At Heritage Volunteering Group, we work on a range of projects designed to champion and promote best practice in volunteering and volunteer management. We also work with a wide variety of partners to ensure heritage volunteering has a strong voice both in our sector and beyond.

Our vision and strategic ambitions are outlined in our strategy – Creating Connections.

Heritage Volunteering Survey

In 2019 we conducted a survey into the scale, nature and impact of volunteering in the heritage sector. The survey, which was created with the help of Agenda Consulting, The Museums Association and NCVO, provides a fascinating insight into volunteering in our sector and raises interesting questions about the lack of diversity and the roles volunteers play.

HVG Survey Report 2019

HVG Survey Exec Summary

Creating Capacity

In 2020, we undertook a piece of work with Historic England to explore what was needed to rebuild volunteering capacity in our sector. Creating Capacity explores these findings and makes a set of recommendations that highlight the strategic and structural changes the sector needs to make, arguing that organisations need to think strategically about volunteer involvement, invest in their participation and provide the leadership to create new and innovative models of volunteering that will enable the sector to thrive post covid. Learn more in this short video.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

If you’re looking for inspiration on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, this Trello board of resources is collected and given by HVG members. Thank you to everyone who has contributed content, it is really growing. If you have got something that has been useful for you and want to share with others? Get in touch and we will aim to get it added in as soon as possible.

Open Letter on Volunteer Management Post Covid-19

As organisations start to reopen, the huge impact of Covid-19 on our sector is undeniable. From museums to heritage railways, few have escaped the financial, operational, and strategic challenges created by this crisis. Volunteers are vital to the way we will heal and move forward. To ensure organisations fully leverage the support and talent of their volunteers we have published an open letter, with other third sector networks, to encourage them to include volunteer engagement professionals like yourselves in the decision-making process.

We would encourage you to download this letter here and share it with leaders within your organisation.

Working in Partnership 

To ensure that heritage volunteering has a voice within the sector and beyond, we work in partnership with a range of organisations and networks:

• DCMS: We attend fortnightly briefings on volunteering and volunteer engagement during Covid-19.
• Character Matters: A cross-sector network, that includes the MA, AIM and Arts Council England, that works together to support the museum sector workforce, including volunteers and freelancers, at this uncertain time.
• Subject Specialist Networks Consortium: A network that supports and brings together a broad range of subject specialist networks.
• Voluntary Voices: A project led by Newcastle University and Arts & Heritage designed to support volunteers working with art collections.

Recommended Reading and Listening

Here are some of our favourite books and podcasts to help you grow as leaders of volunteers

If you are interested in working with us in future please email us.