VOLUNTEERING INFRASTRUCTURE

The strategy also expressed concern about the “unsustainable number” of local volunteeringinfrastructure bodies and called for a consolidation of local infrastructure made up of fewerorganisations.Changes to the structure of infrastructureAs the UK Government implements its plan to reduce the UK’s deficit by reducing publicspending commitments, funding for the voluntary sector is being reduced. In addition, fundingprogrammes are increasingly being designed to provide incentives for organisations to merge orcollaborate in order to reduce their costs. These funding changes are likely to create a shift in thenumber of infrastructure bodies as well as how they work.Local infrastructureFollowing a new funding programme, further change to volunteering and wider voluntary sectorinfrastructure is on the way. Announced in July 2011, the ‘Transforming Local Infrastructure’programme requires local infrastructure organisations to merge or collaborate in order to securefunding. Whereas several infrastructure bodies in an area may have been funded by governmentbefore, this programme will only fund one bid in each county, requiring organisations to mergeor collaborate in order to bid.This reflects a government aim to ‘rationalise and transform’ local infrastructure, bringinggreater cost effectiveness and reducing reliance on government funding. As the programmehasn’t been fully launched, the implications of Transforming Local Infrastructure are notyet clear. However, given the need for collaboration to secure funding, it is expected that theprogramme will lead to significant changes to infrastructure in some areas.National volunteering infrastructureChanges to the central government funding available to support national volunteering andvoluntary sector infrastructure bodies are also changing the nature of infrastructure. Centralgovernment had supported a number of national infrastructure organisations, includingVolunteering England, over a number of years through a ‘strategic partners’ programme. InFebruary 2011, the Minister for Civil Society announced that the strategic partner programme,which was providing core funding to 42 organisations would be abolished in 2014, with asmaller group of 12 organisations receiving tapered funding until that point. Organisationswere encouraged by government to merge or collaborate in order to secure funding. A numberof national charities have merged as a result and further changes to the shape of nationalinfrastructure are expected.2. Volunteering landscapeIn England, the most authoritative ‘top-down’ definition of volunteering is found in theintroduction to the “refreshed” Compact on relations between Government and the Third Sector inEngland’ 2 . This defines volunteering as:… an activity that involves spending unpaid time doing something that aims to benefit the environmentor individuals or groups (other than or, in addition to close relatives)2. Home Office (1998) Compact on relations between government and the voluntary and community sector in England Cm 4100, The StationeryOffice, London403 Volunteering infrastructure in Europe 29 UK - England