Shaping the future of volunteering
The development of Wirral's Volunteering Strategy is moving into an exciting new phase, and we're inviting you to be part of it!
Over the past few months, Wirral CVS has been working alongside volunteers, residents, voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations and wider partners to understand what volunteering looks like across Wirral, what's working well and what needs to change.
We're developing a Wirral-wide Volunteering Strategy that reflects the experiences, needs and ambitions of our communities. Importantly, this isn't a strategy being written by Wirral CVS on behalf of everyone else. It's being co-produced by the people and organisations who understand volunteering in Wirral, with the aim of creating a shared vision and practical actions that can make a real difference.
Now we are ready for the next stage!
From listening to co-production
We started this process by listening. Through community conversations, surveys, individual volunteering stories and discussions with organisations, we've been building a picture of volunteering across Wirral.
We've about the enormous value volunteering brings to individuals, organisations and communities, and the importance of recognising and supporting that contribution.
On 18th September, we brought people together at our Volunteering Strategy Kickstart Event to explore what the evidence was telling us, challenge our thinking and identify the areas that needed further discussion.
The conversations were invaluable, helping us understand where experiences differed, what we might have missed and where collective action could make the biggest difference.
One thing became particularly clear: there is no single volunteering experience, and developing a strategy that works for Wirral means recognising that different people and organisations have different needs.
Our Steering Group takes the next step
On 20th October, our Volunteering Strategy Steering Group met for the first time, marking an important step from gathering evidence to actively co-producing the strategy.
The group considered the findings from our research and Kickstart Event, looking at the changes we want to see for volunteering in Wirral over the next five years.
A key outcome was agreement on six themes that will form the basis of our next stage of co-production.
These themes bring together the issues raised by volunteers, residents and organisations. Rather than trying to address everything at once, they provide a way to explore particular challenges in more detail and identify practical changes that could improve volunteering across the borough.
But the Steering Group won't be making all the decisions. The next stage is about bringing more people into the conversation.
Introducing our six Volunteering Strategy Working Groups
Throughout November, we'll be bringing together volunteers, Volunteer Managers, VCFSE organisations, community representatives and partners from across different sectors to explore each of the six themes.
Each working group will begin by identifying three priority areas for further discussion and development.
The topics listed below are starting points, based on what people have told us so far. They aren't fixed decisions, and we want those attending to help shape what happens next.
1. Different Types of Volunteer Roles
📆 Tuesday 17th November 🕙 1pm–3pm
📍 St Barnabas Community Centre, Bromborough
Volunteering takes many forms, from traditional weekly commitments to short-term projects, sharing professional skills or helping informally within our communities.
This group will explore how we can recognise and support different types of volunteering, ensuring there are opportunities that reflect people's interests, skills and circumstances.
Potential discussion areas include employer supported volunteering, skills-based volunteering, sport, faith and heritage volunteering, trusteeship, mentoring and informal community action.
Whether you're currently volunteering, have volunteered in the past or support volunteers within an organisation, your experience could help shape this discussion.
2. Valuing Volunteers
📆 Thursday 19th November 🕙 10am–12pm
📍 To be confirmed
We know volunteers make an incredible contribution to Wirral, but how well do we recognise and understand that contribution?
This group will consider what it really means to value volunteers, both within individual organisations and across the borough.
Potential discussions include volunteer recognition and appreciation, understanding the social value of volunteering, quality assurance and recognising the skills and personal development gained through volunteering.
If you're passionate about ensuring volunteers feel appreciated, respected and valued, this is the group for you.
3. The Volunteer Voice and Journey
📆 Friday 20th November 🕙 10am–12pm
📍 To be confirmed
From the moment someone considers volunteering, through recruitment, training and ongoing involvement, every stage of their journey matters.
This group will explore what a good volunteering experience should look and feel like, and how volunteers can have a stronger voice in the decisions that affect them.
