For example, results indicate that financing staff salaries is not in itself sufficient, but that there are significant accompanying costs to having volunteers. VIVA results can also be used to represent costs and returns to external audiences, particularly funders and policy makers. They in turn can use VIVA to help assess performance and understand the relationship between inputs and outputs, particularly the infrastructural costs of volunteering and measurable returns. However, it is essential that the use of VIVA is accompanied by an understanding of the dynamics which affect potential ratio levels. To prevent misinterpretation that 'cheap' volunteers should replace paid staff or, conversely, that volunteers are an expensive luxury, it is important to place the economic dimension within the framework of a broad volunteer audit.
VIVA measures an aspect of volunteering which is quantifiable, has validity and is informative.
But indicators of cost-effectiveness should be assessed in the context of the aims of the organisation and of all the values and benefits of having volunteers. A full social audit of volunteers would convey the value to users and clients of the organisation, including the unique qualities that unpaid workers bring to their work. It would capture the value to the organisation, in extending its capacity, grounding its work in communities and promoting the organisation through volunteer 'ambassadors'. It would have reference to the cost savings and income generation which can be attributed to voluntary effort. And it would cover the benefits and costs to volunteers themselves, relating the gains of satisfaction, skills development and social citizenship which volunteers experience.