April 2005/18 (web only)
Good practice
This report is for information
HEACF: case studies of good practice
Projects funded by the Higher Education Active Community Fund; case studies compiled by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre, 2003-04
This document provides case studies of good practice in volunteering by HE students and staff, funded by the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF). They cover a broad range of activities, and aim to provide a sound resource for practitioners or managers of volunteering in HE. The studies are organised in sections which are relevant to both HEACF projects and other ongoing volunteering activities.
Updated and expanded case studies were published on the HEACF site in March 2006.
Overview of contents with links to each of the thirteen main sections.
Cross-reference guide with secondary headings to help users looking for more specific information.
Introduction
The Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) enhances the key role played by higher education institutions (HEIs) in their local communities. The HEACF funds institution-wide co-ordination and generation of volunteering activity within HEIs, and encourages collaboration with established volunteering organisations.
Volunteering helps to promote a fairer, more cohesive society in which individuals feel they have a stake. It also helps to build bridges between communities and local organisations such as HEIs. Increasing the involvement of HEIs with their communities should help staff and students to gain new perspectives, enable students to develop employment skills, and help to enhance the quality of life in disadvantaged sections of the community.
These case studies of good practice in student and staff volunteering funded by the HEACF cover a broad range of activities. They aim to provide a sound resource for practitioners or managers of the fund. Contributors come from the spectrum of HEACF practitioners, including students' unions, volunteering units, careers services and cross-university collaborations.
Case studies have been compiled and edited by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC). CRAC is an educational charity, whose purpose is to advance the education of the public, and young people in particular, in lifelong career related learning for all.
The HEACF is administered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and is part of the Government's wider Active Community initiative. In phases 1 and 2 of the fund, HEFCE is a partner alongside the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Home Office. The HEACF commenced in March 2002, and it is due to end in August 2006.
Notes on contributions
HEACF practitioners within HEIs were asked to submit case studies of good practice as part of the HEACF Student Volunteering Awards Programme.
Guidance on submissions was provided; this can be downloaded from www.heacf-awards.ac.uk.
Institutions were first invited to submit case studies for selection in autumn 2003, based on the following criteria:
- relevance to HEACF
- transferability
- subject diversity
- quality of entry.
In some cases, contributions were not selected due to the sheer volume of entries on a particular subject.
In autumn 2004 HEIs were again invited to submit case studies; this time on specified themes that were under-represented among the 2003 contributions.
Case studies are organised in thematic sections according to their main focus of activity (see 'Overview of contents'. The cross-reference guide acts as an index of subsidiary subjects, to enable users to explore themes further, in case studies that have more than one focus of interest.
Case study titles indicate whether they were submitted in 2003 or 2004.
The following submissions were selected by the editorial team as exemplars, and were invited to present and exhibit at the HEACF Student Volunteering Awards Ceremonies in December 2003 and December 2004:
- Case study AV4: Innovative Learning in Action (2004)
University of Salford - Case study C4: Promotion of volunteering as an opportunity for students (2003)
London Metropolitan University - Case study ES3: Project Leaders Scheme (2003)
University College London - Case study ES4: A Blueprint for Sustainable Volunteering (2003)
University of Sheffield - Case study ES6: Sheffield Volunteering Hub (2004)
University of Sheffield - Case study R1: Manchester Student Volunteers Taster Sessions (2003)
University of Manchester and UMIST - Case study R4: 'Just Do It' Recruitment Event (2003)
University of Northumbria at Newcastle - Case study R6: Sponte Community Volunteer Scheme - It matters to you. It matters to them (2003)
Staffordshire University Students' Union - Case study R7: TVU Volunteers - Volunteering Awareness (2003)
Thames Valley University - Case study SS2: Active Student and Project V (2004)
University of Brighton and University of Sussex - Case study SV1: Best Practice in Staff Volunteering (2004)
Kent Union, University of Kent
The following submissions were selected by the editorial team as 'highly commended':
- Case study P3: University and Students' Union Partnership (2003)
University of Plymouth - Case study T1: Involve (2003)
University of Birmingham