Economic Value of Volunteering

Over the last years the issue of measuring the economic value of volunteering became more and more central. The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has been conducting research on the contribution of the voluntary sector and volunteering to national economies and their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the so-called “Comparative Non-Profit Sector Project” providing data on the so far invisible and not measured economic value of volunteering. The JHU has completed studies in 41 countries, and some of the results obtained are rather impressive:

Volunteers represent the equivalent of 3-5% of the economically active population in many countries;
Volunteers make a $400 billion contribution to the global economy;
The number of full-time equivalent volunteers is approximately 140 million people;
and if volunteers were a nation, they would be the 9th most populous country in the world.

JHU has also developed the “United Nations Handbook on Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts” in 2003 that gives the tools for National Statistics Offices to include this kind of data in satellite accounts. So far only few countries in Europe have elaborated the satellite accounts.

CEV has joined efforts with JHU to get European countries as well as Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, on board. The CEV General Assembly April 2008 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, was dedicated to the theme “Putting volunteering on the Economic Map of Europe” and it was acknowledged that volunteering is much more than only an economic activity – but that it is has also a value that can be counted in economic terms. There was agreement within the CEV membership that presenting the economic value of volunteering can be a good way of winning recognition for volunteering especially with policy makers. To download the report of this conference, exploring the advantages and disadvantages, costs and benefits of measuring volunteering in economic terms, click here.

Also, there is a new opportunity to acknowledge the economic value of volunteering - a recent project to measure volunteering through the labour surveys of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). ILO is reviewing its labour force surveys and is for the first time ever considering including questions on volunteering. ILO authorised the JHU to formulate a draft of a possible ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work through official labour surveys and a draft Volunteer Measurement Service Module that ILO could incorporate into the labour force surveys in all countries over the world on a regular basis. Labour force and other surveys have been successfully used to measure volunteer work in a number of countries, e.g. USA and Canada. To read more about the JHU/ILO Volunteer Measurement Project, click here.

During the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in Geneva, Switzerland that took place in November/December 2008, the decision to adopt guidelines for measuring the work of volunteers using labour force and other household surveys was taken.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Johns Hopkins Centre for Civil Society Studies will continue the work towards the drafting and publication of the Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work, which will notably suggest an international definition of volunteer work and offer guidelines for countries to use in measuring such work.

CEV, through its members has been very active in advocating vis-à-vis the national Labour statisticians for the adoption of the guidelines that will allow the measurement of the economic value of volunteering.

For the full press release, click here . If you want to read any other relevant information on the issue, visit the following page .

Below read some of the support demonstrated for the measurement of volunteering at EU level.

2006 the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Voluntary Activity: its role in European Society and its Impact [2006/C 325/13]

1.8. 'At European level we need reliable and comparable statistics on the scale, importance and socio-economic value of voluntary activity.

2.5 Voluntary activity also makes an essential contribution to our economies' output. This contribution is often overlooked in national statistics, as it does not always involve the exchange of goods of monetary value and because there is no single accepted method for measuring its economic value. Where it is measured, however, the economic value of voluntary activity and its contribution to the economy has proved considerable (5). For example, in the United Kingdom the economic value of voluntary activity is estimated at 7.9 % of GDP, with 38 % of total population engaged in voluntary activity. In Ireland and Germany more than 33 % of the population are involved in voluntary activity in one form or another, compared to 18 % in Poland.’ 4.3 To the generally used quantitative indicators for a country's development (essential economic indicators like economic growth and financial balance) new, alternative indicators need to be added, which measure social capital and social cohesion as well as the contribution of voluntary activity. The economic value of voluntary activity should also be quantified, as proposed by the United Nations in its Handbook on Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts.’

Opinion on the Contribution of Volunteering on Economic and Social Cohesion, Committee of the Regions, Rapporteur: Councillor Declan McDonnell ECOS-IV-017

Policy Recommendations:

Lack of research and statistical data on volunteering

'15. highlights the need to immediately address the lack of complete and accurate EU wide or national statistics on the economic contribution of volunteering. The Committee of the Regions therefore welcomes the Belgian, French, Czech Republic, Italian and Slovakian commitment to implement the UN Handbook on Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts;

16. encourages the Member States to collect accurate statistical information on volunteer involvement at a local and regional level, also to support the development of appropriate initiatives at both levels;

17. calls on the European Commission to develop more systematic data collection on volunteers and the services they provide and supports the inclusion of volunteering as a specific category in the Statistical Accounts of EUROSTAT to accurately assess the economic value of volunteering;

18. recommends that comparative research on volunteering be carried out across the EU to obtain data on its development trends, scope and characteristics at national, regional and local levels. This would enable a clear indication of cultural similarities and differences in relation to volunteer activity and infrastructure;

19. recommends that research be carried out EU-wide to identify best practice experiences in promoting and supporting volunteerism on a local and regional basis. Depending on research findings, areas with more historical experience of volunteering could support other regions and localities to develop new initiatives'.

2008 Report on the role of volunteering in contributing to economic and social cohesion [A6-0070/2008] European Parliament, Committee on Regional Development , Rapporteur: Marian Harkin

'(…) volunteering not only has a measurable economic value but may also lead to significant savings for public services; whereas, in this context, it is important to ensure that voluntary activity is additional to public services and not a replacement of them,The Economic Value of Volunteering According to the Johns Hopkins University Report, 'Measuring Civil Society and Volunteering', released on September 25th 2007, the Non Profit Institutions N.P.I sector contributes about as much to gross domestic product in a wide range of countries as do the construction and finance industries and twice as much as the utilities industry. This means that it accounts for 5-7% of the GDP in the countries surveyed. These findings emerge from data generated by official statistical agencies in eight countries, (Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States). It is worth noting that twenty additional countries, both developed and developing, have committed to issuing these satellite accounts and a number of others are about to begin implementation. This clearly indicates that more and more countries are recognising the importance of including volunteering in their National Accounts'.