Case Study - Volunteer Management Practices

North Aberdeenshire Access Panel�

North Aberdeenshire Access Panel has been in existence for just over one year and in that time it has become a well respected group with a high profile in the local community.� The Panel has seven members who are augmented by a large circle of other volunteers who feed in to the work of the Panel when they can or where the activity or project has a particular resonance with them.� This flexibility means that volunteers can choose the level of their involvement depending on time availability and health status without feeling guilty about not being active.

The principles of volunteer management have been at the forefront of the Panel right from the start, indeed even from before its first meeting.� The founders of the Panel refused to hold the first meeting until funding to reimburse volunteers’ expenses had been secured from the local council.� This was achieved by encouraging the council to implement its own volunteering policy.

Whilst the Panel follows the principles of volunteer management, the structures are informal. The Team Leader, as the Chair of the Panel is known, is the only position within the group.� She had been a volunteer in a number of different settings before becoming involved in the Panel and her experiences of being a volunteer have influenced her approach to the involvement of Panel volunteers.� In addition the local council Access Officer, who supports the Panel, has a background in volunteers’ management which also brings strength to the volunteer management practices of the group.

The Panel meets monthly and by all accounts meetings are egalitarian in nature. Meetings are open to all those connected to the Panel, and all correspondence is available ‘Everyone gets to see what is on the table’, all jobs are passed out, and everyone gets the opportunity to carry out the activities.�� The decision making is collective, the Team Leader brings the issue to table for the group to discuss and reach a consensus.� People feel involved and fit their Access Panel volunteering into their everyday lives, e.g. if an access audit is required somewhere outside Peterhead and a Panel member has a previous arrangement to go there they will combine the two.

Training is valued and the panel chose to spend some of the �10,000 grant they received from the Scottish Executive on local training.� Interest was so great, every Panel member attended.��

Most of the Panel members are involved with other groups in the local area such as the Community Council, and the Disabled Persons Housing Service Aberdeenshire (DPHSA).� These connections have helped the Panel communicate, influence and work together with other groups sharing an interest in the issues faced by disabled people.

The DPHSA office provides a base for the Panel.� This means that there is somewhere for Panel members to come to use computers and other equipment and as a venue for their meetings.

As the Panel is young with a good number of volunteers there hasn’t been the need for a recruitment drive.� However, the group never misses an opportunity to encourage others to join them. There is always something for someone to do.

The Panel put their success down to the fact that they are volunteers all of whom have a disability.� They believe that it is this and their proactive, constructive approach to access issues that have made them a valued and respected resource in the local community.� They produced leaflets and posters inviting local businesses to get in touch for advice on access issues and the implications of the DDA.� They receive requests regularly from shopkeepers, council officials, individuals and others for advice on access matters.� Whenever the Panel comes across something that is good is terms of access they will highlight it through their communication channels.

How does the Panel see itself in five years time?� Still active making life better for disabled people in North Aberdeenshire by continuing to be involved in all aspects of access, not just buildings, but transport and other public services, and generating income from conducting access audits.��

October 2005

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