The Global Volunteering Standard

The Global Volunteering Standard is a framework to support volunteer involving organisations to better understand good practice, and to become more responsible and impactful in their work.

Forum drew on the expertise and wisdom of several hundred people, organisations and communities from 80 countries across the volunteering in development sector and beyond to develop the Standard. The Standard that was launched at IVCO 2019 was piloted by a global group of 18 organisations, revised, and re-launched at IVCO 2021. Alongside the new Standard, Forum also launched an online Platform and Self-Assessment Tool.

By engaging a wide range of stakeholders throughout developing, piloting, and reviewing the Standard, it has truly been developed by the volunteering sector for the volunteering sector.

As a result, it captures and reflects a collective, global understanding of good practice in volunteering in development throughout the volunteering programme cycle:

Questions or suggestions?

We hope that you find the Standard to be relevant, informative and insightful. If you have any issues in downloading the Standard or would like it to be translated into a language not yet available, please get in touch.

Explore the Platform:

To support organisations in using the Global Volunteering Standard, Forum created The Global Volunteering Standard Platform.

Developed by the volunteering sector for the volunteering sector, the Platform is the ultimate free global online resource for people and organisations that work with volunteers. It includes a set of practical tools to assess, monitor and improve programmes and practice, as well as access to an extensive global library of volunteer resources.

This project was funded with UK aid from the UK government and with aid from the Government of Canada.
© 2022 International Forum for Volunteering in Development
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