Manchester Event Volunteers: a Legacy and a Role Model

MEV

MANCHESTER EVENT VOLUNTEERS: A LEGACY AND A ROLE MODEL

Geoff Nichols Shefﬁ eld University Management School

Rita Ralston Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Geoff Nichols: Sheffield University Management School

Rita Ralston: Manchester Metropolitan University

October 2011

1 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

2 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Summary

This independent report is directed towards policy makers in local and national government, volunteer development projects, event managers, academics, Manchester Event Volunteers’ management, and MEV volunteers. MEV is a broker organisation between volunteers and events, with a further role of developing volunteering and good practice in volunteer management. It was established following the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and is probably the longest running mega-event volunteer legacy programme in the world. As such it offers insights for future events aiming to establish a volunteer legacy and implications for the way in which similar volunteer broker organisations could contribute to developing volunteering.

Research informing this report included: focus groups, a questionnaire survey and in- depth interviews with volunteers; interviews with event managers, MEV staff, and individuals involved in MEV’s development; and MEV records. Results have been incorporated into a report structure which’focuses on the different contributions of MEV.

Since 2002 MEV has directed volunteers towards over 1,000 events, including 76 major events hosted in the Northwest over the period 2004 — 2009, with their associated contribution to tourism and the region’s economy. In 2008 UK Sport designated Manchester ‘the World’s Best Sports City 2008’ for its successful hosting of six major international sports events during the year, all of which were supported by MEV. MEV supports the full range of size of event. Volunteers commit to an average of 5.7 events per year, but with a wide variation. The ability to choose which events they volunteer for and how many allows MEV to meet the needs of volunteers in a wide set of circumstances, and particularly the growing numbers who seek episodic volunteering opportunities.

MEV makes it far easier for event managers to recruit a trained and reliable workforce, and has contributed to the attraction of Manchester for such events. A balance has to be struck between MEVs objectives of developing volunteers through volunteering, and event managers’ objectives, especially in the larger events, of filling key roles effectively to allow the event to take place. For event managers new to using volunteers MEV provides valued advice.

While a large proportion of MEV volunteers are over 60 and retired, MEV is able to meet the needs of a wide range of volunteers. The most practical service is to put them in touch with events and thus enabling them to volunteer. Volunteers are assured that the events have been approved by MEV as using good volunteer management practices.

3 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

For volunteers seeking work MEV offers valued experience. This extends to assistance with providing information on job opportunities, advice on CV writing and interviews, and providing a sense of purpose, encouragement and confidence through periods of unemployment. However, MEV provides social inclusion in a much broader sense than this by allowing all volunteers to feel they are making a valuable contribution to society and to Manchester in particular, providing social rewards of volunteering, and a valued sense of identity for volunteers. For volunteers who have remained in contact since the 2002 Commonwealth Games it provides a connection to the camaraderie and euphoria which characterised volunteering at this event.

For similar volunteer broker organisations MEV has provided models of good practice through its well developed procedures, which have been emulated by others. For mega sports events aspiring to generate a volunteer legacy; such as the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games; MEV offers several insights. These include the need to consider use of the Games database to support a legacy, the timing of grant applications, and the critical role of an organisation which will be in place both before and after the event; in this case, Manchester City Council.

MEV offers a well developed role model for an organisation delivering a volunteer legacy after a mega sports event but also more generally for the way volunteer development organisations could contribute to engendering civic activism within the aims of promoting a Big Society.

At the time of producing this report Manchester Event Volunteers was based within Manchester City Council’s Economic Development Unit and received funding from the Employment and Skills Partnership. Due to funding cuts and Manchester City Council’s redesign process MEV is now based within the Third Sector Team and has been reduced from three team members to only one.

The Third Sector Team provides support to all third sector organisations in Manchester and is in the process of commissioning a new central infrastructure support service, which will encompass the following strands or themes into a one stop shop for: • Capacity building support to develop our thriving third sector • Support for groups that are commissioning ready or moving in this direction • A volunteer centre that meets the Volunteering England standard • A community engagement function

MEV will continue to provide the core functions of the service and work in partnership with other volunteer involving organisations and the new Volunteer Centre to share good practice and volunteering/training opportunities.

Recommendations for the development of MEV need to be placed in the context of this recent reorganisation. The development of more precise performance indicators; including

4 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model collecting information on the number of volunteers used by events, could act as a benchmark and provide a model for other similar schemes. The report considers an extension of volunteer’s roles, moving to a more welcoming and visible base, and further collaboration with other organisations. It considers what would be lost if MEV were to be replaced by a web based service. However MEV develops, its experience from 2002 provides an instructive legacy.

Acknowledgements

The main research project was funded by grants from the University of Sheffield and Manchester Metropolitan University. Further funding was provided by MEV to support 16 in-depth interviews with volunteers. We would like to thank those who have contributed to the research as interviewees or questionnaire respondents; in particular MEV volunteers and event managers who have used MEV.

Geoff Nichols Management School, University of Sheffield 9 Mappin Street Sheffield S1 4DT England [email protected]; 0114-222-2184

Rita Ralston Department of Food and Tourism Management Manchester Metropolitan University Hollings Faculty Old Hall Lane Manchester, M14 6HR England [email protected]; 0161-247-2734 or [email protected]; 07813 626 907

September 2011

5 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

6 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Contents

1. Introduction — context and objectives ...... 9

2. Brief history of MEV ...... 10

3. Research Methods ...... 12

4. MEV’s contribution to developing events in the North West of England ...... 13

5. MEV’s contribution to the volunteers ...... 17

6. MEV’s Contribution to good practice in volunteer management and development ...... 21

7. Lessons for volunteering legacies of mega sports events ...... 22

8. MEV’s strengths ...... 23

9. MEV’s challenges ...... 24

10. Considerations for development ...... 26

References ...... 28

Related academic output ...... 29

Appendix A

A Case studies of volunteers’ experiences to illustrate rewards from volunteering ...... 31

The University of Sheffield Management School ...... 34

Manchester Metropolitan University ...... 35

7 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

8 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

1 Introduction — Context and Objectives

Manchester Event Volunteers (MEV) was established as part of the legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK. Manchester is in the NW of England, the Greater Manchester area having a population of over 2.2m, and being comprised of ten boroughs; including the City of Manchester, with a population of 464,000. MEV acts as a broker between volunteers and event organisers by maintaining a database of volunteers, advertising events to them, and once they have expressed interest, passing their contact details on to the event organisers. It supports over 150 events per year and in 2009 had a database of 1,500 active volunteers, 490 of whom had volunteered in the previous two years.

This research reports on MEV’s contribution to developing events in the region, the benefits to volunteers and the contribution to good practice in volunteer management and development. These contributions illustrate the potential of similar volunteer development organisations and specifically those established to generate a volunteering legacy after major sporting events. The report notes practical lessons from the experience of MEV, future challenges and suggestions for development.

