MV50 Consultation – Research Report
What did I Research?
For two days a week over 3 months I was set the task to research five potential areas that can be
launched as part of the new MV50 project - MV50 being a brand new initiative designed to take
Millennium Volunteering to new areas and to cover even more volunteers.
Two questions underpinned the formation of MV50:
1). Where are there young people volunteering in Wales who may not be being recognised for it and
may not even know that what they are doing is ‘volunteering’?
2). Are there areas of volunteering where a taste of volunteering – 50 hours rather than 200 might be
a good way to engage young people in volunteering rather than starting with 200 as the aim?
Seven areas were identified as relevant to these questions:
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MV50 Classic – covers all areas of volunteering.
MV50 Sport – where young people are involved in coaching and sports clubs without
realising that what they are doing is volunteering.
MV50 Schools – where schools are put off from running MV because its hard to achieve 200
hours outside the compulsory curriculum and are therefore missing out on starting MV.
MV50 Star - 14 to 15 year olds, a ‘boom’ area in volunteering that’s not yet covered by MV.
MV50 Global – overseas volunteering, again not yet covered by MV.
MV50 Employee – where employees give their time or their employers’ time to volunteer,
also not currently covered by MV.
MV50 Accreditation – looking for a way to accredit volunteering through Agroed Cymru
OCNs etc...
My aims
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To gather initial thoughts, ideas and suggestions
Identify any problems and questions that need to be answered
Find out the NEXT MV50
How I did it
In order to do my research and gather feedback I conducted some of my own research online,
promoted it on websites and social media sites, put together a couple of surveys that could be
distributed by hand and electronically, I visited existing and potential delivery partners and ran a few
young people’s focus groups. In total I surveyed 128 under 25s and 87 over 25s, I made eight visits to
several different existing and potential delivery partners, and I attended three focus group meetings.
Summary
For MV50 in general it appears that the under 25’s are much more positive than the over 25’s. The
under 25’s think it’s very good with a great variety, that is not only suitable for all ages and interests
of young people who volunteer but will actually encourage more of them to volunteer. They also
said that if the areas were launched they would want to be able to gain an MV50 certificate in more
than one area and it was something that we should think about. The areas that they feel are more
relevant to them are MV50 Sport, Schools and Global. The over 25’s on the other hand were
relatively positive but not greatly. Even though they think MV50 is great, the categories are good
and it is wonderful that we are catering for all types of young volunteers the other half of them don’t
really understand the reasons behind it, think it’s really confusing for young people and have asked
why we are developing new areas when classic MV works perfectly and covers all! The areas that
they feel are most relevant to young people are MV50 Classic, Sport, Schools and Star.
Please see below average comments made by people for each of the categories...
MV50 Classic
Under 25s
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Useful experience
It’s a good idea
Why do you only go up to
200 hours?
Not enough hours but it’s
a good scheme
Can you have a certificate
in more than one area
e.g. 50 hours overseas, 50
hours in sport, and 200
hours in classic?
It is unfair that the age
limit only goes up to 25!
50 hours seems like a
good amount and not too
much so it appeals to
more people
Level hours – 200, 500,
1000 and 2000 (confetti
canon, money, trophy,
meet the queen)
Should be one for
schemes like princes trust
- 200 hour limit means
young people are doing
hours with recognition
Too broad doesn’t specify
if you want to work/study
in a particular area e.g.
sport, animals
Seems like too much
work...
Over 25s
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Delivery Partners
Name change needed
Keep it as MV50; MV100
& MV200 don’t add the
classic!
Old style
This covers everything
It’s not broken so why fix
it?
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MV50 Schools
Under 25s
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Over 25s
The age should be
changed
Got GCSES so no time
to volunteer
The name should be
changed to education
Should be available
to Colleges not just
6th Form – they’re
pretty much the
same!
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Schools is a good area –
compulsory curriculum
makes 200 hours
impossible
Can this not be badged up
as Welsh Bacc??
