Background

The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is the United Nations programme that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism and the mobilization of volunteers. It operates against a background of growing recognition that volunteerism brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer; that it makes important contributions, economically as well as socially; and that it contributes to more cohesive societies by building trust and reciprocity among citizens. Universal and inclusive, UNV embraces all types of volunteer action while holding to the values of free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity, which are the foundations of volunteerism.
 
UNV engaged 7,521 UNV volunteers in 2007, on a total of 7,766 assignments. With an average of 39 years and the requisite professional skills and qualifications of some 5 to 10 years relevant experience,
UNV volunteers served in 139 countries in 2007 and came themselves from 162. The majority – 77 per cent – come from developing countries themselves. One third of UNV volunteers served in their own countries, with the others carrying out international assignments. The financial equivalent of programme activities exceeds US$150 million annually.
 
UNV is headquartered in Bonn, Germany and has approximately 150 staff positions – the majority in Bonn, with some dozen positions in different UN peacekeeping missions, and other Headquarters locations (e.g. New York and Tokyo). The major organizational groups within UNV are:
  • The Office of the Executive Coordinator, comprising also Special Operations, and units for Evaluation and Management Support;
  • The Programme Development and Operations Group (PDOG) comprising three geographical sections, as well a Volunteer Resources Unit and a Research and Development Section;
  • The Support Services Group (SSG) comprising sections for Information Support Services,
  • Finance, Human Resources, as well as Units for Common Services and Administration; and
  • he Partnerships and Communications Group (PCG) comprising units for Partnerships and for Communications.
State of the World’s Volunteerism Report
This first State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR) produced by the United Nations will present an alternative vision to the one widely prevailing today as regards what volunteerism is and why it is
important. Using a broad brush, it will address first what is meant by volunteerism, why people volunteer
their time, what are the manifold ways people choose to volunteer, and the impact of this volunteer engagement. The Report will then take up a number of key global issues that intersect with volunteerism, selected because of their critical nature and/or because of ongoing polarized discourse around them. The final section of the Report will be forward looking with conclusions and recommendations that should assist policy makers, practitioners, researchers and all other concerned stakeholders; including the people who participate in and direct the benefits from volunteer action, to arrive at a better understanding of what volunteerism is about and to come up with suggestions on ways and means to ensure that it’s potential to contribute to some major issues of our time is properly addressed. The report will be launched on International Volunteer day 5 December 2011.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the general guidance of the UNV Office of the Executive Coordinator, and in close collaboration with members of the SWVR team (including a Project Manager, a Senior Writer, and in-house researchers) the researcher is responsible for producing a synthesis background paper that will be used to inform and strengthen the State of the World’s Volunteering Report (SWVR). The review will follow the guidelines described under the working title of each paper detailed below. Each review will include:
 
1.     Background and introduction to key issues and terms.
2.     Comprehensive literature review on the identified subject matter. 
  • Where possible, pay particular attention to key issues of relevance to the development community, including the relationship of volunteerism to gender, age, poverty, ethnicity and religion, inclusion/exclusion, and other relevant topics.
  • Provide global perspectives on the issue—with particular focus on research from the global South. Much scientific research on volunteerism focuses on aspects of volunteering in the global North while evidence from the global South (with a few notable exceptions) tends to be based on anecdotal sources. In the South, volunteerism still flies largely under the radar of public visibility. Since most of the studies on volunteerism focus on developed countries, the SWVR will emphasize developing and transition countries while also drawing on examples from the developed world.
  • The text of the paper should be 15,000 to 20,000 words in length (excluding references).
3.     Implications and recommendations for research, practice, and policy, as well as looking into the trends and future of volunteering within this topic.
 
4.     Conclusions about the identified synthesis topic, based on a comprehensive, global literature review.
 
5.     Include a full reference list (bibliography) of documents cited in the text, using Author-Date reference format (see reference citation guidelines in the annex). In addition, highlight 20-30 key references on the identified topic (with at least six references coming from the global South).
 
This contract also covers the potential participation of the author(s) of this background research in consultation(s) during the research process, in launch activities/events (of limited duration), as well as reviewing relevant segments of the draft for SWVR.
 
Time-frame        
                                                                                        
The consultant shall work from contract date until December 15, 2010 with the following schedule:
 
Task                                         Due Date
 
Outline of Paper Themes           14 days from the date of contract
SWVR Feedback on Outline       One week from submission of outline
First Draft:                                November 22, 2010
Inputs from SWVR Team           December 1, 2010
Final Draft:                                December 15, 2010
 
 
An outline identifying key themes and directions will be due 14 days following the signing of the contract. The consultant will receive feedback on this outline within one week. The first draft of the paper will be approximately two months after the contract date (November 22, 2010). Detailed comments on the first drafts will be provided by the SWVR team or outside experts to the consultant after each submission within two weeks’ time (December 1, 2010). After receiving the comments from SWVR team on the first draft, the author(s) is (are) expected to revise the draft according to those suggestions, and resubmit the final draft by December 15, 2010.
 
