@article {bnh-8344, title = {Emergency volunteering 2030: Views from emergency response volunteer representatives}, number = {731}, year = {2022}, month = {05/2022}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

This report presents results from a qualitative survey completed by 72 representatives of emergency response volunteer groups and networks in Australia in 2018 and 2019. The purpose of the survey was to explore volunteer representatives{\textquoteright} views about changes in volunteering that have occurred in the past, key volunteering issues today, what a preferred future for emergency response volunteering looks like, and what needs to happen to move towards that future.

The survey was administered by RMIT University researchers as part of a research study for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC called Emergency volunteering 2030: Adapting the sector. {\textquoteleft}Adapting the sector{\textquoteright} is a foresight and scenario-planning study engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to identify the most important trends and uncertainties likely to shape the future of emergency volunteering, and to consider implications of alternative future volunteering scenarios for today{\textquoteright}s decision-making.

This report is one of a series of Environmental Scan reports that capture diverse stakeholder views of the current and emerging landscape of emergency volunteering. The research was approved and overseen by the RMIT University Human Ethics Advisory Network (project number CHEAN B 21057-08/17).

Context

Formal emergency response volunteering is a crucial and central component of the volunteering that supports communities before, during and after emergency events. The 250,000 odd emergency response volunteers form the bulk of the emergency response workforce in Australia. Emergency response volunteering is especially important in rural, regional and remote communities where volunteers provide many essential community services and where emergency response services are heavily, often entirely, volunteer based.

Ensuring the long-term sustainability of Australia{\textquoteright}s formal emergency response volunteer capacity is a key issue within the emergency management sector in the face of the changes and pressures in the modern landscape of volunteering. Many emergency management organisations are responding to the changing landscape with new volunteer strategies, models, and management practices but more needs to be done. This report endeavours to reinforce volunteer voices within current research, debates, and decisions regarding strategies for the future of emergency volunteering.

Key implications of this research

The implications provided here are first level observations prepared by the author. They are based on views that were gathered before the 2019/2020 Australian bushfire season began and before the COVID-19 pandemic. More complete implications will also be considered in conversation with key stakeholder groups.

  1. Volunteer representatives depict a situation today in which emergency response volunteering is being squeezed by pressures on three sides (socioeconomic and demographic shifts, government and organisation expectations and requirements, and community needs and expectations), such that the personal burden of volunteering is increasing.
  2. A partial mismatch may be developing between organisational expectations on emergency response volunteers, and the motivations and incentives underpinning this volunteering, which increases the risk of a significant {\textquoteleft}breach of psychological contract{\textquoteright} occurring.
  3. Related to this, responses from some volunteer representatives indicate a widening gap between the goals, values and priorities of some organisations and their volunteers exacerbated by professionalisation and corporatisation. While not a dominant theme in this report, the potential for this gap to continue to grow is concerning.
  4. Particularly younger and female volunteer representatives considered there to be a shortage of innovation and flexibility to address complex and multi-faceted challenges in their organisations, including amongst volunteers themselves. Many identified a need for cultural change to become more open and inclusive.
  5. Most volunteer representatives do not expect that current policy and management approaches will effectively enable vibrant and sustainable emergency response volunteering over the next decade, and they are concerned about the implications of this for communities.
  6. Positively, volunteer representative responses revealed five key foundations for vibrant volunteering over the next decade. They also suggested a wide range of priority actions that could strengthen these foundations. Half also identified initiatives that are doing well addressing current issues.
  7. With longer and fiercer bushfire seasons ahead, the issue of alleviating the personal financial burden of emergency response volunteering into the future needs to be carefully examined. A considerable minority of volunteer representatives anticipated that further remuneration or compensation of some kind could be needed in future.
  8. Volunteer representatives emphasized the importance of stronger governmental leadership and support to move towards a preferred future for emergency response volunteering.

Research approach

This research primarily used a qualitative, key informant survey with 72 representatives from emergency response volunteer groups across Australia. The survey was administered online in late 2018 and early 2019.

All participants represented volunteers from one of three general service categories: 35\% represented Victorian Country Fire Authority volunteers (CFA volunteers), 31\% represented fire service volunteers in other states and territories (including combined services), and 35\% represented volunteers in other emergency response services, (including state emergency services or SES, ambulance, surf life saving, and marine rescue).

}, issn = {731}, author = {Blythe McLennan} }