Volunteering & Organisational Development

Volunteering

Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action provides a gateway into the best volunteering opportunities in Dundee. We have around 200 opportunities from gardening to sports to befriending and many others in between! We also offer specific support to young people via the Saltire Awards. We offer talks to community and school groups about volunteering and why it is good to get involved and we offer a one-to-one service to individuals who need a bit extra support to find the right volunteer placement for them.

We offer organisations that involve volunteers (VIO’s) support to be the best they can be, and provide volunteers with excellent volunteering experiences. We do this by facilitating networks to share good practice, one to one support with volunteer related issues, including volunteer management training. We also recognise the value of volunteering and developed the Volunteer Friendly Award, as a quality standard to recognise the efforts of organisations, big and small, to ensure their volunteers are given good experiences.

Involving Volunteers in your Organisation

We can advertise your volunteering vacancies in a number of different ways.

• DVVA website and social media
• Volunteer Scotland website
• Through our volunteering newsletter

To access this service we ask you to first register your organisation with us and then complete an opportunity form for each volunteer role you want to advertise. We can help you with this if required.

Advertise your Opportunities

You can do this in two easy steps: complete the organisation registration form and then the volunteer opportunity form for each role you wish to advertise.

Step 1: Register your organisation

You only need to register your organisation once. Once registered, we expect you to inform us of any changes to your details.

Download the Registration Form here:

• Organisation Registration Form (Word Document) February 2020
• Organisation Registration Form (PDF) February 2020

Once completed, please return your form to us at volunteer@dvva.scot

Step 2: Register your Volunteer Roles

You need to complete one form per opportunity. The reason for this is to ensure each opportunity is listed on the website which will make it quick to find and your organisation will have a higher profile on the database and website.

When completing this form it’s worth remembering that this is a chance to “sell” your organisation to prospective volunteers, so keep your content interesting, easy to understand and to the point. It is worth giving thought to how you complete these forms as it could attract people who will give hundreds of hours to your organisation, so time well spent. There is a guide below to help you write a volunteering opportunity. If you would like to speak to us about writing a volunteering vacancy then please do not hesitate to get in touch on 01382 305705.

Before recruiting volunteers, your organisation needs to have a clear understanding of what tasks you would like them to do. Organisations that can offer interesting and productive tasks will find it easier to attract and keep volunteers. Different people will, of course, find different tasks interesting but the design of the volunteer opportunity is important.

Volunteer Opportunity Form:

• Vol Opps Form Final (Word Document) August 23
• Vol Opps Form Final (PDF) August 23

Volunteer Opportunity Guide:

• Volunteer Opportunity Guide (Word Document) September 22
• Volunteer Opportunity Guide (PDF) September 22

Please return your completed Volunteer Opportunity form to us by email volunteer@dvva.scot or by post.

If you need any advice about completing these forms please contact us on 01382 305705 or email volunteer@dvva.scot

Volunteer Friendly Award

This award was initially designed by Volunteer Centre Dundee and redeveloped in 2021 by Volunteer Scotland and the TSI Scotland Network. This is a user-friendly quality standard to support, recognise and reward groups who are good at involving volunteers.

It is very important for groups and organisations to be able to show how good they are at involving and managing their volunteers. Working through, and achieving, the award regardless of your group or organisation size or set up will reward and recognise the difference your volunteer programme makes, and your volunteers should be offered the best possible experience.

Who is it for?

The Volunteer Friendly Award is aimed at small to medium volunteer programmes. Requirements are set at an achievable level for each organisation, allowing more groups to engage and be recognised for the work they do.

There is a step by step process to follow from an initial self-assessment to help gauge what you are doing well and identify what needs to be developed.

This is portfolio based and is divided into five strands (below), and comprises up to 18 practices. Groups submit pieces of evidence to identify where they are currently are in relation to the standard. However, the requirements will vary from group to group, depending on their size and structure.

· Involving Volunteers (understanding why the group involves volunteers)

· Making Volunteering Happen (money, management, resources and keeping volunteers safe)

· Volunteer Inclusion (equal access to opportunities and fair recruitment)

· Welcoming Volunteers (developing roles, induction, training and support the needs of volunteers)

· Valuing Volunteers (recognition, feedback and creating positive endings)

The Volunteer Friendly Award is valid for three years.

How do you get involved?

To sign up for the Volunteer Friendly Award or to find out more information contact DVVA on volunteer@dvva.scot or 01382 305705. You can also visit the Volunteer Friendly Award website for additional information.

Technology Enabled Care (TEC)

Technology makes it possible for people to live safely and independently in their own homes for longer. It helps people manage their own physical and mental health. Using digital tools can save unnecessary travel to GPs’ surgeries and hospitals, saving everyone time and money. Well presented information online can help people understand their own health better, and find activities to help them stay healthy.

Dundee’s TEC project is supported by the Scottish Government, Dundee City Council, Dundee Health & Social Care Partnership and NHS Tayside. The project staff gather and spread ideas, highlight best practice, make videos, run social media, carry out research through engagement and support change. The TEC team are behind the Dundee Smart Care Convention, an annual exhibition and conference about digital care, healthcare and independent living in the city.

You can read Dundee Health & Social Care Partnership’s Smart Health and Care Strategy here.

Home and Mobile Health Monitoring

The TEC Project has a range of gadgets for home health monitoring. DVVA colleague Rob Warren tried out the Kardia Mobile, which provides a swift electrocardiogram at low cost. You can find other videos on the DVVA YouTube channel

See Professor Neubeck’s SmartCare presentation on electrocardiograms

Information & Updates

To keep up to date with all our latest news, follow us on Facebook @DundeeTEC and some TEC videos on the DVVA YouTube channel. 

You can also contact us via email at tec@dvva.scot