Volunteering and Social Development : A Background Paper for Discussion at an Expert Group Meeting New York by Justin Davis - October 1999

Contents

Introduction

Section 1: Meanings and Definitions

Section 2: A Typology of Volunteering

Mutual Aid or Self-Help

Philanthropy or Service to Others

Participation

Advocacy or Campaigning

Section 3: The Benefits of Volunteering

The Economic Benefits of Volunteering

Social Capital

Benefits to the Volunteer

Section 4: Issues and Challenges for Volunteering

Globalization

Relations with the State

Relations with the Market

Section 5: Government Support for Volunteering

Recognition

Facilitation

Promotion

Special Measures

References

Dr Justin Davis Smith is the (founding) Director of the Institute for Volunteering Research, and Head of Research for the National Centre for Volunteering, both in England. He has overseen the development of the latter into one of the leading international research agencies on volunteering and voluntary sector studies. Dr. Davis Smith has written extensively on the subject, and was responsible for producing the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering in the UK. The paper in this website was commissioned by UNV as the main background document for an Expert Group Meeting discussing Volunteering and Social Development, convened to present recommendations to the United Nations Secretariat for the Geneva Special Session in January 2000.