The Scottish Government

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ANNEX 9 FOCUS GROUP TOPIC GUIDES AND INTERVIEW SCHEDULES

Focus Group Topic Guide - Non-Volunteers

Introduction

The Scottish Executive is keen to find out more about what people in Scotland think of volunteering. Today I would like to talk to talk to you about volunteering and what you consider to be the benefits of and barriers to volunteering. We are collecting this information to inform the Scottish Executive's understanding of volunteering and to inform future policy for volunteers. The information you give us will be anonymised - nothing you say will be attributed to yourself as an individual.

Round table introduction: please introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself (where you live, what you do).

What is Volunteering?

Volunteering has been defined as:

"the giving of time and energy through a third party, which can bring measurable benefits to the volunteer, individual beneficiaries, groups and organisations, communities, environment and society at large. It is a choice undertaken of one's own free will, and is not motivated primarily for financial gain or for a wage or salary".

Do you agree with this definition?

Are there any activities that you would consider as volunteering that aren't covered by this definition?

What do the characteristics of a volunteer tend to be? (prompt if necessary: gender, age, employment status, income, ethnicity, area of residence - urban/rural, deprivation)

Volunteering

Can I just check that you have never done any volunteering?

Facilitator to probe for activity that is volunteering but may not be considered to be by participants, eg helping at school fairs, helping at sports clubs, working for a local political party

Barriers to Volunteering

Have you considered volunteering in the past but were unable to? What were the reasons for this? Could anything have been done to overcome these obstacles?

Why do you not volunteer? (prompt if necessary: too old, lack of time, work commitments, illness/disability, lack of volunteering opportunities, lack of accessible opportunities, lack of interest, distance, expense, never been asked, organisation factors, eg too demanding, bad experience, lack of adequate training available) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe barriers mentioned fully - for example:

• If being too old is mentioned - why is this a barrier? Is there a lack of opportunities seen as suitable for the participant's age group?
• If lack of time is mentioned - why is there a lack of time? Work/family/other commitments?
• If work commitments are mentioned - why does work prevent volunteering? Does it cause a lack of time or energy or both?
• If illness/disability is mentioned - would the participant like to volunteer but feels unable to do so?
• If lack of volunteering opportunities is mentioned - is there a lack of opportunities available or is there a lack of awareness of where to find information about opportunities?
• If lack of accessible opportunities is mentioned - why is this? Is there a lack of affordable transport?
• If lack of interest is mentioned - would the participant be more likely to volunteer if it was related to an issue of interest to him/her?
• Are there concerns about the effect volunteering might have on their benefits situation if unemployed?
• Are there concerns about lengthy police checks if they want to work with children?

Could anything be done to overcome these barriers? (prompt if necessary: eg if it fitted with other commitments, if I could find information about opportunities, if there were more accessible opportunities)

Facilitator to probe fully - for example:

• If fitting in with other commitments is mentioned - what would this involve? A small number of hours or being able to choose at what times to take part in volunteering?
• If finding information about opportunities is mentioned - how and where should opportunities be advertised?
• If more accessible opportunities is mentioned - what could be done to make them more accessible?

Benefits of Volunteering

What do you think are the benefits of volunteering for volunteers? (prompt if necessary: eg improving job/career prospects, improving self-confidence or self-esteem, increasing social contact or activities, overcoming boredom or having something to do, having fun, being involved with an issue of interest, helping the community, deriving satisfaction, sense of achievement) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe benefits mentioned fully - for example:

• If improving job/career prospects, improving self confidence or increasing social contact is mentioned - how does volunteering do this?
• If overcoming boredom is mentioned - is there a lack of other leisure activities in your area?
• If helping the community is mentioned - is there a strong sense of community in your area?

Thank you for your time and information

Telephone Interview Guide - Non-Volunteers

Introduction

Hello, my name is Ian and I am calling from a company called Blake Stevenson. We have been asked by the Scottish Executive to do research into volunteering in Scotland and we are interested in speaking to people who have never volunteered about their views and understanding of volunteering. Am I right in thinking you fall into this category - that you have never done any volunteering?

If interviewee has never volunteered, continue

If interviewee has volunteered, thank you for your time

Excellent, you are just the type of person who can help with this research. Would you be able to spare five minutes just now to talk about your views of volunteering?

If yes, continue

If no, Thank you for your time.

Thank you. We are doing this research to help the Executive improve their understanding of volunteering and to inform future policy for volunteering. The information you give us will be kept anonymous - your name will not be used.

What is Volunteering?

1 How would you define volunteering? What activities do you consider to be volunteering? (probe for formal and informal volunteering)

2 Can I just check again that you have never taken part in any of these activities? Have you ever helped out a school fair, a sports club, or a political party? If yes, how would you describe this if you don't consider it to be volunteering?