As probably the longest running mega-event volunteer legacy programme in the world Manchester Event Volunteers (MEV) offers unique insights for future events. This is particularly pertinent to the volunteering legacy aspirations of the 2012 Olympics1 and 2014 Commonwealth Games; and to the coalition government’s aspirations of developing a ‘Big Society’ characterised by higher levels of volunteering as an expression of civic activism2.

The broad aim of the research was to evaluate the long term volunteering legacy of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games and the relationship between volunteers, MEV and event managers. In order to achieve this aim the research objectives sought to answer the following questions: How important was MEV in allowing Commonwealth Games volunteers to continue volunteering after the Games and in encouraging others to volunteer? What do the volunteers want from their involvement with MEV? • What do MEV want from the volunteers? • What do volunteers want from events? • What do event managers want from volunteers and from MEV? • How is managing volunteers different to managing paid employees?

9 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

These objectives structure the main part of the report and lead to a discussion of MEV’s role in providing a legacy from the Commonwealth Games and how this has developed. While it was not an objective of the research to consider future options for MEV some possibilities are discussed.

A second phase of research met the objective of exploring the contribution of volunteering to social inclusion.

Methods were designed to meet these objectives. This report incorporates the results, but is structured to meet the interests of groups of stakeholders.

2. A Brief History of MEV

Independent of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester City Council’s Economic Initiatives Group held a Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) grant, allocated to be spent between 1999 and 2004, the bulk of which was spent before 2002. Matched funding generated a total of £17.7m to run seven social inclusion programmes, including a network of Pre-volunteer Programmes (PVPs). The PVPs were targeted at the most socially and economically disadvantaged areas of the North West, and used the Games as a catalyst to attract the long-term unemployed into training and development which would qualify them for an interview to become a Games volunteer, but might also help them obtain paid employment elsewhere. The aims of the SRB projects were focused on improving skills, educational attainment and personal development within disadvantaged areas3. This reflected a dominant view of social inclusion as linked to paid employment, although this is contentious; social inclusion being an ambiguous concept4.

The Economic Initiatives Group had discussed a volunteering legacy in 1998/9, but without making detailed plans and commitment to a budget. A catalyst to planning a volunteering legacy was provided by the visit to Manchester in December 2001 of the Minister for Sport. He was impressed by the enthusiasm of long-term volunteers in the Games’ offices, who were working in this role for up to two years before the Games, but he noted their anxieties with regard to further opportunities to volunteer after the Games5. Immediately after the Games the Legacy Manager was charged with writing a plan for a Post-Games Volunteer Project. The funds available were approximately £100,000, only about 1.6% of the original SRB grant.

The Post-Games Volunteer Project (PGVP), was established in January 2003 for a one year trial period with £400,000 funding from the European Social Fund, the Regional Legacy Programme, the Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council and Manchester City Council. It aimed to continue a social inclusion agenda. The five staff was recruited from the PVP which meant they could capitalise on personal contacts made prior to the Games — both with volunteers and organisations in the NW region. They were also able to influence the direction of the PGVP through their interpretation of, and commitment to,

10 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model social inclusion. It has been argued that the Games’ legacy was event themed, rather than event led6, but in this case there was a direct connection between the pre-games and post-games organisations.

Within four weeks of the Games ending the PGVP contacted 10,500 Games volunteers and 1,000 people who had gone through the PVP but had not volunteered at the Games to ask if they were interested in other volunteering opportunities. 2,000 replied positively and were included on a new PGVP data-base. The first event supported by these volunteers was in November 2002, requiring 200 volunteers. As other events made contact it became apparent that the PGVP was providing a previously unmet demand for a broker between events and volunteers and its work developed in this direction.

Once the funding associated with the establishment of the PGVP ran out further funding was provided by Manchester City Council. This was only able to support new volunteers from this local authority area — although the database retained the contacts of previous volunteers from throughout the North West Region and events outside of Manchester City are still supported. In August 2005 the Post-Games Volunteer Project was rebranded as Manchester Event Volunteers, to reflect this restricted focus7.

MEV Procedures

A prospective volunteer will contact MEV by telephone or sign up on the MEV website. Once or twice a month applicants are invited to a one-hour evening induction session. At this session MEV staff explain how MEV works, the opportunities available, and what is expected of volunteers. Applicants are provided with a volunteer handbook and a code of practice, including their policies and procedures. They are able to ask questions and then complete an application form, if they are still interested. It is made clear that there is no obligation to apply if they decide it is not for them.

As soon as they complete the application form their full details are entered onto a database. They are allocated a unique registration number and they then start to receive MEV newsletters; either by e mail or by hard copy.

At At the induction meeting volunteers are given the option of taking part in a two day training course, which is an ‘introduction to team work’. This is an Open College Network accredited qualification through Manchester Adult Education and is taken by 80–85% of volunteers.

Prospective volunteers may be recruited directly through MEV leaflets distributed in libraries, community centres and doctors’ surgeries or through partner organisations, such as Manchester Youth Volunteering Project, or Greater Manchester Youth Network. They may also be referred from Job Centre Plus, Stepping Stones or the Incapacity Benefit Programme.

Events approach MEV to ask for help recruiting volunteers. Events have to complete a code of practice and health and safety questionnaire to ensure certain volunteer

11 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model management practices are in place. If MEV are not sure of this or if the event is new to MEV, staff will contact the event manager to clarify this. MEV staff may spend 3–4 hours with managers new to using volunteers to advise them on good practice. This advice is not charged for. MEV requires events that use it to make a contribution to the running costs of the newsletter. This is selectively waived for community groups.

The newsletter sent to volunteers every month contains details of volunteering and training opportunities and selected job vacancies. Volunteers select the events they wish to volunteer for and the contact details of interested volunteers are sent directly to event managers. Event managers then contact the volunteers directly to send further details of the event. Prior to 2004 volunteers would respond to MEV, who would then coordinate them and provide supervision at the event. Thus the event would receive a group of volunteers, with their own manager from MEV. Since 2004 staff reductions have meant it is no longer possible for MEV to provide supervisory staff (although they may visit events). MEV may recommend some volunteers as ‘team leaders’ to take a supervisory role at events. The team leaders will normally know many of the volunteers, so be able to match tasks to their capabilities.

In addition to the newsletter MEV sends a weekly e-mail update to more than 1500 organisations involved with volunteers (not volunteers themselves). This provides a networking role, promotion for events, personal interest articles, job adverts, and information on funding and training. Thus MEVs role extends to developing volunteering in general — and it is regarded as a valuable source of advice.

3. Research Methods

Interviews with MEV staff: An initial interview was conducted with the MEV manager to gain a basic understanding of MEVs operations, and this was followed by more extensive discussions between 2009 and 2011 to explore specific issues.

Focus groups of MEV volunteers: Two groups were conducted in 2009 — the first with some of the most experienced volunteers and the second with a broader sample — using a semi-structured approach around broad themes of expectations and experience.

