NAVCA recently contacted v outlining a range of concerns
relating to its recently announced National Youth Volunteering
Programme. A reply addressing these concerns has been received from
Terry Ryall, v Chief Executive:
Targets
"The NYVP has deliberately set challenging targets for Strand 1. We
fully expect Strand 1 applicants to have extensive knowledge,
expertise and existing networks to enable them to respond
positively to the targets outlined in our guidance. We do recognise
that there are many existing opportunities that are relevant and
suitable for young volunteers, and the brokerage element of the
vteam role will continue to support young people to access these
opportunities. However, v will not be able to achieve a step-change
in the quality, quantity and diversity of youth volunteering simply
by funding the status quo. This step change will only be achieved
through focused and ambitious efforts to engage new opportunity
providers in the public and voluntary sectors.
Each funded staff member will be expected to create 1385 new
opportunities by December 2010 - approximately 460 new
opportunities per year, or 115 per quarter. Over 50% of this target
relates to the creation of short-term taster sessions - reflecting
a priority of the Russell Commission report to make volunteering
more easily accessible to young people, and giving them the chance
to try out a volunteering experience before committing to more
sustained involvement. Evidence from CSV's Make a Difference Day
demonstrates a high rate of retention for first-time volunteers
participating in this one-off annual event, demonstrating the
important role that taster sessions play in securing longer-term
commitment and involvement of young volunteers. 40% of the target
is focused on the development of part-time opportunities (which is
arguably the most well-developed type of youth volunteering
opportunity currently available to young people in England), and
only 3% focused on the creation of full-time volunteering
placements. These targets reflect our commitment to grow the market
significantly in the next three years, and we strongly believe that
with our support (through the vinpsired portal, marketing
campaigns, research, developments in quality assurance and the
introduction of the accreditation 'passport'), many organisations
will be able to rise to, meet and even exceed these challenging
targets. "
Grant contract
"v is fully aware of concerns that were raised in Grants Round 1
about some clauses in our grant contract. The contract has been
redrafted, and is currently being reviewed by the Compact Advocacy
Service, the Commission for the Compact, a number of vfunded
projects and our lawyers. A copy of the contract will be available
on request from 7 September 2007 for all those organisations
invited to proceed to full application. It should be noted however,
that we've been advised that the needs of the trustees of an
independent charity supersede any Compact requirements."
Full cost recovery
"v currently allows organisations to allocate up to 12% of their
total budget for management and overheads. Whilst v supports the
principle of full cost recovery, we are also mandated to encourage
organisations to identify and bring new resources to the table, to
ensure the longer term sustainability of youth volunteering
throughout England. We are keen to work with organisations who can
unlock additional resources (financial and human) to help us meet
our ambitious goals. As a charity ourselves, we are subject to the
same vagaries of public funding as our delivery partners, so we are
particularly sensitive to the issue of sustainability."
Monitoring information
"In June 2007, v issued comprehensive monitoring forms, to enable
us to collect information about the performance of funded projects
and the profile of young people participating within vfunded
programmes. v is accountable to the Cabinet Office for the public
funding we receive, and as a result, we are obligated to collect
information from all funded projects to demonstrate the impact of
our investment. The monitoring forms have been designed to collect
necessary information about opportunities and volunteers, as well
as important data about diversity and inclusion. As all our funded
projects have a commitment to ensuring access to volunteering for
all young people, we presumed that they would be collecting similar
data to support their evaluation of their own effectiveness,
especially in terms of targeting young people who do not usually
volunteer. We expect our funded projects to comply with these
monitoring requirements, as they reflect both our commitment to be
accountable for public money and our commitment to engage
under-represented groups."