Implementation of a New Charter for Interaction Between Volunteer Denmark/Associations Denmark and the Public Sector (DK0044)

Denmark’s first charter for volunteering was formulated more than ten years ago. Since then, the voluntary sector and the public sector as well as our welfare society have changed very much. Today, we encounter volunteers on the Internet and at local government institutions. In spring 2013, the Government therefore initiated work on ways to innovate the charter for interaction between Volunteer Denmark/Associations Denmark and the public sector. Following a phase of brainstorming including public consultation and a development phase including a camp for selected stakeholders, a new charter has been formulated by a broadly composed working committee. The charter was published on 1 July 2013.
An implementation phase will follow in the course of autumn 2013 with regional meetings where the charter will constitute the basis for the launch of local dialogue between the public sector and Volunteer Denmark/ Associations Denmark on how the visions of the charter can be transformed into reality and implemented locally.

Commitment 11: Volunteer Denmark and public sector integration

Commitment Text:

Denmark’s first charter for volunteering was formulated more than ten years ago. Since then, the voluntary sector and the public sector as well as our welfare society have changed very much. Today, we encounter volunteers on the Internet and at local government institutions. In spring 2013, the Government therefore initiated work on ways to innovate the charter for interaction between Volunteer Denmark/Associations Denmark and the public sector.

Following a phase of brainstorming including public consultation and a development phase including a camp for selected stakeholders, a new charter (?) has been formulated by a broadly composed working committee. The charter was published on July 1, 2013.

An implementation phase will follow in the course of autumn 2013 with regional meetings where the charter will constitute the basis for the launch of local dialogue between the public sector and Volunteer Denmark/ Associations Denmark on how the visions of the charter can be transformed into reality and implemented locally.

Responsible institution: None specified

Supporting institution(s): None specified

Start date:  Not specified             End date: Not specified

Commitment Aim:

The new charter for interaction between volunteers and the public sector was released in July 2013. The purpose of this commitment was to hold five regional dialogue meetings to determine how the visions of the charter could be translated into actions and implemented at the local government level. The charter and all information that pertains to it are available at a government sponsored website (http://www.frivilligcharter.dk/). 

Status

Mid-term: Complete

The regional dialogue meetings included representatives of national and local government as well as a thorough representation from volunteering associations and other civil society organizations. In total, 440 people participated in these meetings. The results, released as a catalogue on 8 October 2014, included best practices for cooperating with volunteers in the public sector.  According to the self-assessment report, completion of the commitment was marked by a closing status meeting of the charter’s work group held on 5 May 2015. For further information, please see the IRM mid-term progress report.^{[Note 42: Denmark IRM mid-term report 2014-15, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Denmark_IRM%20Progress%20Report%202014-15_Final_eng.pdf]}

Did it open government?

Civic participation: Did not change

The new charter for volunteering in Denmark led to ten initiatives by the government that have subsequently been translated into policy area changes, indicating that revisions to the volunteer policy are serving their intended purpose.^{[Note 43: It has become easier to be a volunteer, Danish Radio, https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/syd/det-er-blevet-nemmere-vaere-frivillig]}

Although there have been no studies to determine whether these specific changes led to an improvement of the volunteering world in Denmark, reports from the Center for Voluntary Social Work funded by the Social Ministry of the Interior indicate that the situation in 2014 had greatly improved compared to 2012. According to those reports, 42% of the Danish population engage in volunteer work, compared to 35% in the year 2012.

The IRM researcher has since consulted organizations that work with volunteers.^{[Note 44: The organizations are The House of Volunteers and Center for Voluntary social work. Several other organizations (for instance The Volunteer Council and FriSes have been contacted; however they were unable to respond before handing in this report.]} These posit that the updated charter has not yet been fully implemented in the relevant agencies and public offices, such that its intended effect of making volunteer work easier has not yet been achieved. This is most likely because the addressed policy changes resulting from the initiative have not yet been fully disseminated in the relevant public offices. However, it may simply be too early to assess to what extent government practice has been affected by the new charter.

Carried forward?

This commitment has been fully implemented. As the previous volunteer charter, which this commitment replaced, was more than 10 years old, it is not feasible to update this charter again during the course of the next action plan. If it is somehow updated, the IRM researcher recommends it pertain to OGP values, and the commitment be worded to clearly reflect this.