Questionnaire survey of volunteers: The focus groups and initial interviews with MEV informed the design of the questionnaire. A questionnaire was posted to all the active volunteers on the MEV database (1,500 at May 2009). These elicited 271 usable responses: 10 were returned too late for inclusion in the analysis and 78 returned with an indication that the addressee was no longer living at that address. This sample represented 52% of the volunteers on the MEV database who had volunteered within the last year and over-represented those who had volunteered at the Common-wealth Games. Questions, including open and closed responses, covered: the number of events volunteered for; the expected rewards from volunteering at events and how volunteers expected to be managed; volunteers’ views of the service provided by MEV; their views about volunteering in general and how important

12 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

MEV had been in allowing Games volunteers to continue volunteering, plus demographic details.

Interviews with event managers: Semi-structured interviews were conducted between September and December 2009 with eight event managers representing a range of different types and sizes of events. Topics included: the value of the broker service offered by MEV and the contribution of volunteers to events, thus giving an indication of economic benefits of volunteering.

Interview with Manchester 2002 Legacy officer: A further in-depth interview was conducted with the former Manchester City Council officer who had had major responsibility for developing and managing the legacy of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games

Analysis of MEV’s database: Data were provided by MEV to enable the researchers to identify patterns of membership and patterns of volunteering amongst their members.

Interviews with MEV volunteers: In 2010 a further 16 in-depth interviews were conducted with MEV volunteers to explore the rewards of volunteering, in particular its relation to social inclusion and the rewards of employment. (see Appendix A, Case Studies)

All aspects of this research have been undertaken in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Data Protection Act and the Research Ethics Frameworks from both universities.

4. MEV’s Contribution to Developing Events in the North West of England

An experienced and reliable volunteer labour force

Since 2002, MEV has directed volunteers towards over 1,000 events, including 76 major events hosted in the Northwest over the last five years (2004— 2009). It is estimated that these have attracted around four million additional leisure and business visitors and contributed £150 million to the region’s economy. In the 12 months prior to June 2009, 25 major events brought 1.75 million visitors to the region and generated £45 million event visitor spend, not including tourism revenue.

UK Sport designated Manchester ‘the World’s Best Sports City 2008’ for its successful hosting of six international sports events during the year8, four of which were supported by UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme. These included: the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships, the Paralympic World Cup, the BUPA Great Manchester Run and the UEFA Cup Final. MEV offered volunteering opportunities at all of these events.

13 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

However MEV supports events of all sizes and not restricted to sport. Some events are run by paid staff but require volunteers: for example exhibitions in museums or events led by Manchester City Council. Other events are led by volunteers themselves; for example, charity walks run by hospital friends groups, or events run by friends groups of local parks. Thus MEV supports the whole breadth of voluntary activity which might be included in the ‘Big Society’.

Events require between 10 and 200 volunteers. They may last for one day, or for a few weeks (for example, a specialist exhibition at an arts centre). From the MEV database the 490 persons who had volunteered in the two years prior to the survey had done so for a cumulative total of 2,840 volunteering opportunities: on average 5.73 events each, with a range of 1 to 88 events. This variation in volunteer commitment reflects the ability of MEV to meet the needs of ‘episodic’ volunteers: those who wish to volunteer at separate, irregular intervals9. While MEV has a record of the number of volunteer contacts it passes to event organisers it does not always know the number of volunteers an event uses or for how long as organisers sometimes do not supply this information after the event; although MEV request it as a condition of support. So it is not possible to quantify the volunteers’ contribution and estimate the equivalent value in terms of paid wages.

For event managers a major advantage of working with MEV is the ease of contacting a large number of volunteers, some of whom had extensive experience of working at events and could be relied upon. Without the broker service offered by MEV event managers would have to recruit volunteers individually, although since 2002 other volunteer broker organisations have been established. Some event managers said that they would either not be able to operate without the volunteers or at a much reduced scale — suggesting that MEV has contributed to the expansion in the number and scale of events run in the region.

Event managers valued volunteers’ experience and training in event work:

MEV volunteers can hit the ground running. When you try to explain in the briefing that there will be 40,000 people at the events they understand what that means. They don’t panic … . (Festival organiser)

What I found particularly useful was the expertise of the Manchester Event Volunteers in that they knew how things worked in terms of people. It was they immediately who said we will need a dress code … . (Festival organiser)

Some event organisers favourably contrasted the enthusiasm and reliability of MEV volunteers — important attributes for a successful event — with employees and students:

…the volunteers were there because they wanted to be there and that immediately reflects in their attitude to the public because they are enthusiastic, they’re helpful, they’re welcoming to the public. (Festival organiser)

14 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

… people of the student age, there’s a bit more, ‘this festival’s mine and I can have a chat’. … it means that sometimes you have to actually go up to people and say, can you just go over there and do such a thing. While with the retired people you don’t really get that at all… certainly the MEV volunteers, the festival is one part of a great big sequence of events that they regularly get involved with, so they would be exactly the same at the Paralympics as they would be at the festivals… (Festival organiser)

Reliability was attributed to a MEV collective culture:

The other bonus I think you get from having an organisation like MEV is you get that “crew culture” thing, they know one another they’re committed to doing a good job. Not just somebody who’s just walked through the door and doesn’t care about anyone else who’s there. One of the people I had missed a bus and was mortified! They weren’t mortified that they’d missed the bus and so they didn’t get to the event to be’a volunteer, they were mortified that they’d let down their other volunteers who were with them. (Volunteer manager).

It has been possible for MEV to arrange for up to 50 volunteers at less than a day’s notice for event managers who have been let down by other groups of volunteers. This would only be done where the event manager was known to be well organised by MEV and was only possible when MEV had the staff capacity to make these arrangements.

Event managers can contact MEV if there are difficulties with particular volunteers. These may be sensitive issues, such as behaviour or personal hygiene. MEV will then address these with the volunteer.

Limitations perceived by event managers

For event managers one limitation of using MEV was that they had no information about the volunteers before they came to the event. Consistent with a commitment to social inclusion MEV did not wish to provide personal details of volunteers which might allow event managers to pick and chose according to perceived ability. This might be a more significant difficulty for managers of large events who require a more ‘programme management’ approach — defining the roles required and slotting the volunteers into them10. In contrast, event managers with an emphasis on ‘membership management’, in which volunteers were allocated to roles to match their aspirations, found this less difficult.

While the experience of some volunteers was highly valued, some might automatically assume a role of ‘team leader’, implying they should have managerial responsibility. This might pose difficulties if the event manager found them unsuitable for this role.

