Volunteer Development, Scotland
Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) is one of the main organisations responsible for developing the capacity and infrastructure of the voluntary sector in Scotland. They work as an umbrella organisation to the 32 volunteer centres in Scotland and support this network by researching and promoting good practice in volunteer management and stimulating debate and consultation around issues in this area and the voluntary sector. VDS wanted to support the volunteer centres to respond to the demands of the Volunteering Strategy introduced in 2003, which required that the centres would be able to evidence their work locally and strategically. It had also agreed to manage the centres as part of a 3 year funding arrangement. VDS recognised that they needed a framework that would support all the volunteer centres to plan and evaluate taking into account their current practice [which varied]; way of working; the need for cohesion and that would allow them to discover what impact the centres might have and what their support and funding needs might be. Staff working in volunteer centres had already had contact with LEAP and knew that this framework supported a community development approach. The Scottish Community Development Centre helped to facilitate the network of volunteer centres to develop and implement a ‘LEAP for Volunteering’ framework and the success of this process can be attributed to the commitment of the staff to participate and own the process of development taking this opportunity to integrate the approach into their own practice. As a result, VDS has a strategic picture of what is happening in volunteering and each centre also has this at a local level. Both also have a chance to learn about what works and doesn’t and have the evidence it necessary to demonstrate success.
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