V4V PROJECT
Analysing and making visible the skills acquired through volunteering in sport in Europe
The V4V project has been funded under the Erasmus+ Sport Programme of the European Union (Call 2020) and has a duration of 3 years, running up to December 2023.
Background
Volunteers make a huge contribution to the sport sector as a whole and play a vital role in sustaining the delivery of sport at all levels from grassroots participation to elite competition.
Through their tireless commitment, volunteers also gain much informal learning – particularly in generic transversal skills – which, if made visible, will be a powerful incentive to volunteer recruitment, easing transition into paid employment and addressing skills shortages more widely in the sector.
Within the V4V project, we are using the main elements of the volunteer concept in laws and regulations adopted by EU member states.
For the purposes of this project, it has been agreed that volunteering describes actions which:
- are performed with the free will of the individual;
- are developed in the framework of non-profit, non-governmental organisations;
- are non-paid and carried out for for the benefit of the community or third party.
Aim
The overall goals of the transnational V4V initiative are:
- to analyse the sport volunteer workforce;
- to highlight realities and challenges around volunteering;
- to improve recruitment and retention;
- and, to create an innovative online tool which volunteers can use to showcase their skills and competencies to potential employers and education providers.
The V4V project targeted impacts will be to raise the profile of sport volunteers and the skills they gain, to increase volunteer recruitment and retention, and to smooth transition from voluntary to paid employment, thereby to address skill shortages.
Expected Outputs
OUTPUT 1: A mapping of sport volunteer workforce
The overall goal will be to publish a comprehensive mapping of the sport volunteering workforce in Europe that will be developed through the collection and analysis of data gathered through the implementation of various research activities.
OUTPUT 2: A toolkit for volunteer recruitment, retention, and management
The partners will collaborate to design a practical and innovative digital toolkit for sport organisations to respond to some of the identified realities and challenges faced by volunteers and organisations in the sector and particularly to facilitate the engagement, development and retention of sport volunteers in Europe.
OUTPUT 3: An online competency-based self-assessment tool
An online competency based self-assessment tool will enable volunteers to reflect on their experiences, identify and showcase the types of skills and competences they have built up while participating in sport volunteering and record evidence to match their achievements and make these visible to others: e.g., employers, training providers.
OUTPUT 4: The first ever European Sport Volunteering Skills Summit
At the end of the V4V project, as part of the sustainability and legacy plan, a European Sport Volunteering Skills Summit will be organised to present and discuss the main findings and innovative outputs of the project with a wide audience of sport stakeholders from all over Europe.
Partnership
The V4V partnership constitutes a powerful mix of 13 stakeholders: national and international sport federations, a governmental organisation responsible for sport, two sport training providers, two sport research centres and two sport European Networks with numerous contacts all over Europe and beyond.
The partnership includes the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) which is a multi-sectoral European Network of over 60 organisations dedicated to the promotion of, and support to, volunteers and volunteering in Europe.
Latest News
V4V – Sport Volunteering Research Report Now Available Online!
EOSE is delighted to announce that the online version of research report, Sport Volunteering in Europe: Realities, Opportunities and Challenges, is now available online and can be downloaded from this link. This ground-breaking report is the result of two years of...
V4V partners working towards the development of digital tools on sport volunteering
The 13 partners in the EU funded V4V project “Skills acquired through volunteering in sport” gathered for their fifth Full Partner Meeting on the 20th-21st April 2023 in the City of London as guests of the UK’s Sport and Recreation Alliance. Coordinated by EOSE, this...
Volunteering Skills Survey of Sport Organisations gathers nearly 3,000 responses!
The partners in the EU funded V4V project “Skills acquired through volunteering in sport” met for their fourth Full Partner Meeting in Tallinn (Estonia) as guests of the Estonian Foundation of Sports Education & Information. Coordinated by EOSE, this two-day event...
New tools to support recruitment and retention of sport volunteers discussed at V4V partner meeting in Helsinki
A solid foundation of research to understand the realities and challenges in sport volunteering will inform new toolkits for sport organisations and volunteers. The 20th and 21st of June 2022 saw the partners in the V4V project gather in Helsinki, Finland, for the 3rd...
Groundbreaking European Skills Survey on Sport Volunteering is now open!
EOSE and the partners in the V4V project have launched a new survey aimed at the whole sport sector which covers key issues related to sport volunteering. The target group for the survey is all sport organisations with an interest in sport volunteering. Take part now and have your say !
V4V plans the first ever European Volunteer Skills Survey of Sport Organisations
Following their successful meeting on 15th October 2021, V4V partners met on 10th November to begin planning the final component of Phase 1, the first ever survey of sport organisations across Europe with a focus on the volunteer workforce…
V4V researches skills, recruitment and retention issues in volunteering in sport (Partner Meeting 2)
15th October 2021 saw the second full partner meeting for V4V to review progress in the desk research and interview component of output 1 – a comprehensive mapping of the volunteer workforce…
V4V Project to analyse and make visible the skills acquired through volunteering in sport in Europe
The 5th of May 2021 saw the kick-off meeting for V4V, a new project funded through the Erasmus+ Sport programme of the European Commission. Coordinated by the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE), with the support of 12 other expert partners from the European sport sector, V4V aims to…
V4V Library
Multilingual Leaflets
V4V Research Report on Sport Volunteering
Contact
Need to know more about the V4V project?
Willing to take part in the dissemination and consultation process?
Interested in working with the V4V project partners or share ideas/suggestions/good practice on sport volunteering?
Get in touch, we will get back to you as soon as possible.
