03.09.14
Volunteers contribute £34bn to public service delivery – Nesta
Volunteers contribute approximately £34bn to public services each year by giving their time to support their community, according to a new report by innovation foundation Nesta.
Within the ‘People Helping People’ report, examples of ‘social action’ volunteering include reading to pupils in schools or holding the hands of hospital patients with no family around.
To calculate the £34bn figure, researchers used data on volunteering from the Community Life Survey 2012-13 and applied hourly rates to the different types of activity people reported doing in support of public services each month.
Brooks Newmark MP, the minister for civil society, said: “Social action can change lives. From special constables to school governors, social action is a fundamental part of the fabric of life for thousands of communities.
“Yet in many areas we are only at the start of our journey to unlock the power of social action. This report lays down a challenge to us all - to think differently about how services are designed in the future mobilising the energy, commitment and skill of inspirational citizens, communities and businesses.”
The Nesta report is also calling on public services to create more opportunities for citizens to use their talents and capabilities to support each other through social action.
It outlines a number of steps needed to make public services more open to the benefits, such as creating senior roles in local government charged with mobilising volunteers to help meet city-wide needs and rewarding the contribution of volunteers publically, such as with council tax rebates.
People Helping People: The Future of Public Services is said to compliment Nesta and the Cabinet Office’s work as part of the £14m Centre for Social Action Innovation Fund, which works alongside public services to support the growth of innovations that mobilise people’s energy and talents to help each other.
Philip Colligan, Nesta’s deputy chief executive and manager of the Centre for Social Action Innovation Fund , added that opening up to create more opportunities for ordinary people to help each other has to be “at the heart of our vision for the future of public services”.
“From our work supporting innovators all over the UK we’ve seen the benefits in improved lives, better connections between people and reduced costs to the taxpayer,” he said.
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]