15 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Reflections on the nature of volunteer management

A general difficulty for volunteer managers is adapting their management style to take account of the expectations of volunteers for whom volunteering is leisure, as opposed to paid work. Thus some volunteers might expect greater autonomy, and put greater value on the personal relationships between themselves and managers, in what has been understood as a ‘relational’ psychological contract. A psychological contract is a set of mutual expectations — many of which are unwritten. This concept has been used extensively to understand the relationship between paid employees and managers, but, while assuming managers ‘right to manage’, has ignored any power relationships between the parties. This concept proved useful in previous research, understanding the relationship between volunteers and event managers in Newham Volunteers11, an organisation which had modelled itself on MEV (discussed further below).

In a study of Newham volunteers some event managers expressed frustrations that they could not tell volunteers what to do, in the same way that they could employees, because volunteers could just ‘walk away’. However, others, with more experience of volunteer management, appreciated that managing volunteers required much greater sensitivity.

The same views were apparent in event managers using MEV:

You’ve got to tread a lot more carefully with volunteers and especially if it’s a stressful day. I know we’ve had a couple of problems … last year, one of the girls spoke quite sharply to one of the volunteers, … We know very well some members of staff don’t like dealing with volunteers, some members even in our small team they will avoid like the plague dealing with volunteers because they don’t know how to deal with them. (event manager)

…if it’s a paid person, you can be more forceful, “right can you just go and do that?” whereas if it’s a volunteer you have to take into account their feelings, the fact that they are there off their own back, if they want they can just walk out and you’re so reliant on them you have to take into consideration their feelings or emotions. (event manager)

There are two aspects to ‘management’ to consider: management as a reflection of a relationship of power and authority defined by people’s position in an organisational structure; and management as a coordinator role, required for effective use of resources. Some MEV volunteers were unwilling to accept ‘management’ in the first sense, reflecting their expectations of greater autonomy in leisure. However, some were also unwilling to accept ‘management’ in the second sense, especially when the event manager was perceived to be younger and far less experienced than they were. The MEV volunteers were generally older, 36% of the questionnaire respondents being 60+, so were frequently older than event managers, several of whom appeared to them to be new graduates from university courses in event management. Some MEV members had volunteered for over 20 events a year and a large proportion had volunteered since the Games in 2002.

16 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Some volunteers felt they had a right to assume a supervisory role because of their experience, while some accepted that whatever their role, they may well have more experience than the event managers and be in a better position to make management decisions.

Some volunteers’ expectations of their own managerial responsibility were compounded by their strong sense of identity as ‘an experienced MEV volunteer’. For them volunteering with MEV had become what has been understood as ‘serious leisure’ — an activity with a career structure, requiring training and effort, a distinctive sub-culture, and conferring a sense of identity12.

Thus a challenge to event managers’ expectations to manage comes from the volunteers’ expectations of a different relationship in what to them is a leisure activity engaged in by free choice, from the considerable experience of some of the volunteers, and from the sense of identity that for some volunteers is embodied in their volunteer roles.

As volunteers are not tied to an organisation by the need to earn a wage or maintain a position in a hierarchy related to this, they need to be tied by a shared set of values — thus volunteers only volunteer for organisations they are interested in — for whatever reason. Further — personal relationships are a much more important component of the psychological contract. This was clearly apparent in volunteers’ comments about their relationship with MEV in which they strongly valued the respect they were shown as individuals and the way they were spoken to.

All of these considerations contribute to the complexity of volunteer management. Managers who are aware of them will be more successful.

5. MEV’s Contribution to the Volunteers

MEV’s contribution to volunteers will vary depending on the volunteer’s circumstance.

Within the questionnaire sample 26% were over the age of 65 and a further 10% between 60 and’65; 41% were retired and 6% were semi-retired. Only 35% were employed or self-employed and 10% unemployed. Seventeen percent had a long-term illness or disability.

A reliable broker

In response to the prompted questionnaire statements the five most important things MEV provided for volunteers, in rank order, were: making them aware of new volunteering opportunities; allowing them to pick the events they wanted to work on; keeping them informed of events in Manchester; allowing them to volunteer as much or as little as they wanted; and allowing them to volunteer when they wanted to and for the events they chose.

17 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

This accommodates the needs of episodic volunteers; volunteers prepared to commit for a discrete period of time, rather than for a sustained length; and allows a large degree of autonomy — consistent with volunteering as leisure.

This is important because there appears to be a trend towards episodic volunteering — reflecting real and perceived time pressures in people’s lives: time pressures being the most common reasons given for not volunteering. This will be a trend the Big Society agenda will need to accommodate.

For volunteers an advantage of volunteering through MEV was that volunteers knew the events had been vetted for good practice in volunteer management. Further, if there were any difficulties volunteers knew they could contact MEV immediately; interviewees gave examples of this.

Of the volunteers who had been involved in the Commonwealth Games 81% either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ (on a five point scale) that through MEV they had been able to volunteer more frequently after the Games — thus it is very likely that MEV has facilitated increased volunteering by this group.

Developing employability

MEV offered training, and for those seeking employment it offered: information on job opportunities (through its regular newsletter), help with CV preparation, advice on interviews and a long-term mentor relationship — if the volunteers wanted this. Clearly this is most relevant for the 10% of volunteers who were unemployed, and less for the 47% who were retired / semi-retired. However, the interview sample included volunteers who had been helped into employment through their experience of MEV. Through the Open College Network volunteers can take the first nationally recognised basic level qualifications in event volunteering, sports volunteering and events team leadership. This enabled MEV volunteers to take a more active supervisory role in events and for some to gain employment in the events industry. The newsletter includes employment opportunities as well as ones for volunteering.

I got a place on a basic skills teaching course more because of my ‘Games’ experience than my ‘academic’ background. I got a free training weekend and got a GMOCN certificate which could help with future employment.

I became a volunteer during long term unemployment to give me something to look forward to. When I gained employment it [having worked as a volunteer] was one of the main reasons why I got the job.

Volunteering could provide confidence as well as skills:

If I hadn’t volunteered for the Commonwealth Games … I’d be really, probably down, really depressed, wouldn’t have the confidence or the skills to get out

18 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

there and do anything, probably unemployed, long term …. I’d probably not be in the position I’m in now. … I must admit when I came to the end of the Games I kept thinking what am I going to do now, and it was then that, I found out about MEV, I thought aah, that’s just what I need, an organisation, that I can represent, be part of a team, and go to events, when the employer’s said ‘well what have you been doing’ and I said ‘ok, I haven’t been just sitting at home I’ve been volunteering for various organisations, I’ve been using the skills and the knowledge that I’ve got, to help them’

However the experience of volunteering could also make volunteers aware of the value of an alternative work / life balance, and helped them chose a more satisfying life style by reducing paid work, or changing it. For example, a volunteer described taking early retirement so he could do more volunteering:

I honestly left me job because … I liked to do volunteering … When you’re involved in an event you know’… it’s a real buzz then, which you don’t quite get at work.

This could be regarded as counter to a social inclusion agenda, defined by increasing employability (discussed below). On the other hand, it is consistent with the development of volunteers as people, empowering them to make their own choices.

