Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 29 August 2007. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Robert Pickles |
Job title | Volunteer Development Officer |
Organisation | Planning Aid for Scotland |
Address | 11A South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh EH2 4AS |
Telephone | 0131 220 9730 |
Fax | 0131 220 9735 |
Email | robert@planningaidscotland.org.uk |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
3 Tick one nomination category
Title of entry | Investing in our volunteers |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude with a key reason as to why you think this work merits an Award. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe, in your written submission, how the criteria which you have ticked relate to your project.
Description of project
This project was established to ensure that Planning Aid for Scotland's volunteers are effectively and well managed, in order to ensure effective, positive and professional engagement with the public. |
Describe the background to the project
Services provided by Planning Aid for Scotland promote community engagement in the planning system and are delivered through planners acting in a voluntary capacity. Until now the volunteers themselves have received little professional attention or management to ensure that their work is carried out effectively and efficiently. Through applying the Investing in Volunteers Standard, Planning Aid for Scotland will be able to measure the management of its volunteers against nationally recognised good practice. The Investing in Volunteers process involves applying standards and indicators to an organisation's management of volunteers. This is through an independent assessment process where an assessor visits an organisation to evaluate how practice is perceived and experiences within the organisation. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
To strengthen our volunteer management systems in order to support our work in community involvement To prove through rigorous assessment that we have a well managed volunteer programme To demonstrate the commitment that Planning Aid for Scotland makes to volunteers and clients in delivering the casework and community training services. To develop and promote the volunteer's own career through providing opportunities for training and skills seminars |
Over what timescale has the project been developed?
Initial scoping work was undertaken during the winter months of 2006-7; the self assessment submitted in early May. We are on track to conclude the process in December 2007, and it will be validated in February 2008. This is the first time that a Planning Aid service is putting in place this standard. |
Explain the process and action taken
Following initial discussions with Volunteer Development Scotland, we enrolled for the scheme in the autumn of 2006. The first stage was a workshop for senior staff and Board members led by our Assessor in January 2007. Our self assessment was drawn up by May. Comments were fed back to us by the assessor in July. An action plan then was formulated and acted upon during the late summer and autumn. The assessor undertook interviews with selected volunteers during the winter. |
Explain the role of the key partners
Planning Authorities and private sector organisations are increasingly recognising the positive contribution made by their employees who volunteer for Planning Aid for Scotland and the value that it brings to both the individual employee and the employer in terms of skills development ( CPD) and broadening of experience. Investing in Volunteers is a quality assurance standard that will encourage external stakeholders to work with us. |
What results were achieved?
This project puts in place a series of volunteer management procedures and practices. This has enabled us to identify gaps in the provision and helped us to identify good practice, which in turn has enabled us to revise and improve further aspects of our volunteer management. A key output will be the redrafting of the guidance notes issued to new volunteers to reflect new practices. This document will be re-issued to all volunteers in the spring of 2008. The process has also meant that there has been discussion at all levels of key points relating to volunteer management. |
In summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
It demonstrates that Planning Aid volunteers are well managed resource who gain additional skills and experiences through volunteering. It will also enable other planning professionals to regard volunteering as a professionally managed activity, not just an add-on. Planning Aid for Scotland is doing the best it can for its volunteers and by extension for the community across Scotland. |
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