Voluntary Sector Data

How do Canadians volunteer? What are the characteristics of the Canadian voluntary sector, and how does it compare internationally? Recent research has shed light on these and many other questions, outlining the types and contributions of the individuals and organizations that make up the sector. It has also highlighted new areas for investigation.

The importance of evidence-based information

Evidence-based information is the key to effective policy and program development across the voluntary sector. That's why the Public Health Agency of Canada's Office of the Voluntary Sector (OVS) is playing a leadership role in assessing available data on the voluntary sector and in promoting the development of enhanced, sustainable evidence-based information on voluntary sector involvement in health and health service delivery in Canada.

Knowledge gained from these broad OVS data-related activities will help the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Health Canada and partners within the federal health portfolio gain a better understanding of the range of voluntary sector health stakeholders, their needs and interests. This will, in turn, allow the Agency, through OVS, to make the best decisions on appropriate policy and programming directions for capacity building work with voluntary health partners in PHAC priority areas such as health promotion, disease prevention and emergency preparedness and response.

Current data sources

In recent years the Government of Canada and Canada's voluntary sector have worked to increase data on the voluntary sector from a variety of perspectives (i.e.  individual, organizational, economic impact). Current sources on Canada's voluntary sector include:

• The National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations , which provides organizational profiles and information on the sector's financial and human resources;

• The Satellite Account of Nonprofit Institutions and Volunteering , which provides annual data on the sector's contribution to national gross domestic product;

• The Johns Hopkins Comparative Non-profit Sector Project , which discusses the characteristics and contributions of Canadian non-profit and voluntary organizations from an international perspective; and

• The Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating , released by Statistics Canada in June 2006. The CSGVP is a household survey of charitable giving, volunteering and participatory behaviour which outlines the characteristics of donors and volunteers and the frequency and type of their participation, and provides details on motivations and barriers to giving and volunteering.

The Office of the Voluntary Sector (OVS) has created the following summaries of key data from the various surveys:

• Update on Voluntary Sector Surveys, February 2005

• Overview of Voluntary Sector Surveys, by Theme Area, July 2005

• Measuring the Impact of the Voluntary Health Sector, 2007

Recognizing Canada's voluntary sector

These surveys and research reports offer insight into the extent and significance of the role of volunteers and voluntary organizations across all regions of Canada. For example, the CSGVP reveals that:

• During 2004, nearly 12 million Canadians, or 45% of the population aged 15 and over, did some volunteering through a group or organization;
• Canadian volunteer contributions totaled almost 2 billion hours in 2004: the equivalent of one million full-time jobs; and
• Canadians also provided substantial help to others directly, without a formal organization or group being involved. About 60% provided help at an individual's home, the most common activity, while 50% provided health-related or personal care, including unpaid babysitting or visiting an elderly person.

The voluntary sector and health - filling the gaps

While the CSGVP offers solid data on both formal and informal volunteering, it provides little information on the extent of voluntary sector contributions to health and health service delivery in Canada. In an effort to fill in the gaps, the OVS convened a joint federal/voluntary sector Consultation on the State of Data Relating to Volunteering, the Voluntary Sector and Health. The consultation goals were threefold: to examine the potential for analysis and improved use of existing data; to identify gaps in existing data; and to look at new opportunities for gathering, presenting and disseminating voluntary sector data.

Among the consultation participants' recommendations was a proposal for the development of a statistical profile of volunteering and the voluntary sector outlining current contributions and capacity- building potential in the areas of health status, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, health care, and emergency preparedness and response.Consultation participants also identified effective communication and presentation of information as keys to successful data use, emphasizing that information on voluntary sector contributions to health be presented simply and briefly to stakeholders across the country through a range of communication vehicles.

Pointing the way forward

The OVS - in conjunction with data development and dissemination partners across PHAC, Health Canada, the voluntary sector, and government departments concerned with voluntary sector/health issues, will continue to play an active leadership role in making information available and accessible to government and voluntary sector stakeholders, and in identifying areas for future work.