It is impossible to quantify the number of people who have been helped into employment by MEV because one could not require all MEV members to report a move into employment, and then to attribute it directly to MEV. However, the experience of individual volunteers who had done this would be a valuable focus for further research.

Other rewards from volunteering

Volunteers expressed several other rewards from volunteering. These included: being able to make a contribution to society and to Manchester in particular; having a sense of purpose; being part of a team as MEV, and for the ex-Commonwealth Games volunteers, a legacy of feeling associated with the Commonwealth Games and the other volunteers in it:

I want to continue volunteering because of the great sense of pride and experience at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. A coming together of people from around the world with one common aim, and they came to ‘Manchester’.

I was extremely proud & felt privileged to be involved in the Commonwealth Games. MEV have helped me continue feeling proud and privileged in volunteering at events. They are a great team and good friends.

19 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Volunteering and a broader contribution to social inclusion

MEV was developed from the PGVP, and in turn from the PVP. Both of these programmes were justified with reference to the dominant political view of social inclusion as derived from employment, and thus the focus of the programmes, especially in funding bids, was on increasing employability. However, the PVP staff recruited to MEV had a far broader view of inclusion. This has been reflected in MEV’s work — and in the experience of volunteers.

For the large proportion of volunteers who are retired, and for those over 65, gaining paid employment is irrelevant. However, the in-depth interviews with 16 volunteers revealed the very significant rewards from volunteering of feeling part of society and feeling able to contribute. A retired volunteer, who had been very active in the Commonwealth Games described becoming involved:

Well I started volunteering because of a most unusual thing...I fell down the stairs the day after my wife’s funeral and broke all my ribs, got up and sat in a chair, and I couldn’t move and the chap across the road … said how he’d been a volunteer...so I thought I’ll have a go at that — I’ll get out of this chair. … Then my daughter mentioned the Manchester Events Volunteers…

He continued as a stalwart of MEV until his death in 2010. Another reported:

I am retired. I would not have met so many people, the MEV volunteers are like a second family to me. When we meet at events we greet one another.

Another volunteer reported how volunteering with first the Commonwealth Games and then with MEV had given her the confidence to rebuild her life and establish her own sense of identity and worth following the death of her husband. Another described how MEV had provided a focus and purpose in life through a long period of unemployment.

Brief examples of volunteers’ experiences are provided in Appendix A to illustrate the rich rewards from volunteering.

Volunteering though MEV has enabled volunteers to experience social inclusion in a much broader sense than just gaining paid employment, but in a way that is impossible to quantify. With respect to the ‘Big Society’ MEV has provided the infrastructure to facilitate volunteering. While it is notoriously hard to identify volunteer motivations, which change with their experience 9, some of these are clearly to be able to contribute to society and play an active part. MEV facilitates this.

The main suggestion that volunteers had for improvement of MEV was that they would like to be informed when events did not require them so they could clear their diaries for something else. MEV have no control over this as since 2004 liaison with volunteers has been left to event managers once they have been passed volunteer contacts.

20 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Some volunteers would also like a MEV uniform, or something that distinguishes them as a MEV volunteer at events. This appears to be precluded by some event’s dress code.

MEV’s relationship with volunteers

As noted when discussing volunteer management in the context of event managers, the relationship with volunteers is a very important component of the ‘psychological contract’. This was even more important in the ongoing relationship with MEV. Volunteers commented on MEV:

Listens to its volunteers and treats them with courtesy, dignity and respect.

Total empathy, professionalism and friendliness in all their dealings, whether with volunteers or other organisations

I have experienced the MEV staff treat all their volunteers with the greatest respect and treat them all the same. They also have other nationalities which they are very welcomed and they are treated no differently

Myself & my daughter … have always been treated v. well and we appreciate all the help and support we’ve received over the years. MEV are ‘special’ friends. Bless them.

A common theme was the respect with which volunteers felt they were treated. This again reflects the developmental role with volunteers MEV staff expect to take, developing volunteers through volunteering and respecting their individuality.

6. MEV’s Contribution to Good Practice in Volunteer Management and Development

Event management

MEV staff offered support to event organisers on standards for volunteering and how to deal with and manage volunteers. For some organisers new to using volunteers this was extremely valuable.

[The MEV manager] was fantastic and he came out for a meeting to discuss setting up a volunteer policy looking at role descriptions, application forms and also how to structure the volunteer interviews. He sent us lots of really valuable information that enabled us to work on our documents and really understand what the difference was between volunteers … [and] paid members of staff, … (Event organiser using volunteers for the first time)

21 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

This manager explained how MEV staff had made her aware of aspects of volunteer management she would never have considered:

…they gave examples of their handbook that they give to volunteers which was like a phenomenal thing! That had the most ridiculous thing in it and you’d think “oh my god do people really do that?” but obviously they have! You know like “please do not bring your dog to work!”

MEV insists on a code of practice and minimum standards, including; food, rest breaks, uniform, reimbursement of expenses, insurance cover, health and safety procedures, etc. before they agree to work with an event. Event organisers reported that MEV had ‘raised the bar’ and ‘set the gold standard for volunteering at‘events’.

However, MEV have no control over the volunteers once they are at the event. For example some experienced volunteers might automatically assume a team leader role, but not be the most sensitive of managers. The requirement for event managers to manage volunteers in a sensitive way extended to volunteers managing other volunteers.

As a role model organisation

MEV has offered a role model for others, such as in Liverpool following its year as City of Culture, in Newham, East London13 and has been asked to advise a potential new programme in Dorset, on the south coast, based around the 2012 Olympic sailing facility. Policies and procedures used by Newham Volunteers, established in 2004, were adopted directly from MEV. The most valuable legacy of MEV could be to act as a role model organisation for volunteer broker organisations meeting the needs of the increasing numbers of episodic volunteers, and more specifically for legacy organisations following major sporting events.

7. Lessons for Volunteering Legacies of Mega Sports Events

MEV provides several practical lessons for promoting a volunteer legacy after a major sporting event, such as the 2012 Olympics or 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Timing of specific commitments to a legacy programme

It is extremely difficult to discuss a legacy seriously, and especially to allocate a budget for it, less than 2 years before a major event in the face of the imperative of successfully running a mega sporting event. As an interviewee put it: from about two years before the event, “the momentum just becomes so huge that the steam roller sort of tramples you, unless you’ve got a way of working with it”. The over-riding priority is to run the event successfully. Much more political capital rests on this than on a legacy.

22 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Use of the Games database by a legacy organisation

Only immediately after the Games was it realised that the licence for the Games database, holding the contact details of the volunteers, expired 4 weeks after the Games. It was fortuitous that this could be used in time to contact the volunteers and ask if they would like to continue volunteering. Better planning would ensure a Games data base was available to a post-Games organisation. Further, Games volunteers should be asked if they agree to be contacted pos-games when they initially volunteer.