Barriers to Volunteering

3 Have you considered volunteering in the past but were unable to? What were the reasons for this? Could anything have been done to overcome these obstacles?

4 Is there any reason why you don't volunteer? (prompt only if necessary: too old, lack of time, work commitments, illness/disability, lack of volunteering opportunities, lack of accessible opportunities, effect on benefits, lengthy police checks, lack of interest, distance, expense, never been asked, organisations are too demanding, lack of adequate training available) (note if prompting was required)

Interviewer to probe barriers mentioned fully - for example:

• if being too old is mentioned - why is this a barrier? Is there a lack of opportunities seen as suitable for the participant's age group?
• If lack of time is mentioned - why is there a lack of time? Work/family/other commitments?
• If work commitments are mentioned - why does work prevent volunteering? Does it cause a lack of time or energy or both?
• If illness/disability is mentioned - would the participant have liked to continue volunteering but felt unable to do so? What prevents interviewee from volunteering - access issues/flexibility around times/need for support?
• If lack of volunteering opportunities is mentioned - is there a lack of opportunities available or is there a lack of awareness of where to find information about opportunities?
• If lack of accessible opportunities is mentioned - why is this? Is there a lack of affordable transport?
• If lack of interest is mentioned - would the participant be more likely to volunteer if it was related to an issue of interest to him/her?
• Are there concerns about the effect volunteering might have on their benefits situation if unemployed?
• Are there concerns about lengthy police checks if they want to work with children?

5 Could anything be done to overcome these barriers? (prompt only if necessary: eg if it fitted with other commitments, if I could find information about opportunities, if there were more accessible opportunities)

Interviewer to probe fully - for example:

• If fitting in with other commitments is mentioned - what would this involve? A small number of hours or being able to choose at what times to take part in volunteering?
• If finding information about opportunities is mentioned - how should opportunities be advertised?
• If more accessible opportunities is mentioned - what could be done to make them more accessible?

Benefits of Volunteering

6 What do you think are the benefits of volunteering for volunteers? (prompt only if necessary: eg improving job/career prospects, improving self-confidence or self-esteem, increasing social contact or activities, overcoming boredom or having something to do, having fun, being involved with an issue of interest, helping the community, deriving satisfaction, sense of achievement) (note if prompting was required)

Interviewer to probe benefits mentioned fully - for example:

• If improving job/career prospects, improving self confidence or increasing social contact is mentioned - how does volunteering do this?
• If overcoming boredom is mentioned - is there a lack of other leisure activities in your area?
• If helping the community is mentioned - is there a strong sense of community in your area?

Thank you for your time and information

Focus Group Topic Guide - Former Volunteers

Introduction

The Scottish Executive is keen to find out about the types of volunteering that people in Scotland do, what attracted them to volunteering, and why people stop volunteering. Today I would like to find out about what you consider to be volunteering, the volunteering that you did, and the reasons why you stopped volunteering. We are collecting this information to inform the Scottish Executive's understanding of volunteering and to inform future policy for volunteers. The information you give us will be anonymised - nothing you say will be attributed to yourself as an individual.

Round table introduction: please introduce yourself and tell us a little about the volunteering that you did.

What is Volunteering?

Volunteering has been defined as:

"the giving of time and energy through a third party, which can bring measurable benefits to the volunteer, individual beneficiaries, groups and organisations, communities, environment and society at large. It is a choice undertaken of one's own free will, and is not motivated primarily for financial gain or for a wage or salary".

Do you agree with this definition?

Are there any activities that you would consider as volunteering that aren't covered by this definition?

Type of Volunteering

What type of volunteering did you take part in?

Facilitator to probe for activity that is volunteering but may not be considered to be by participants, eg helping at school fairs, helping at sports clubs, working for a local political party

Was this with an organisation? Which organisation(s)? How many? Why did you volunteer with this/these organisation(s)?

Facilitator to note: is this formal or informal volunteering? Ensure distinction is maintained throughout discussion

Why did you volunteer with these organisations in particular?

Facilitator to probe why the participants volunteered with these organisations. Is the activity seen as particularly relevant to their age group? Is it through personal interest in the issue/organisation? Is it through a feeling of obligation, eg helping out with activities that their children are involved in?

How frequently did you volunteer?

Approximately how much time did you spend volunteering in an average month?

Benefits of Volunteering

What do you see as the benefits of volunteering? (prompt if necessary: eg improving job/career prospects, improving self-confidence or self-esteem, increasing social contact or activities, overcoming boredom or having something to do, having fun, being involved with an issue of interest, helping the community, deriving satisfaction, sense of achievement) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe benefits mentioned fully - for example:

• If improving job/career prospects, improving self confidence or increasing social contact is mentioned - how does volunteering do this?
• If overcoming boredom is mentioned - is there a lack of other leisure activities in your area?
• If helping the community is mentioned - is there a strong sense of community in your area?

