In this section, you will find UNV policy papers as well as references to other relevant knowledge on volunteerism:

Did you know that the economic value of volunteerism is estimated to 2-5% of GDP and tens of billions USD in countries where relevant statistics are available? Bosnia and Herzegovina still misses precise figures in this field, but other crucial arguments WHY TO SUPPORT VOLUNTEERISM are valid here, too: volunteerism increases social capital and general trust in the society; it fosters civic activity, particularly youth engagement; and volunteering can have significant impact on the employability of individual volunteers, providing them with new skills, contacts and self-confidence. If you want to know more, you can read the new WHY policy paper on volunteerism in BiH here:
 UNV policy brief - WHY support volunteerism in BiH 309.00 Kb


Did you know that there are good examples of how to measure impact of volunteerism at the microeconomical level, for each particular organization? A Scottish charity ProjectScotland (providing volunteer opportunities for roughly 1400 young people per year) did such a research, taking into consideration employment value equivalent, business start ups (connected to volunteering), employment impact (higher income as a result of improved qualification), further education impact, supporting jobs (in partner organizations to maintain the volunteers), improvement of partners’ activities and welfare benefits saving (in case of unemployed volunteers). The conclusion was that ProjectScotland generates at least 21.4 million pounds in the Scottish economy. It is another proof that volunteerism – and capacity building in this field – pays off, in economic terms as well. Which can be used as a strong argument when advocating volunteerism. For more information, click here:
 Measuring volunteerism - ProjectScotland Economic Impact Assessment 229.23 Kb 


Do you know that the Formal Working Group for the Development and Promotion of the Law on Volunteerism has been established? There are involved representatives of the international as well as local organizations and the mission of the group is to prepare and promote a draft of the Law on Volunteerism in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This initiative is a part of the strategic approach which aims at supporting pro-volunteer environment in BiH. Three main priorities have been identified: 1) legislative framework (passing the law), 2) institutional infrastructure (establishing National Volunteerism Agency), 3) improved measurement methods (elaborating well-functioning tools on effects of volunteerism policies). If you want to know more about HOW TO SUPPORT VOLUNTEERISM in BiH, you can read the new policy paper (below). If you want to participate in the Formal Working Group, or be regularly updated, please contact us.
 UNV policy brief - HOW to support volunteerism in BiH 304.00 Kb


Did you know that the project (of Bosnian origin) Open Fun Football Schools has been recently awarded as the best sport-for-peace project in the world? The project indicates a massive potential of sport for development as well as of volunteer projects focused on youth and informal education in the country. If you want to know more about this topic, look at the new UNV policy brief on Sport, development and volunteerism in BiH (below).
Sport is only the first example of how to present and promote volunteerism from a specific perspective. Currently we are about to focus on other development perspectives connected to volunteerism – be it youth or gender issue, environment, culture, human rights etc. If you represent (or know about) some volunteer programme which opens a specific perspective of volunteerism in an inspiring way and which could serve a case study for others, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be glad to incorporate your input.
 UNV policy brief - Sport, development and volunteerism in BiH 594.00 Kb


Did you know that you can use skills of volunteers from all over the world to support the work of your organization? At www.onlinevolunteering.org, more than 1000 non-profit development organizations are registered and almost 90,000 online volunteers offer their time and skills in different areas - project management, IT development, editing and many others. UNV BiH has a direct, ongoing experience with 10 online volunteers working in two areas (translation from English into the local language and graphic design) – and we can only recommend it! You can find more information here:
 Online Volunteering Leaflet 1.24 Mb

Volunteering is not just about engaging (young) people and giving them something to do. Proper management of volunteers involves understanding their motivation for volunteering and recognizing their contributions. Are you interested in getting inspiration from all around the world how to develop your volunteer program at different phases? If you are, there is a wealth of useful materials at the Idealist.org website – from developing the vision and creating the infrastructure to training volunteers, tracking the progress and evaluation of a program (click here).  
As for BiH, the experience of OKC Banja Luka is unique. OKC supported establishment of Local volunteers services in 11 towns of BiH, focusing on the transfer of know-how, capacity building, management training in the field of volunteerism and networking at the national level. You can find out more at their website www.okcbl.org, esp. in the manual “Volontiranje ljude čini sretnim” (click here).