Brief Annotation of Synthesis Paper
 
The following annotation describes the specific requirements. Contracted consultants will receive a more expanded description following the date of contract. The consultant will also be required to participate in regular electronic consultations with the SWVR team to discuss the work and clarify key issues. The final version of the background paper may also be published on the UNV or World Volunteer Web website.
 
BP-1. Estimating the Scope and Magnitude of Volunteerism Worldwide with National Data:
 
This review will use available databases and published sources to estimate (by selected country) the following, with attention to representing all major global regions:

a)   the number of volunteer membership associations at all geographical levels (from international and national down to sub-national / regional and local);

b)  the number of attached volunteer service programs (departments) in all kinds of organisations (government, business / for-profit, civil society);

c)  the number of non-profit / civil-society organisations of all kinds at all geographical levels;

d)  the number of people who are members of any of the above three types of volunteerism contexts (distinguishing, where possible, merely nominal / on-paper-only members from semi-active and active members);

e)  the number of policy / board volunteers in any of the foregoing volunteerism contexts;

f)  the number of people who have done any informal / non-organised (not attached to any formal group or organisational context) volunteering in the past week /month / 12 months;

g)   the number of people who have done any volunteering in a formal / organised context in the past week / month / 12 months, keeping separate then combining the data for contexts noted in a, b, c, and e above;

h)  the number of volunteer hours worked in the past week / month / 12 months as a volunteer in any of the above contexts (a, b, c, e, f); and

i)  the percentage of the population (aged 15+ or 18+, not the total population) who have done volunteering in a formal group context in the past week / month / 12 months;

 
In addition, this paper will report available national (or sub-national, if national data is lacking) data for various global regions on related topics such as
 
(j)  public perceptions of, confidence in, and trust of volunteerism (volunteers, volunteering; other terms to be supplied); 
 
(k) daily time use patterns relating to association participation and volunteering; and
 
(l) the General Activity Pattern variables (socio-political alternatives to traditional volunteer service such as civic engagement, neighbouring, friendship activities, recreational groups, etc.).
 
(m) This paper will specifically include a summary of the relevant results from key international volunteerism surveys (i.e. World Values Survey, CIVICUS, Johns Hopkins / International Labour Organization Volunteer Measurement Project, Gallup World Survey, OECD Social Indicators from the Social Welfare Statistics).
 
(n) The paper will also discuss volunteerism measurement issues, as well as suggest accurate and valid country and regional volunteerism indices for future use.
 
This paper will provide the best working summary of the foregoing that is feasible at this point, while fully recognising that the data found may be spotty and incomplete. Estimation and extrapolation methods should be used to get a rough idea of various key magnitudes nationally and globally.
 

Competencies

  • Research & writing skills, such as demonstrated through having successfully formulated background papers, campaign materials and case studies.
  • Strong analytical skills (including analysis of large quantitative data sets).
  • Ability to work independently.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:
 
Education:
  • Advanced university degree in social sciences.
Experience:
  • At least 7 years relevant work experience.
  • Experience in accessing large databanks and working with large quantitative datasets.
  • Experience with an international or regional volunteer association and knowledge of volunteerism for peace and development with its diverse manifestations and cultural settings an asset.
  • Previous published materials/research on volunteerism an asset. 
  • Previous work experience in the global South an asset.
Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in written and spoken English is essential;
  • working knowledge of, or access to, additional language resources would be useful for a comprehensive review.
 
Cumulative Analysis
The contract shall be awarded to the consultant who is the most technically qualified and provides the best value for the money. Only those who pass the 70% technical evaluation score will be considered. Only consultants with relevant experience in supplying similar services will be considered qualified.
Evaluation criteria and weights for Cumulative Analysis:
 
Evaluation Criteria                               Weight
 
Planning and Organizing                        50
Review and Synthesis                            200
Volunteerism for Development               100
Writing and Editing                                50
 
Grand Total                                          400
 
How to apply
Applications should be submitted on line and include an up to date CV. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Please send application online. The applicant should clearly specify the paper s/he is interested in writing in the subject of the email (e.g. SWVR: BP-1: Scope and Magnitude)
 
If you submit an application, UNV expects that you have read and agree with the TOR and the UNV Terms and Conditions, available online: http://unv.org/fileadmin/docdb/pdf/2008/SSATerms2007.pdf