Need to be clear of
volunteering and
compulsory / required
participation
Delivery Partners
DP 1
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DP 2
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Thinks it’s a great idea, especially
for the 14 – 15 year olds.
Volunteering opportunities within
the community and charities is
restricted but within the school
young people form fundraising
committees (which are the most
popular!), and 12 – 13 year old
‘buddy groups’.
Yes, they would be interested in
getting involved in the MV50
project and would be happy to pilot
MV50 Star.
Yes, they feel young people would
be interested, especially the
younger ones.
Yes, the School would have time to
promote this project as it would tie
in nicely with Welsh Bacc and could
be done I PSE lessons.
Ways in which the School would
look into marketing this project
would be through assembly talks,
posters, peer support and clubs (i.e.
buddy scheme).
No, the School would not be able to
financially support this project.
Q – How will we manage these
(monitoring etc...)?
Absolutely brilliant idea –
completely support the whole
project!
Loves MV50 Schools and MV50
Stars – loves the names and agrees
with the age categories because
young people should be able to
develop within their own peer
groups.
Youth Service Degrees need 100 at
least of volunteering in that sector.
With regards to the Youth Service,
there is a Principle Youth Officer in
every County – it’s been advised
that we must get in contact with
these people to ask about
opportunities. If there isn’t any
there should be as each Officer as a
budget for putting these
opportunities in place.
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DP 3
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It’s worth mentioning to these
people our MV50 Accreditation
(Argoed Cymru) idea, with a budget
it could be a good source for
funding – this would then able the
Youth Service to accredit the
volunteers for their youth work.
MV50 Global and MV50
Accreditation actually highlights
part of the new 2012 National
Youth Strategy for Wales (Youth
and Action Programme). If this is
the case we should fight for funding
from the Government!!!
Thinks its fab ☺
The name ‘Schools’ needs to go.
School age range is 14 – 19!
Some Schools are really flexible
with Welsh Bacc and some are not.
Community Participation of the
Welsh Bacc requires 30 hours, if the
activity is classed as volunteering
these hours can be carried forward.
It would be great if the Regional
Officers could work closely with the
YVAs with regards to volunteering
opportunities and promoting the
project. Could put a ‘pocket guide’
together.
Funding is not really an issue but
insurance for 14 – 16 year olds will
be!
Need more volunteering
opportunities in the medium of
Welsh.
There could potentially be a
problem with time and
administration of certificates etc...
but they did say they would be
prepared to help with the
monitoring and we could possibly
work together to develop an
efficient database where records
can be passed on to us
electronically.
MV50 Global can be very relevant
too as many and more students are
going abroad to volunteer.
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MV50 Star
Under 25s
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Should be rising stars
Organisations may not be
on board with younger
volunteers
Promotes volunteering at
a younger age.
It’s a good idea
Why can’t 12 year olds do
MV when they volunteer
– it doesn’t seem fair?
Sounds like something to
do with the Arts i.e. music
and drama etc...
It should be more hours
The name should be
changed so it suits the
category
May be useful to some
who want to continue
their volunteering work
but this may be a small
amount of people.
Over 25s
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Change the age group to
14 – 15
Extend MV to 14+ - Not all
organisations and YVAs
work with young people,
and opportunities are
limited
Not funded
Excellent idea to
recognise under 16s
Its great this age group is
being considered as often
can be hard to find
organisations who can
take under 18s. Will this
be target and within
partnerships to ensure
correct support? Will they
be able to find enough
placements for the YVA’s
to target?
Delivery Partners
Please see ‘Schools’...
MV50 Global
Under 25s
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May be useful to some
who want to continue
their volunteering work
but this may be a small
amount of people.
Volunteering abroad is
hard – deserves
recognition
A very small amount of
people do global
volunteering so I think it
does really apply
Difficult to get overseas
volunteering to benefit
Wales
Good Idea as you get new
skills & travel the world
Brilliant idea, there will be
a lot of people who will
be happy
I think people will really
like this as I haven’t heard
of a cert in this area
Over 25s
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Very good easy to target
groups
Like idea but how many
hours do people do?
