Volunteering Toolkit

It is more or less impossible to overestimate the importance of evaluation in the management of organisations. Internally it is the engine for an effective approach to quality assurance and performance management. Externally it not only provides the means of satisfying increasingly stringent requirements for accountability but also produces the evidence we need to make claims for greater resources and to influence policy and practice. And measuring impact has become the gold standard of evaluation.

Tentacle were approached by Volunteering England to design a 'toolkit' to provide clear and accessible guidance on how to carry out an impact assessment in a volunteer involving and civic service organisation. The publication also contains a complete set of tools with which to tackle the job. These include questionnaires for volunteers; staff; users; community leaders; and local residents together with focus group topic guides; an audit form for volunteer co-ordinators; and diary pages for volunteers.

Tentacle clearly defined and organised the information so that appropriate tools couldbe selected from the kit and easily customised to meet the specific needs of individual organisations. The toolkit is thus easy to use and adaptable as well as comprehensive and it was thoroughly ‘tried and tested’ before publication.

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"It is an invaluable resource for managers of volunteer-involving and civic service organisations and for researchers alike and will take up a prominent place on my own bookshelves – where it will not be allowed to gather dust."

Colin Rochester
Director, Centre for Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Management
Roehampton University