Manchester based TeamKinetic has been working alongside some of sport and leisure’s biggest names. As part of a larger consortium, led by Sport and Recreation Alliance, TeamKinetic, Volunteering Matters, Jump and Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) have grouped together to explore how volunteering can be grown within communities and enable people to live healthier and happier lives.  Katie Ellis, GLL’s National Community Engagement Manager, explains the shared vested interest:

 “Volunteering is relevant to all spheres of life and volunteers are making a positive impact on economic, social, cultural and environmental issues. Volunteering can empower people and communities to fulfil their potential and contribute to social change. It can also engender a greater sense of ownership of ‘bettering’ their community. Volunteering supports the delivery of council outcomes, local well-being, public health, social cohesion and economic growth”

Many Local Authorities have identified a need to support and manage volunteers as part of their community work, but realise that the lack of internal resource and support to be able to do this. This has resulted in many local leisure contracts now including volunteer management as a requirement and it is expected future tender documents will also have KPI’s related to volunteer recruitment and management. TeamKinetic has already been successful in providing volunteer management software to many of these bids, including Glasgow Life, Cardiff County Council and Manchester Council.

As part of their work, TeamKinetic and GLL have decided to explore the role leisure can play in achieving this goal. TeamKinetic is one of the leading providers of volunteer management software and believes teaming up with GLL, who already run community engagement projects supported by local authorities and sport clubs, will create the perfect opportunity to do this.

The two organisations are planning to launch a pilot programme that will tap into the unused volunteering opportunities within leisure, from those that are involved with the facility, to the potential use of community space that leisure centres could offer, thereby embedding volunteers within the community. As the leading leisure operator in the UK, GLL is capable of extending the piloted programme across the nation.

This project will produce the findings used to evaluate and showcase how the investment of time and resource in developing volunteers within the leisure sector can provide a big return on investment, which will be produced in collaboration with Join In and Sport England.

The project which is proposed to kick off early in the New Year will see one local authority pilot the project before being scaled up across the GLL estate.

Steve Hall, one of the Directors at TeamKinetic: “To play a fundamental part in research that showcases the value of volunteers is something that excites TeamKinetic greatly. It is something we have always believed; we hope the evidence will reflect it”

For further information on TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software please explore our website or email james@teamkinetic.co.uk or call 0161 914 5757.