Contract culture brings far-reaching changes in the role of volunteers

But while many existing volunteers feel that the status and value of their work has improved under a contract culture, the growing formalisation and demand for 'professional' skills is making it harder for organisations to recruit unpaid board members and other volunteers. The long-standing role of the voluntary sector in encouraging 'active citizenship' across a broad spectrum of society has been weakened as a result.

A study supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation describes how the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act has led to a more formal role for volunteers as organisations sign up to contracts setting tighter service specifications and requiring greater accountability. Based on two surveys and interviews with volunteers and voluntary sector managers and senior officers in purchasing authorities, the report finds that:

• 'Voluntarism' is becoming less relevant in many small and medium-sized organisations. They are increasingly led by paid workers, rather than unpaid management committees and some volunteers have been replaced by professional staff.
• Contracting has created a heavier workload for management committees. The premium on finding members with financial and business skills has made recruitment more difficult. Half the contracting organisations surveyed anticipated that some social groups would be under-represented on their management boards in future
• Overall demand for volunteers in the care sector has risen. The level of training for volunteers involved in service delivery has increased, as has the level of supervision by paid staff.
• Although just over half the volunteers surveyed reported greater satisfaction with their work in the past three years, some organisations reported a higher turnover in volunteering.
• The increased costs of recruiting, training and supporting volunteers are not being met by contract fees. These and other volunteer issues are rarely mentioned in contract specification and negotiation.

Dr Duncan Scott, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Manchester and co-author of the report, said: "This study shows that the impact of the contract culture on volunteering as been far-reaching. Many existing volunteers welcome the increasing levels of skill and responsibility being demanded of them. Yet the evidence that organisations are increasingly led by paid managers rather than their unpaid management committees raises fundamental questions about governance.

"The perceived need for volunteers with business and other 'professional' skills also appears incompatible with any objective of attracting people from all walks of life as volunteers. We would urge policy makers in the voluntary sector and in national and local government to consider how the need to ensure effective care services can be reconciled more successfully with the aim of encouraging active citizenship."