Resources

We have developed a range of tools and resources based on the work of the vinspired students project. These resources form part of the NCCPE's toolkit for public engagement, but will be of particular interest to people seeking to develop their student volunteering provision.

Planning for Change

Planning for Change - Students  provides guidance on how to embed the involvement of students in your public engagement work.  This includes a self-assessment tool to help you assess how your institution is currently supporting student involvement, and to plan how you might develop this area.

Stories of Change describe how institutions have gone about changing to become more supportive of public engagement, and share the lessons they've learned.  We have two Stories of Change that are focussed on student volunteering, showing how the University of Southampton developed a more integrated approach to supporting volunteering, and how Coventry University developed an accredited module in volunteering.

Engagement Guides

Engagement Guides provide general advice and tips on different aspects of Public Engagement. We have written three guides which are relevant to student volunteering projects:

• Working with Student Volunteers
• Student-led Volunteering Projects
• Student-led Evaluation
• Student Volunteering and Working with Businesses

The following four guides have been developed by the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), based on their experience of carrying out a major piece of research into student volunteering for vinspired students. You can find out more about the research in our Bursting the Bubble report.

• Peer-led Qualitative Research on Student Volunteering
• Asking Survey Questions about Volunteering
• Using Focus Groups for Research
• Participatory Mapping

Involving student volunteers in festivals

We commissioned a study into the involvement of student volunteers in festivals. We produced two publications arising from this work: a report of the results of our research, and a collection of top tips and case studies which showcase different approaches to involving students in festivals. 

Case Studies

Pilot Projects

The following case studies have been drawn from the vinspired students Pilot Projects:

• Kids College  (University of York)
• Double You  (University of Warwick)
• IBuddy  (University of Plymouth Students' Union)
• On Our Doorsteps Volunteering Project  (University of Brighton)
• Two To The Left, Two To The Right  (University of Derby Students' Union)
• ArtBlast  (University of Northampton)
• Intergenerational Reminiscence Project (Royal Holloway, University of London)
• Social Enterprise Module (University of Southampton)
• Garden Share Feasibility Study (University of Bath)

Community Based Learning

• Communicating Maths  (University of Bath) 
• Liverpool Applied Social Research Module (University of Liverpool)
• Social Policy in Practice (University of Birmingham)
• Volunteering in the Manchester Leadership Programme (University of Manchester)

Student Volunteering Research

• Bursting the Bubble: Peer Led Research (Six Universities across Britain)
• Research Informing Practice on Student Volunteering (University of East London )
• Exploring Impacts of Volunteering on Students in London (8 London Universities)

National Campaigns

The following case studies have been drawn from the three National Campaigns run by vinspired students:

• The Mad Hatter's Tea Party (University of Plymouth, with the National Trust)
• Re-create (Manchester Metropolitan University, with Children's University)
• Practical Piracy (University of Warwick, with Children's University)
• Societies in Schools (Brunel University, with Children's University)
• University Mini BioBlitz (6 universities, with the Bristol Natural History Consortium)

Other Projects

• Kairos (Working Women Together) (University of Warwick)
• UCL Step Out and other adventures (University College London)
• London Student Volunteer Fortnight (9 London Universities)
• MERL and RED (University of Reading)
• The Oxford Hub  (Oxford University)
• Discovery Swansea (Charity partnering with Swansea University)