Like idea of global – not
covered by MV previously
Delivery Partners
DP 1
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Good idea, pathway to volunteering
(with the continuation of 100 and
200 hours).
“Make people reflect on the value
of their volunteering.”
Exchange projects can be more
than 200, they usually count 5
hours per day but this can all
depend on the actual volunteering.
Need to think about how the hours
will be counted – likes the idea of
booklet to record hours with
information about what
international volunteering is, the
value and being a global citizen.
The award will certainly help make
more young people aware of
overseas volunteering and the UNA
Exchange itself.
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Can you gain this
certificate in this area as
well as the classic?
How will hours be
totalled?
Reach out to different
people with different
cultures
It looks good because
your helping other people
and representing Wales
It’s a good idea if your
volunteering abroad
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DP 2
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Other organizations that we can
look into to promote the award
would be Girlguides, Scouts,
universities, PONT, Dylon Cymru,
and the National Trust. It’s been
advised that we don’t use
commercial organizations as they
over charge and trips could be
classed as more adventures /
holidays rather than actual
volunteering.
Happy to help with the launch and
be a pilot project but timing and
funding would quite possibly be an
issue. They discussed MV50 Global
in their staff meeting and had an
idea for a pilot project. They’re
currently working with Young
Farmers Clubs, and potentially
some other groups, to organise
group volunteering projects
overseas. YFC will be going to the
Czech Republic next summer and
they thought this could be an
interesting opportunity to develop
and pilot and the MV50 Global.
Thinks MV50 Global would be
fantastic!!! But does think you
should also have an MV100 Global.
They get lots of volunteers working
on international projects but that
don’t actually go abroad and that
don’t reach 50, 100 or 200 hours.
On average they have been doing
one big overseas trip a year, last
year they did the Mongolia Project
which was a month long. They had
65 young people who worked on
this project (but did not reach 50
hours) and then only 8 of them
actually went to Mongolia.
They have lots of projects running
throughout the year to do with
global citizenship such as a Cycle
across Wales which is their one big
Wales wide project that they have
every year. They also have regional
and peer education projects.
They’re biggest issue is funding, if
they had more money they would
certainly be prepared to organise
more international opportunities
throughout the year.
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MV50 Employee
Under 25s
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Over 25s
Pretty much the
same as classic – if it
covers any types of
volunteering
You get paid in a job
so that’s not
volunteering
It’s a good idea but
not many people will
do it
Pointless category!
Great idea
Can you get a
certificate in this area
if you are
unemployed and
volunteering? (in a
charity shop)
Shows people in
employment they can
volunteer and work
at the same time
Extra achievements
to be gained whilst in
work
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Happy with this
Question the value
Will (large) companies be
able to apply for this
funding? Does this seem
fair? What companies will
be eligible?
Sometimes quite limited
e.g. 1 hour lunch / 1 day a
year might not achieve 50
hours for a long time
Delivery Partners
DP 1
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Great idea, especially for the young
people!
Will be a great benefit to the
business as it will make staff
happier and make them feel proud
of their work place. It will also
create a very good image and great
team building between the
employer and the employees.
Yes, they would be interested in
getting involved but a proposal
would need to be submitted to a
Manager first.
Yes, they think young people would
be interested but only 50% of them
will be interested in the actual
recognition.
If the business was to promote this
project they would require a
talk/presentation form the WCVA,
Employees would need to keep a
track of their own hours and
Debbie would do a launch and
oversee the whole thing but is
really restricted with time.
The business might be able to
finically support this project in the
way organisation have with the
MV50 Sport – again proposal would
need to be submitted!
Ways in which the business would
market this project is to advertise it
on the intranet and big screens,
posters and in meetings.
Potential problem would be the
age. They have an age policy;
promoting recognition for only 16 –
25 may not look and appear
discriminatory.
