The idea of “active citizenship” is one of the few things that unites Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, bringing together notions of personal empowerment and civic duty. Indeed, so keen is the government on getting people to do things in their communities that it took no less than five ministers to launch the Russell Commission (see Briefing’s Guest Editorial), including the Chancellor and the Home Secretary.
Of course politicians are used to hoards of volunteers providing the back-up in their constituencies and the backbone of election campaigns. And there is an alluring prize for the Chancellor if people can be persuaded to do things for free instead of expecting to be paid by the government, one of its agencies, or even a charity which benefits from government funds.
It would be hard to disagree, though, with the central argument that society benefits at many levels when people are active in supporting local schools or youth groups, or get involved in other kinds of community activity. The trouble is that many of the world’s natural volunteers are just too busy – tied to our desks, trying to keep fit, ferrying kids around etc. Perhaps one of the biggest boosts to volunteering would be to cut Britain’s long-hours culture so people would have more time to do other things.
We probably shouldn’t hold our breath for that, so the other option is to fit the volunteering into those long work hours. It sounds like a great opportunity for skiving off work, but plenty of companies see it much more positively than that and actively encourage their people to commit time inside and outside the normal working day. For example, more than 1,300 Deutsche Bank staff volunteered on community projects last year; including a group which spent a day helping to improve the physical environment at the Bromley by Bow centre.
Cares, the brokering system backed by the Home Office and Business in the Community, makes it easier for companies to promote volunteering and for people to find a suitable project to support. The organisation worked with Sport Relief to find helpers at the Extra Mile extravaganza in July.
As with most aspects of corporate citizenship, the benefits are hard to quantify. And there have to be benefits because time away from your desk has a cost. But volunteering is seen by many HR specialists as a useful tool for personal development and team-building. It is certainly more useful to society (and cheaper) than sending a group off on a rock-climbing exercise or some other form of commercial team-building activity. On top of which companies can look for the usual CSR bonuses of improved reputation with communities, authorities and employees – existing and future.
The only question is when Gordon Brown and his Treasury mandarins are going to take some time off to lend a hand in some struggling community ventures. Let’s not forget, the Treasury does after all encourage its staff to volunteer.
Fact File: Russell Commission Scottish Power’s chief executive Ian Russell was asked in the Spring to head a Commission on young people and volunteering. He will be supported by a group of experts including Jeff Randall from the BBC, John Varley from Barclays and others with experience of working with and organising youth volunteers.It will advise on a National Youth Volunteering Strategy, aimed at increasing young people’s community involvement. Ministers believe the initiative will bring a triple whammy of benefits, to the individuals who get involved, the communities which benefit directly, and the country as a whole because of the impact on skills. Specifically the strategy aims to:
develop volunteers’ skills
build the capacity of communities and voluntary organisations
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