social prescribing, community health, and employability?
• How can we better understand volunteering motivations, behaviours and patterns in Scotland’s most deprived communities so that volunteers are having a positive experience and are not being exploited to fill service gaps?
• How can we tackle the barriers working age adults face in participating in volunteering and how can volunteering be promoted as part of people’s transition from work to retirement?
• How can VIOs adapt their recruitment and retention strategies to ensure volunteering remains inclusive, especially in light of the uneven impacts of the cost of living crisis on different demographic groups?

We encourage colleagues in the Scottish voluntary sector to grapple with these findings. All our analysis is available for you to explore and use as evidence in your work. This matrix can be used to search for Volunteer Scotland research publications across a range of themes.

Do these headlines marry with your experience of Scottish volunteering? We’d love to hear your perspective and what you think should be done to address the crisis in volunteering. Please contact research@volunteerscotland.org.uk with any questions, comments or research opportunities.