Importance of independent funding

It has been argued that there should have been greater integration of the legacy planning and the management of the Commonwealth Games6. This may have allowed an event development strategy to have been combined with one for developing volunteers to support them — which was not the case. However, it was important that the programme’s initial SRB funds were entirely independent of the budget for running the Games. As the manager at the time put it — ‘there was no possibility that the budget could have been redirected for painting the white lines’. So there was no possibility of funds being diverted from delivering a legacy to delivering the Games.

Capitalising on the event euphoria

Post-games there was a window of opportunity, estimated at about 5 weeks, during which a bid for further funding for a volunteer legacy could capitalise on the ‘feel good’ factor generated by the event. Thus it was essential that staff were in place to do this.

The balance of legacy spending pre and post event

When applications were made for further grants to fund the PGVP only 1.6% of the original SRB funding for a legacy was left to match them. Some have argued that it would be prudent to retain a larger proportion of the legacy funding to spend after the event.

The key role played by local government in legacy creation

The Games delivery organisation started to disband immediately after the Games. The key organisation existing both before and after the Games was local government — Manchester City Council. Therefore the best organisation to take responsibility for the volunteering legacy is one that transcends the period of the games.

8. MEV’s Strengths

In all its activities MEV epitomises, delivers and reinforces Manchester City Council’s corporate vales of People; Pride; Place. It makes a major difference to the lives of those Manchester residents who belong to MEV and other people who enjoy the fruits of the service that MEV provides.

23 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

The major strengths of MEV include: • Reputation for the ability to provide reliable and experienced event volunteers, sometimes at very short notice. • Significant core of very dedicated and experienced volunteers. • Ability to offer the type of flexible volunteering experience to meet a wide variety of volunteer needs, including those of the increasing number of episodic volunteers. • Quality of relationships with volunteers and with event managers. • Recognized expertise in volunteer management and volunteer training at local, regional and national level. • Raising and maintaining the standards of volunteer management practice in events and other settings. • Providing a role model for other volunteer programmes. • Involvement with a wide range of other mainstream volunteering agencies in the NW and across the UK., for example, Volunteering Community Network (VCN). • Involvement in the development and piloting of a number of local and national volunteering schemes and new volunteering initiatives. • Success in increasing the number of people from specific target groups and excluded communities in volunteering at events and other volunteering situations. • Improving the quality of the volunteer labour force through providing a range of credited and non-credited training opportunities. • Regular communication with a substantial number of active and potentially active volunteers. • Advertising a range of general as well as event volunteering and employment opportunities. • Providing individual support, guidance and training opportunities for skills development and increased employability through volunteering. • Making a very significant but intangible contribution to social inclusion, active citizenship, employability, physical and mental health — interpreted in the broadest sense.

In all these respects MEV has been able to develop its expertise since 2002 and this has been aided by the continuity of staff. Staff continuity is especially important in maintaining the good relationships with volunteers which are an important contribution to their loyalty to the organisation. These strengths put MEV in an excellent position to contribute to central government’s ‘Big Society’ agenda. The promotion of volunteering is greatly facilitated by organisations such as MEV which provide a structure and framework of opportunities.

24 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

9. MEV’s Challenges

Despite its success and strengths MEV faces a number of challenges: • There is no formal link with the Council’s event unit, and has not been since the establishment of MEV. A link in 2002 would have enabled a strategic link between developing events and developing volunteers to staff them, as part of a Games legacy. • Although there are informal links with the events team in Marketing Manchester the availability of an experienced event volunteer labour force does not feature very prominently as a unique selling point of Manchester as an events destination. • MEV’s office ‘hidden’ in the Town Hall is not easy to find or welcoming for potential volunteer enquiries, new volunteers and other agencies. Consequently, MEV is perceived as having a low profile amongst the general Manchester population. (Its office, post-relocation in 2011 to the Third Sector Team, is in a new building, but still very difficult for new volunteers to find.) • Perception and confusion in the identity and central purpose and role of MEV. Its role is broader than just event volunteering. Similarly, it supports events and other volunteering opportunities further afield than Manchester • Since 2002 a number of alternative volunteer broker organisations have become established in Manchester, especially to deal with the demand from students for experience related to their courses and sports volunteering. MEV has to find its own distinctive role amongst these. • Limited staffing resources which reduces the opportunity for MEV management to be present during events to liaise with volunteers and monitor volunteer management practices. (This has been further reduced post-2001.) • Inability to recruit from outside of the City of Manchester boundary. • Unreliable funding base. Although MEV had secured a comparatively small core budget in recent years, the disproportionate amount of time needed to constantly chase other sources of funding has distracted MEV staff and reduced the time available for their main duties and purpose. • The specific criteria and requirements of funding applications has led to MEV occasionally having to modify its role and procedures to accommodate these criteria. While being a part of Manchester City Council has many advantages, MEVs local authority status makes it difficult to raise funds and generate income. • Managing volunteers is inevitably complicated by their own strengths and weaknesses which they bring to events. Some might have personal issues which may be perceived by event managers as a hindrance to an effective volunteer role rather than as potential for development through the experience of volunteering. • The most significant challenge to MEV is response and adaptation to the major funding cuts imposed on Manchester City Council by central government. This report is not a response to these, but comes at a moment when a major review is inevitable.

25 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

10. Considerations For Development

MEV is now establishing its new role in the Third Sector Team.

It is recommended that MEV collect data to measure performance in relation to economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity. These could be used to set targets and measure performance in ways that could not have been anticipated in 2002, but which could offer further examples of good practice to similar organisations developing now. In doing so the outputs could be related to the costs of running the programme to show, for example, how much it costs to support 490 active volunteers over two years, or 25 major events over 12 months. Information on performance presented in this form would be valuable to support funding applications. The quantitative monitoring information presently compiled by MEV includes new volunteers engaged per month — (broken down to show those disabled and from black and ethnic minority groups) and the number of events offered per month.

Information presently lacking includes how many volunteers events actually use and for how many hours. Providing this information could be emphasised as an expectation of event managers. It would allow a further estimation of MEV’s economic contribution.

Recognising that there is a danger in relying only on quantitative data these figures need to be supplemented by accounts of good practice and brief case studies of volunteers. The analysis of the contribution of volunteering to social inclusion, above, demonstrates the value of qualitative data.

As noted above — a visible presence in the city centre would greatly improve MEV’s profile, and also work with other council departments or other event broker organisations. It is beyond the scope of this report to make specific suggestions, but the Central Library could offer a more visible and accessible space.

It would be possible to provide a volunteer broker service merely through a web site, as is provided by the Greater London Authority14. However, for volunteers, this would not provide: the development of volunteers through mentoring, support in employment, training, etc; a personal relationship to bind volunteers to the organisation; assurance for volunteers that events had been vetted for good practice; a contact for volunteers if there were problems at events; a hard copy of the events newsletter for volunteers without access to the internet (especially relevant for the elderly and those on low incomes); and the social rewards from volunteering as part of a group with a strong sense of identity. For event managers it would not provide advice on good practice in volunteer management. It would not be able to provide advice and a role model to other volunteer development organisations. Thus a purely web site based service would be considerably inferior.

