6.4.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 152/21
working in the national economy) or GDP’.
The EESC has also called for preparatory work, which based on the ILO framework proposal should lead to the framing of detailed rules for conducting research in the EU.
The EESC regrets that no progress has been made since in establishing a common system for measuring the value of volunteering in Europe.
The Committee therefore again calls on the European Commission to act decisively to implement the EESC recommendations, stressing that without reliable data it is impossible to pursue an effective policy in any field.
2.6.1.
The EESC underlines that better data collection, going beyond GDP and economic value to also look at for example time dedicated by volunteers, their age, gender, areas of activity and added value to society more generally, such as health and well-being, quality of life and social cohesion indicators, would be of all-round benefit.
2.6.2.
Only a few national statistical institutes have initiated and conducted research into voluntary work based on the ILO methodology, and Poland is the only country whose national statistical institute has already conducted such research twice, in 2011 and 2016, with a further study scheduled for early 2022.
The 2011 study calculated the value of volunteer work at about 2,8 % of GDP (5), the 2016 study at around 1,2 % of GDP (6).
This wide discrepancy resulted from certain changes in methodology.
One of these was the fact that while in 2011 the questions included voluntary activity undertaken by the respondent for the benefit of family members, but living in another household, in 2016 such activity was not taken into account.
Another was that the questions in 2011 concerned activity throughout the whole of 2010, whereas in 2016 only volunteering that had been undertaken during the 4-week period in the first quarter immediately preceding the survey was taken into account.
This example clearly shows that it is not possible to obtain comparable data without developing a common methodology at EU level initiated by Eurostat.
2.7.
Volunteering has a value for individuals, communities, the environment, the economy and society at large as one of the most visible expressions of solidarity.
It promotes and facilitates social inclusion, builds social capital and has a transformative effect on society.
The development of a thriving civil society with engaged volunteers can offer creative and innovative solutions to common challenges.
Volunteering contributes to economic growth, and as such deserves specific and targeted measurement in terms of both economic and social capital.
It also plays an ever-increasing role in environmental protection and is a crucial source of learning for many volunteers.
With this in mind, public policies, whilst directly targeted at supporting volunteers, should also reflect the need for a supportive infrastructure for volunteering with sufficient and suitable funding for support measures such as training and insurance costs.
3.
Volunteering activities at EU level 3.1.
The EESC regrets that after the end of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 (EYV2011), volunteering began to gradually disappear from the European agenda.
In official documents it featured only sporadically — during the creation of the EU Aid Volunteers and the European Solidarity Corps, and as a priority theme in the Europe for Citizens Programme.
3.2.
EESC underlines that only a limited amount of research into volunteering has been carried out in Member States.
This has covered various aspects of volunteering (for example the level of participation in volunteering, the demographic profile of people involved and their motivation).
It is impossible to use this research for analysis conducted on an EU-wide basis due to the lack of consistency in methodological approaches, including even the scope of the definition of volunteering and differences in research dates.
The report carried out in 2010 at the request of the European Commission by the consultancy firm GHK (7) is still the latest available comprehensive and valuable source of data despite its limitations in terms of data comparability.
3.2.1.
The GHK report showed that 22-23 % of EU citizens aged over 15 were involved in volunteering, defined as an activity undertaken of a person’s own free will, primarily within a non-governmental organisation for a non-profit cause.
3.2.2.
At the same time the report indicated that due to methodological differences, the deviation in results can often be as much as 30 to 40 percentage points.
(5) (6) (7)
Statistics Poland — Volunteering 2011.
Statistics Poland — Volunteering 2016.
GHK report on Volunteering in the European Union, GHK 2010.