Analysing and making visible the skills acquired through volunteering in sport in Europe

Background Volunteers make a huge contribution to the sport sector and play a vital role in sustaining the delivery of sport at all levels from grassroots participation to elite competition. V4V was devised with a dedicated group of partners to support sport organisations with volunteer engagement and help make the skills volunteers demonstrate more visible as a powerful incentive to volunteer recruitment, easing transition into paid employment and addressing skills shortages more widely in the sector. Objectives The overall goals of the transnational V4V initiative were to:> analyse the sport volunteer workforce> highlight realities and challenges around sport volunteering> create an online toolkit to support sport organisations with recruitment, retention and engagement of volunteers> design an innovative online tool for sport volunteers to showcase their skills to potential employers and education providers> ensure the results of the project have impact on the sport sector after the project. Implementation Successful implementation through a detailed workplan with a different partner responsible for each work package. Partners were fully engaged, sharing responsibilities and exchanging knowledge and good practice in volunteer management and skills recognition. They met formally 6 times (4 in person, 2 online). The project delivered all outputs to planned budget, schedule and quality standards. Implementation highlights include two innovative online tools for sport organisations and volunteers. Achievements •A Research Report entitled Sport Volunteering in Europe: Realities, Opportunities and Challenges •A Self-Assessment Toolkit for Sport Organisations to help them evaluate strengths and weaknesses in volunteering•A Self-Reflection Tool for Sport Volunteers to help them identify and record skills they have demonstrated when volunteering in sport•A Sustainability Action Plan for future impact •A Final Conference with 61 participants from 24 countries•Wide dissemination and communication.