26 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

It might be possible to involve MEV members more actively in managing MEV. However, this is a complex and sensitive role requiring considerable skills. Appointment of volunteers to this type of position would require the same thorough recruitment and selection procedures as to formal paid employment, possibly with an honorarium as a recognition and incentive to make a long term commitment. Appointing the wrong person to this role could have disastrous consequences.

In conclusion, this research has identified MEV’s economic contribution to developing events in the region, the benefits to volunteers and the contribution to good practice in volunteer management. These considerable achievements illustrate the potential of similar volunteer development organisations and specifically those established to generate a volunteering legacy after major sporting events. As probably the longest-running mega event volunteer legacy programme in the world, MEV provides a unique role model for other volunteer organisations. In all its activities MEV epitomises, delivers and reinforces Manchester City Council’s corporate values of People; Pride; Place.

Geoff Nichols Management School University of Sheffield 9 Mappin Street Sheffield S1 4DT, England; [email protected]; 0114-222-2184

Rita Ralston Department of Food and Tourism Management Manchester Metropolitan University, Hollings Faculty, Old Hall Lane, Manchester, M14 6HR, England [email protected] 0161-247-2734 or [email protected] 07813 626 907

September 2011

27 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

References

1. DCMS (2008) Before, During and After: Making the Most of the London 2012 Games. 2. Alcock, P. (2010) Building the Big society: a new policy environment for the third sector in England. Voluntary Sector Review 1(3) 379-390. 3. ECOTEC Research and Consulting (n.d.) An Evaluation of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Programme. http://www.mev.org.uk/community/documents/ An_Evaluaion_of_the_Commonwealth_Games_Legacy_Programme.pdf [accessed 22/2/10] 4. Levitas, R. (2005) The Inclusive Society? Social Exclusion and New Labour, 2nd edn, Basingstoke: Palgrave. 5. Games Final Report (n.d.). The XVII Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester, Executive Summary, E2. http://www.gameslegacy.co.uk/cgi-bin/index.cgi/ 96?split=1&p=4 [accessed 28/3/2010]. 6. Smith, A. and Fox, T. (2007) From ‘Event-led’ to ‘Event-themed’ Regeneration: the 2002 Commonwealth Games Legacy Programme, Urban Studies, 44(5/6), pp. 1125-1143. 7. Manchester Event Volunteers — Welcome.—http://www.mev.org.uk/ [accessed 19/2/11]. 8. UK Sport (2008) Manchester Named World’s Best City for Sport. http:// www.uksport.gov.uk/news/manchester_named_world_best_city_for_sport/ [accessed 11/1/2010]. 9. Rochester, C., Paine, A. and Howlett, S., with Zimmeck, M. (2010) Volunteering and Society in the 21st Century. Basingstoke: Palgrave. 10. Cuskelly, G., Hoye, R. and Auld, C. (2006) Working with volunteers in sport: theory and practice London: Routledge. 11. Nichols, G. and Ojala, E. (2009) Understanding the Management of Sports Events Volunteers through Psychological Contract Theory, Voluntas, 20 (4), pp. 369 - 387. 12. Stebbins, R. (2004). Introduction. In R. Stebbins, & M. Graham (Eds.) Volunteering as leisure / leisure as volunteering: an international assessment. (pp. 1!–5). Wallington: CABI Publishing. 13. Newham Volunteers (2010) Newham Volunteers. http://www.newham.gov.uk/ YourCommunity/Volunteering/Newhamvolunteers.htm [accessed 6/1/10]. 14. Greater London Authority (2007) Volunteer London. http://www.london.gov.uk/ volunteer [accessed 5/1/2010].

28 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Related academic output

Nichols, G. & Ralston R. (forthcoming) Social inclusion through volunteering — a potential legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games. Sociology.

Nichols, G. & Ralston R. (2011) Lessons from the Volunteering Legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Urban Studies.

Published online before print March 31, 2011, doi: 10.1177/0042098010397400

Nichols, G. & Ralston, R. (2010) Lessons from the Volunteering Legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Paper presented at the conference of the British Academy of Management, September 2010.

Nichols, G. & Ralston, R. (2010) Generating a volunteer legacy from a major sporting event: Manchester Event Volunteers — lessons of a legacy of volunteering from the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Paper presented at the conference of the Australian and New Zealand Leisure Studies Association. February 2010, Brisbane, Australia

Nichols, G. & Ralston, R. (2010) Social inclusion through volunteering — a legacy of a mega-sports event. Paper presented to the conference of the Leisure Studies Association, Leeds, July 2010.

29 Manchester Event Volunteers: A Legacy and a Role Model

Appendix A — Case studies of volunteers

Examples of volunteers’ experiences to illustrate rewards from volunteering. (Individuals’ names have been changed to protect their identity).

Doug When Doug volunteered at the Commonwealth Games it ‘filled in some of the time he had to himself’ after the recent break-up of his marriage. Since then he has volunteered regularly for MEV, fitting it around his shift work until he retired in 2010, aged 57. His volunteering had gradually increased until retirement since when volunteering has ‘taken over’. Doug enjoys the ‘exciting atmosphere’, knowing that he was ‘helping out and enjoying it at the same time’, meeting some ‘amazing people’, getting recognition, and learning new skills. When probed about his paid job he reported it was ‘demanding, in a good way’ but conveyed none of the enthusiasm he had for volunteering. There was no overlap between skills at paid work and volunteering. He decided to retire early to do more volunteering. For Doug, volunteering after retirement had become, ‘just another job that you don’t get paid for’. He was in a position where he could afford to retire completely and throw himself into volunteering. Volunteering provided some of the same obligations to paid work, such as a feeling of commitment; but also a ‘buzz’ from working on events that he had not got otherwise.

Gloria Gloria volunteered full-time for two years before the Games. Her husband had died shortly before. Volunteering for the games allowed her to mix with a lot of younger people and avoid being labelled as an elderly widow. She still meets regularly with a group of the Games volunteers. Her role before and during the Games involved using skills she had carried over from her paid work; administration, answering phone calls, typing; in a very busy office with everybody committed to the Games. She has continued to volunteer regularly through MEV to promote Manchester because she felt it was important to keep the momentum provided by the Games to events in Manchester. Gloria described how volunteering had helped her reinvent her own sense of identity after her husband died. He had had a high status job in local government and she had previously accompanied him to social functions, in particular, at Manchester Town Hall where MEV were based. However, through MEV she gained the opportunity to attend similar functions in the Town Hall, but on the basis of she had done herself. This was immensely satisfying. Volunteering had given her the confidence to join a choir, having never sung in public before; and through this she had performed in major international venues.