Potential topics include volunteer motivation, opportunities for career progression, training and skills development, involving volunteers in decision-making and supporting people who volunteer across multiple organisations.
Whether you're currently volunteering, have volunteered in the past or support volunteers within an organisation, your experience could help shape this discussion.
4. Supporting Organisations and Volunteer Managers
📆 Monday 23rd November 🕙 1pm–3pm
📍 To be confirmed
Volunteering doesn't happen without the organisations and people who make it possible. Recruiting volunteers is only one part of the picture. Providing meaningful, safe and well-supported opportunities requires time, knowledge, resources and dedicated people.
This group will explore areas including the wellbeing and resilience of Volunteer Managers, training and development, support for people new to volunteer management, commissioning expectations and the real cost of involving volunteers.
If you manage, coordinate or support volunteers, or have experience of the challenges organisations face, we'd really value your contribution.
5. Inclusion and Participation
📆 Tuesday 24th November 🕙 1pm–3pm
📍 Leasowe Community Centre
Volunteering should be something everyone can access, but we know that isn't always the case. Our research has highlighted differences in how people experience volunteering and whether they feel opportunities are open to them. For example, 79% of retired respondents felt volunteering was open to people like them, compared with just 39% of disabled respondents.
This group will explore what needs to change to make volunteering more inclusive and representative of Wirral's communities.
Potential discussions include inclusive recruitment, accessibility, flexible opportunities, reducing barriers to participation and creating more opportunities for younger volunteers.
We particularly want to hear from people with lived experience of barriers to volunteering, as well as organisations working with communities whose voices are not always represented.
6. Collaboration and Joint Working
📆 Thursday 26th November 🕙 10am–12pm
📍 To be confirmed
There is already a huge amount of knowledge, experience and good practice across Wirral's volunteering community. But could we achieve more by working together?
This group will explore how organisations and partners can collaborate more effectively, share resources and develop a stronger, more connected approach to volunteering across the borough.
Potential areas include shared training, volunteer recruitment and promotion, the Volunteering Portal, volunteer passports, sharing good practice and developing stronger relationships between different sectors.
We'll also consider what already exists and how we can build on it, rather than creating new systems or resources unnecessarily.
If you're interested in strengthening partnerships and finding better ways for organisations to work together, we'd welcome your involvement.
What will the working groups actually do?
These aren't simply opportunities to talk about the challenges facing volunteering. We want the discussions to lead to meaningful change.
Each group will consider the evidence gathered so far, identify gaps in our understanding and agree which areas need the most attention. From there, we'll work together to explore what needs to change, what practical actions could make a difference and who might need to be involved in making those changes happen.
We'll also consider how we can measure progress, so that the finished strategy doesn't just describe our ambitions but helps us understand whether we're achieving them.
The ideas and recommendations developed through the working groups will be brought back to the Steering Group, helping to shape the strategy and its action plan.
Our aim is to develop a strategy that is realistic, achievable and collectively.
Whether you're a volunteer, Volunteer Manager, community organisation, public sector partner, business, education provider or someone with an interest in strengthening volunteering in Wirral, you could have something valuable to contribute.
We're particularly keen to involve people and organisations who haven't yet been part of the conversations, including those who can bring different experiences and perspectives.
You don't need to be an expert in strategy development. We're looking for people who understand the issues, have ideas about what could work better or simply want to help make volunteering a better experience for everyone.
You can attend more than one working group if several themes interest you.
All meetings will offer an online attendance option, so you can still contribute if you're unable to join us in person.
Sign up and help shape what happens next
The next few months are an important opportunity to turn everything we've heard into a shared plan for the future of volunteering in Wirral.
We don't expect to have all the answers yet, and that's exactly why we need people to get involved.
If one or more of the working group themes interests you, we'd love you to sign up and join the conversation.
You can also contact the Wirral CVS Volunteering Team at jen.paton@wirralcvs.org.uk if you'd like more information or want to discuss how you could contribute.
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