Stopping Volunteering

Why did you stop volunteering? (prompt if necessary: eg becoming too old, lack of time, illness/disability, moving house, changed/started job/got busier at work, distance, expense. Organisation factors, eg bad experience, too demanding, lack of adequate training offered) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe barriers mentioned fully - for example:

• If becoming too old is mentioned - why was this a barrier? Was the participant involved in age-related activities?
• If lack of time is mentioned - why was there a lack of time? Work/family/other commitments?
• If illness/disability is mentioned - would the participant have liked to continue volunteering but felt unable to do so?
• If moving house is mentioned - why was this a barrier to volunteering? Was the new house further away? Were there poorer transport connections in the participant's new location?
• If starting a job/getting a new job/getting busier at work is mentioned - why was this a barrier? Was the new job further away? Did this create new time pressures? Was there a lack of energy to volunteer after a day's work? Was the primary goal of taking part in volunteering to help the participant get a job/promotion?
• If lack of informaiton is mentioned - what information would be helpful to them?

Could anything have been done to help you overcome these barriers/obstacles?

Were there any other disadvantages of volunteering for you? How could these have been addressed?

Starting Volunteering Again

Could anything encourage you to volunteer again now or in the future? (prompt if necessary: eg if it fitted with other commitments, adequate recognition, improved training opportunities, ease of claiming expenses, adequate subsistence and travel allowance, special requirements of disabled volunteers) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe fully - for example:

• If fitting in with other commitments is mentioned - what would this involve? A small number of hours or being able to choose at what times to take part in volunteering?
• If nothing would encourage participants to volunteer again, why is this? Did they have a bad experience of volunteering? Do the barriers that caused the participant to stop volunteering still exist?
• Are there concerns about the effect volunteering might have on their benefits situation if unemployed?
• Are there concerns about lengthy police checks if they want to work with children?

Thank you for your time and information

Telephone Interview Guide - Former Volunteers

Introduction

Hello, my name is Ian and I am calling from a company called Blake Stevenson. We have been asked by the Scottish Executive to do research into volunteering in Scotland and we are interested in speaking to people who have done voluntary work in the past but who do so no longer. Am I right in thinking you have volunteered in the past but don't any more?

If interviewee is a former volunteer, continue

If interviewee is not a former volunteer, thank you for your time

Excellent, you're just the type of person who can help with our research. Would you be able to spare five minutes just now to talk about how you found volunteering?

If yes, continue

If no, Thank you for your time.

Thank you. We are doing this research to help the Executive improve their understanding of volunteering and to inform future policy for volunteering. The information you give us will be kept anonymous - your name will not be used.

Type of Volunteering

1 What type of volunteering did you take part in?

2 What other kinds of activity would you count as volunteering?

3 Did you volunteer with an organisation? Which organisation(s) and how many?

Interviewer to note: is this formal or informal volunteering? Ensure distinction is maintained throughout discussion

4 Why did you volunteer with these organisations in particular?

Interviewer to probe why the participants volunteered with these organisations. Is the activity seen as particularly relevant to their age group? Is it through personal interest in the issue/organisation? Is it through a feeling of obligation, eg helping out with activities that their children are involved in?

5 How frequently did you volunteer?

6 Approximately how much time did you spend volunteering in an average month?

Benefits of Volunteering

7 What do you see as the benefits of volunteering? (prompt only if necessary: eg improving job/career prospects, improving self-confidence or self-esteem, increasing social contact or activities, overcoming boredom or having something to do, having fun, being involved with an issue of interest, helping the community, deriving satisfaction, sense of achievement) (note if prompting was required)

Interviewer to probe benefits mentioned fully - for example:

• If improving job/career prospects, improving self confidence or increasing social contact is mentioned - how does volunteering do this?
• If overcoming boredom is mentioned - is there a lack of other leisure activities in your area?
• If helping the community is mentioned - is there a strong sense of community in your area?

Stopping Volunteering

8 Why did you stop volunteering? (prompt only if necessary: eg becoming too old, lack of time, illness/disability, moving house, changed/started job/got busier at work, distance, expense, organisation was too demanding, lack of adequate training offered, bad experience with organisation) (note if prompting was required)

Interviewer to probe barriers mentioned fully - for example:

• If becoming too old is mentioned - why was this a barrier? Was the participant involved in age-related activities?
• If lack of time is mentioned - why was there a lack of time? Work/family/other commitments?
• If illness/disability is mentioned - would the participant have liked to continue volunteering but felt unable to do so? What prevents interviewee from volunteering - access issues/flexibility around times/need for support?
• If moving house is mentioned - why was this a barrier to volunteering? Was the new house further away? Were there poorer transport connections in the participant's new location?
• If starting a job/getting a new job/getting busier at work is mentioned - why was this a barrier? Was the new job further away? Did this create new time pressures? Was there a lack of energy to volunteer after a day's work? Was the primary goal of taking part in volunteering to help the participant get a job/promotion?

