Strategic vision for volunteering
The strategic vision for volunteering sets out the Government’s long-term vision for social action, and in particular volunteering.
The strategic vision for volunteering sets out the Government’s long-term vision for social action, and in particular volunteering.
Volunteering in health and social care
The Government recognises that volunteers already make a tremendous contribution towards the health and care services and support within their communities, improving the quality and choice of services available in our country. We want to ensure that this wealth of activity is recognised, celebrated and strengthened and that we nurture and release the capability and capacity that exist within our communities, including among those with health and care needs themselves.
The vision for volunteering in health and social care
Social action for health and well-being: building co-operative communities builds on the consultation undertaken in 2008 and joint work with key partners across the Voluntary Sector, local Government, NHS and the Trade Unions.
This refreshed vision, produced with the help of a cross-sector Stakeholder Reference Group, reflects health, public health and social care reforms.
This strategic vision highlights the valuable contribution volunteering and wider social action makes to every sphere of health, public health and social care, including prevention, the creation of people-centred and relationship-based services and improved patient and service user experience. It demonstrates how this in turn can help to develop support mechanisms and services that genuinely meet people’s needs, are more personal, built on strengths and community-owned.
The strategic vision aims to:
- recognise the enormous voluntary effort that contributes to health and well-being and to health, public health and care services in this country and ensure that this is recognised, celebrated and strengthened in the process of system and service reform;
- embed a deeper understanding, genuine appreciation and awareness of volunteering and its benefits across all of health, public health and social care;
- ensure that services are built around the strengths and assets that people (including those with health and care needs, carers and communities) can bring to them, through volunteering as well as co-production and shared decision making; and
- encourage the various parts of the health, public health and social care systems to recognise the value of volunteering in relation to their respective priorities and consider, from a more informed stance, where a more strategic approach and coherent investment in volunteering would lead to improved quality, equity and outcomes.
Useful links
Do it - volunteering made easy
Volunteering England
Institute for volunteering research
National association of volunteer service managers
Health and social care volunteering fund