Simon Simon was actively seeking work, having been unemployed for several years, apart from a short period in 2009. He was receiving benefits and had a pension and could ‘get by’ although finance was a concern. He had volunteered with MEV about once a month since 2002. MEV had helped him prepare CVs and application letters, made him aware of job opportunities through its newsletter, and MEV staff had made direct contact with prospective employers he had applied to on this behalf. He had taken several training courses with MEV. Simon’s interest in running was reflected in the events he chose to volunteer for, Asked about rewards from volunteering he responded that he loved it. He loved the busyness of events, meeting new people, and satisfaction from the work. He identified strongly with MEV — his volunteering was a very important part of his life. He felt rewarded by seeing event participants getting enjoyment. MEV had played a major part in helping him cope with long-term unemployment. He felt it gave him something extra in his life.

Tim Tim was in a financial position that allowed him to choose a different work / volunteering balance after taking voluntary redundancy in 2004, at age 45. Tim took three weeks off work to be a Commonwealth Games volunteer. After the Games he kept in touch with MEV and then began volunteering regularly in 2004. He was fully involved in the Commonwealth Games while it was on and after it finished it left a void, although unemployment affected him more. Volunteering, both before and after redundancy had shown him an alternative set of rewards from life. He had worked as an accountant since he was 18 and when he was made redundant the experience of volunteering with MEV opened his eyes to new opportunities and allowed him to reappraise what he wanted to do. He was financially secure, so could afford to try something completely different. At events he usually took a supervisor role as he was one of the younger volunteers. Through contacts made at events he was offered short term jobs working at other events around the country. He wanted to remain in Manchester as he had part-time work at Manchester United and because of his affinity with the city. The experience of supervising people at events made him realise he had these skills and he took a seasonal job which involved daily contact with the public. Without the experience of MEV he did not think he would have had the confidence to do this. Tim made a direct link between the skills developed through MEV and his present employment, but also the experience of volunteering had shown him an alternative set of satisfactions to those from paid work and provided a catalyst for a reappraisal of the balance between paid work and volunteering.

Sandy Sandy retired from teaching in 2004. This led to a greater loss of income than anticipated and a loss of social contacts. After 6 months she took a part-time job where she could use some of her skills from teaching; the choice between this and just volunteering being determined by the need for an income. Sandy had volunteered at the Commonwealth Games — the feeling from this was ‘absolutely fantastic’. She still meets a group of ex-Games volunteers annually. She joined MEV immediately after the Games and has volunteered with them since, varying her commitment depending on her paid work. MEV has enabled her to continue to promote Manchester, which was very important to her in the Commonwealth Games. At the Games she was part of a team preparing costumes and after the Games was on a television programme about the costumes. Her classes at school saw her and she felt this gave them a different insight into her as a person, and it gave her a sense of pride to be part of something s big as this.

Bob Bob moved to Manchester to try and start a new life after being released from a prison sentence. He was finding seeking employment difficult because of his conviction. He initially approached MEV because he had volunteered previously and wanted to put something back into the community however once meeting the managers he realised it would be a good way of building up his CV to aim at different work. Volunteering at major events made him feel like he was fully involved in something again — making a valued contribution and part of a team. He valued the way MEV would give him a chance without making judgements. Volunteering allowed him to express his identity with Manchester and make a contribution to the city.

Karl Karl was recruited to the pre-volunteer programme and became a Commonwealth Games volunteer where he unexpectedly had to stand in as a team leader. This was immensely satisfying — being completely involved in a challenging experience, and having one’s efforts recognised. Since then he has volunteered for 6/7 events a year with MEV but also a multitude of other community organisations. His volunteering has led him to take a succession of qualifications, including refereeing and coaching qualifications and more academic ones in event management. He has recently set up his own business as an event manager. Karl has had a succession of short term jobs since the Commonwealth Games. Volunteering at the Games was a catalyst that sparked him out of unemployment, giving him confidence and skills. The experience of the Games left a gap, but one he realised he could fill through MEV: Karl used his volunteering experience to add to his CV and to target particular job opportunities. He was aware of the positive impact of this on potential employers. A succession of short term jobs he has had since the Games, and his decision to set up his own company, probably reflect a rejection of a target driven culture in employment. He wanted to move away from having his performance measured by targets and indicators, and just to do what he felt was a good job. Volunteering with MEV had increased his confidence and the belief he could take a far wider range of opportunities, including volunteering at major events and setting up his own company.

The University of Sheffield Management School is one of the UK's leading research- led management schools.

The School is known for its leading, policy-relevant interdisciplinary research.

Our Research Centres include: • Centre for Regional Economic & Enterprise Development (CREED) • Energy2b • Institute of Work Psychology (IWP) • Logistics & Supply Chain Management Group (LSCM) • Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES) • South-East European Research Centre (SEERC)

There are a number of interdisciplinary research clusters making significant contributions in the following areas: Governance, International Business and Strategy, Finance Management Accounting, Public Sector Accounting, and Management Research Methods and Research Practice. The School’s MBA programmes (both part-time and full-time) and MSc in Man- agement have all received accreditation from AMBA (Association of MBAs). The School offers a range of specialised Masters degrees in Finance and Accounting, Human Resources Management, Information Systems Management, International Management, International Man-agement & Marketing, Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Management (Creative and Cultural Industries), Management (Inter- national Business), Marketing Management in Practice, Occupational Psychology and Work Psychology.

To find out more go to www.sheffield.ac.uk/management

Manchester Metropolitan University is part of the largest higher education campus in the UK and one of the most extensive education centres in Europe. It is the UK’s most popular University, receiving over 52,000 applications per year.

MMU offers: Over 1,000 courses and qualifications, many with a strong professional bias. The highest concentration of postgraduate taught courses in the North West. Links with over 70 professional bodies and associations recognising both the quality and practical focus of our course provision. An extensive portfolio of training and professional development courses, including tailored courses to meet specific business needs.

The Department of Food and Tourism Management, Hollings Faculty, is world renowned for its teaching in food, hospitality, tourism and events management. The close relationship it enjoys with professional bodies and the industries in which students find employment, both in the UK and abroad, ensures that courses are both vocationally relevant and provide opportunities for industrial experience and work placements. Research in the Department is rated one of the highest in the UK and focuses on: tourism experience, niche tourism, destination management, each tourism, sustainability, event operations and event volunteering, hospitality operations, hospitality education, training and management development, culinary arts. In addition the Department’s International Tourism Centre (ITC) offers consultancy, training and research services to UK, EU and other international organisations in the public and private tourism and hospitality sectors including: advisory work and training programs, con tract research for the public and private sectors, EU funded regional projects, and small and medium enterprise development projects. The Department offers a range of specialist full-time undergraduate degrees in Tourism Management, Hospitality Management, Events Management, Food Science and Nutrition, Consumer Marketing, Trading Standards and Environmental Health plus a similar range of full and part-time Masters degrees.

For more information go to www.mmu.ac.uk/hollings