9 Could anything have been done to help you overcome these barriers/obstacles?

10 Were there any other disadvantages of volunteering for you? How could these have been addressed?

Starting Volunteering Again

11 Could anything encourage you to volunteer again now or in the future? (prompt only if necessary: eg if it fitted with other commitments, if I was sure my benefits situation wouldn't be effected, if I received adequate recognition, improved training facilities, ease of claiming expenses, adequate subsistence and travel allowance, if the Disclosure/police check process was easier and quicker) (note if prompting was required)

Interviewer to probe fully - for example:

• If fitting in with other commitments is mentioned - what would this involve? A small number of hours or being able to choose at what times to take part in volunteering?
• If nothing would encourage participants to volunteer again, why is this? Did they have a bad experience of volunteering? Do the barriers that caused the participant to stop volunteering still exist?
• Are there concerns about the effect volunteering might have on their benefits situation if unemployed?
• Are there concerns about lengthy police checks if they want to work with children?

Thank you for your time and information

Focus Group Topic Guide - Existing Volunteers

Introduction

The Scottish Executive is keen to find out about the types of volunteering that people in Scotland do, and what attracted them to volunteering. Today I would like to find out about what you consider to be volunteering, the volunteering that you do, and the reasons why you volunteer. We are collecting this information to inform the Scottish Executive's understanding of volunteering and to inform future policy for volunteers. The information you give us will be anonymised - nothing you say will be attributed to yourself as an individual.

Round table introduction: please introduce yourself - name, where you live, for how long you've been volunteering etc

What is Volunteering?

Volunteering has been defined as:

"the giving of time and energy through a third party, which can bring measurable benefits to the volunteer, individual beneficiaries, groups and organisations, communities, environment and society at large. It is a choice undertaken of one's own free will, and is not motivated primarily for financial gain or for a wage or salary".

Do you agree with this definition?

Are there any activities that you would consider as volunteering that aren't covered by this definition?

Type of Volunteering

What type of volunteering do you currently take part in?

Facilitator to probe for activity that is volunteering but may not be considered to be by participants, eg helping at school fairs, helping at sports clubs, working for a local political party

Is this with an organisation? Which organisation(s)? How many? Why did you volunteer with this/these organisation(s) in particular?

Facilitator to note: is this formal or informal volunteering? Ensure distinction is maintained throughout discussion

Why do you volunteer with these organisations in particular?

Facilitator to probe why the participants volunteer with these organisations. Is the activity seen as particularly relevant to their age group? Is it through personal interest in the issue/organisation? Is it through a feeling of obligation, eg helping out with activities that their children are involved in?

How frequently do you volunteer?

Approximately how much time do you spend volunteering in an average month?

Benefits of Volunteering

What do you see as the benefits of volunteering? (prompt if necessary: eg improving job/career prospects, improving self-confidence or self-esteem, increasing social contact or activities, overcoming boredom or having something to do, having fun, being involved with an issue of interest, helping the community, deriving satisfaction, sense of achievement) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe benefits mentioned fully - for example:

• If improving job/career prospects, improving self confidence or increasing social contact is mentioned - how does volunteering do this?
• If overcoming boredom is mentioned - is there a lack of other leisure activities in your area?
• If helping the community is mentioned - is there a strong sense of community in your area?

Barriers to Volunteering

What barriers to volunteering have there been for you? (prompt if necessary: eg becoming too old, lack of time, illness/disability, moving house, changed/started job/got busier at work, distance, expense, organisation factors, eg bad experience, too demanding, lack of adequate training offered) (note if prompting was required)

Facilitator to probe barriers mentioned fully - for example:

• If becoming too old is mentioned - why was/is this a barrier? Is the participant involved in age-related activities?
• If lack of time is mentioned - why is there a lack of time? Work/family/other commitments?
• If illness/disability is mentioned - would the participant have liked to continue volunteering but felt unable to do so?
• If moving house is mentioned - why is this a barrier to volunteering? Is the new house further away? Are there poorer transport connections in the participant's new location?
• If starting a job/getting a new job/getting busier at work is mentioned - why is this a barrier? Is the new job further away? Has this created new time pressures? Is there a lack of energy to volunteer after a day's work?

How were these/could these be overcome?

Are there any disadvantages of volunteering? How could these be addressed?

Have there been any occasions in the past when you have had to stop volunteering? If so, why did you have to stop? What encouraged you to volunteer again?

Can you foresee anything that might cause you to stop volunteering within the next year or so?

Thank you for your time and information

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