Project objective

Bayside City Council is developing a Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan to guide the volunteering priorities for Council over the next four years (2022-2025).

Volunteering plays a crucial role within Bayside, contributing to the overall health and wellbeing of the community. The Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan is an opportunity for Council to demonstrate its commitment to ensuring growth and sustainability of volunteerism in Bayside and is a key deliverable for Council’s Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan.

Over the past 12 months, many people have already shared their perspectives, passion and creativity for the future of volunteering in Bayside through the development of the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan.

Now, we’d like the community to help us set the priorities, themes and actions of the Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan.

Project impacts

Bayside City Council is committed to creating a vibrant and engaged volunteer community for all ages and abilities. Volunteering is a valued and integral part of Bayside’s community. Across the municipality, The Bayside municipality hosts many clubs, community groups and organisations. The 2016 Census identified over 18,801 (24%) residents volunteer their time on a regular basis.

Volunteering holds many benefits for the people that volunteer, as well as our community as a whole. Volunteering encourages social connection, a sense of belonging, an environment where individuals can learn new skills, gain confidence and have fun. It also builds community connection and resilience. Many organisations including Council rely and thrive on volunteer passion and commitment.

The nature of volunteering is changing and in Bayside there is an ageing volunteer workforce. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are increasingly looking for diverse and flexible ways to contribute their time. Currently, not everyone who would like to volunteer is able to access opportunities. There is a need to find new ways to attract a diverse range of people to volunteering and support them to stay involved.

What information do we need from the community?

Members of the community are invited to submit their ideas on what Council can do to build and strengthen volunteering for all ages and abilities in Bayside. We also ask community members to provide feedback on the following four areas of focus that have been identified over the last 12 months:

1. Increase and support volunteerism in Bayside to grow numbers and awareness of local volunteer opportunities.
2. Create a coordinated “One Bayside” approach across Council run volunteer programs.
3. Drive opportunities that increase youth volunteering.
4. Strengthen the connection between Council and Volunteer Involving Organisations.

What can the community influence?

• Priorities and themes of the Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan
• What deliverables are that Council commits over the next four years.

What can’t the community influence?

• Responsibilities and deliverables of Volunteer Involving Organisations in Bayside

Stakeholders and community

This stakeholder assessment is a generalised understanding of sections of the community that have a connection to the project or matter. This information is used to understand the types of tools and techniques that will achieve the strongest and most effective outcomes for engagement and communication.

• Impact: What level of change the stakeholder / community segment may experience as a result of the project / matter
• Interest: What level of interest has been expressed or is anticipated
• Influence: Reference to the IAP2 Spectrum

Selected tools and techniques

The tools and techniques selected for this project are informed by the project content, stakeholders and type of feedback sought. The impact of COVID-19 may restrict our ability for face-to-face communication, as well as slower distribution of printed mail.

Key tools for communicating the project

• meetings with stakeholders
• direct email to registered volunteers, registered users of Bayside volunteering, registered volunteer involving organisations in Bayside and other key stakeholder groups
• website news stories and This Week in Bayside e-newsletter
• advertising via social media
• school information sessions
• meeting with Council advisory committees
• Let’s Talk Bayside magazine.

Key methods for gathering feedback

Project timelines

Decision-making process

Feedback for this project will be open between 9 March – 10 April 2022. Stakeholder meetings will be undertaken to gauge qualitative feedback. The information and data gathering from both the survey and focus groups will inform the development of the Plan. Interested parties can subscribe to a mailing list to be updated about the project by selecting the blue +Subscribe button at the top of this page.

Strategic alignment

Bayside’s Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan is guided by the Bayside 2050 Community Vision, Council Plan 2021-2025 and the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021-2025.

Volunteerism directly aligns with the themes and key priorities in the Bayside Community Vision 2050:

• Theme 1: Living Environment/Natural Environment
  1.2 Protect the coast, land and sea through measures such as increased tree planting, sensitive landscaping and enhanced pedestrian connections with nature, planning for the effects of extreme weather.
• Theme 2: Increase and Enhance Open Space
  1.1 Ensure existing open space is maintained, protected and accessible to all.
• Theme 4: Community Feel and Direction
  4.4. That Bayside City Council encourages and nurtures resident interaction, friends’ groups, community organisations and volunteer groups.
• Theme 5: Nurturing Creativity
  5.1 Bayside will nurture a vibrant and connected community by promoting creativity in the arts in all its forms.
• Theme 6: Promoting Innovation
  6.1 Innovative methods, ideas and products to drive Council’s future planning.

The project will also deliver on the goals and strategic objectives in Bayside’s Council Plan 2021 – 2025:

• Goal 2: Our People
  2.1 Nurture healthy people and resilient communities ensuring services and programs are adaptable to meet diverse and changing need
  2.2 Engage with our diverse communities to improve access and inclusion in Bayside

Volunteering is also a key objective identified in Bayside’s Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan which strives to support volunteering organisations and enhance inclusion and diversity across the volunteer sector in Bayside.

More information

Laura Bristow

Community Development Officer

D 03 9599 4664

E LBristow@bayside.vic.gov.au

Lauren Waycott

Community Wellbeing Coordinator

T 03 9599 4686

E lwaycott@bayside.vic.gov.au