Q – Are there any charities it
doesn’t cover and do they have to
be UK based?
Q – If you take part in a charity race
or hike, could this be classed as
volunteering?
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DP 2
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Absolutely loves the idea and
definitely wants to be involved, but
really hates the name and wouldn’t
really want to hand out MV50
Employee certificates. Thinks MV
should be ditched all together and
Millennium was nearly 12 years ago
– new scheme, totally different
name.
Each department has an allocated
amount of hours that Employees
can use for volunteering (each
Employee is not restricted to just
one day per year).
16 – 25 is a very good age group as
a high percentage of their
employees fit within this category.
A lot of the employees are also
students who attend Cardiff
University and are looking for as
much experience and opportunities
as possible.
If the young people start doing
MV50, they could then potently be
encouraged to continue doing 100
and 200 hours in their own time.
They offer a great range of
volunteering and seem to get very
involved with the local communities
and many charities across Wale.
They are involved in the Golden
Jubilee Scheme – have been
advised to have a look at the packs
online.
They are very keen to be involved
and would appreciate having their
logo presented on the leaflets and
posters etc... as it will set a great
image for the company. They have
included us in their funding bid but
it would only be something like
£500.
Big Q – all employees who go out
and volunteer do it in their work
time so would this be classed as
volunteering as they are still getting
paid by the company?
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MV50 Accreditation
Under 25s
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Over 25s
Possibly a new name
Hard to understand
Change name of
accreditation –
sounds like a
programme going on
to higher education
Gain qualification
from volunteering,
which you may do
anyway
Very useful and a
great idea
Encourages people to
volunteer
Universities interest
in the certificate –
will they get on
board?
While you’re in Uni
they don’t promote
volunteering
Specialist Uni’s don’t
recognise MV
Will it cross borders
to Uni’s and Colleges
etc... in England?
Motivating
Boost chances of
getting into Uni
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Sounds like too much
work
Needed by some young
people
Delivery Partners
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Great idea.
Once a volunteer completes 50
hours through MV they can then go
on to do an Agored Cymru (OCN).
There are levels 1, 2, and 3 and
costs about £20 - £24 per person
for the booklet and certificate.
This is supported by the YMCA
College in that area.
Problems would definitely be time
(a lot of paperwork and
monitoring), funding and selecting
of volunteers to do this (i.e. 25
volunteers per volunteer centre).
Volunteers can back date within the
academic year.
Certificates do take a very long time
to come through and are only
issued once a year (August).
Quite popular and very beneficial to
NEET young people especially. With
youth employment at its highest it’s
definitely something we can think
about.
Conclusion
At the end of my research, even though mostly positive it did appear that there are a few
questions that need answering and certainly a few things that need looking at and adjusting.
Questions
o Is there a need for so many MV50 categories?
o Can young people gain MV50 certificates in more than one area?
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Things to do and amend
o Look at the age range and names of both MV50 Schools & Star – do we need to
change the age to 14 – 19, could we group Schools and Star to one award and what
name could use to make it more appealing?
o Conduct more research into MV50 Employee – are there more businesses that could
get involved, do we need an MV50 Employee or could we just work with them more
to promote and offer MV in general?!
o Other areas of volunteering that people feel should be highlighted and categorised is
Uniformed Services and Social Care – do we feel this would be appropriate and is this
something we could do more research into?
o Develop marketing – improve website, develop facebook and twitter accounts,
create a newsletter. In the majority of young people I surveyed they hadn’t even
heard of MV!!! Better marketing would create more sign-ups to MV50 and the
knowledge and encourage for progression onto 100 and 200 MV certificates!
Next MV50
o Global COULD be next – it appeared to be the most popular and easiest group of
them all to target.
o Accreditation COULD also be next – even though it didn’t have a huge amount of
positive feedback and the name will certainly need to be re-evaluated, it does show
that there is a need particularly for NEET young people and with the current
economical climate the way it is, there definitely is support available to launch this
award!
So... WATCH THIS SPACE ☺
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