Reactivating the helpers.

When Covid-19 struck, hundreds of thousands put themselves ‘on duty’ – ready to support the most vulnerable in their communities. Our research into the largest volunteer mobilisation since the war, helped the Royal Voluntary Service maintain an engaged, diverse cohort of volunteers in a post-pandemic world.

RVS operates NHS and Care Volunteer Responders – the largest post-war mobilisation of volunteers seen in the UK. We researched with existing responders and the wider public to understand how RVS can continue motivating and inspiring people who have remained with the programme, while undertaking targeted recruitment to ensure responders cover all parts of England.

RVS needed an approach to reactivating volunteers, built around an understanding of what motivated them – from their underlying values to how volunteering contributes to their sense of identity.

Our research and strategy development is guiding RVS in applying new ways to segment and understand thousands of individual volunteers, each with a distinct set of values, interests, goals and reasons for volunteering.