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Description
The concept of the project is the result of partners'' experience in the field of burnout, stress, motivation decrease and even depression of ngo volunteers as a result of facing difficult stories of their protégés - children in difficult situations/with a traumatic past. The project meets the needs of these people by creating a universal, modular training programme for volunteers (goal) using the experience of Norwegian ngos, gathered in best practices report and also offering tools enabling precise selection of training modules for specific case (guide for trainers). As a result of the project, volunteers will be strengthened and motivated, which will lead to their better and longer work to the benefit of final beneficiaries - children. The project will have a significant impact on ngo and children in Poland, but also on organisations in Norway and other EU countries. It has the scalability potential to other groups, working with people at risk of exclusion.
Summary of project results
The modular training and development programme for volunteers working with children responds to the need of Polish non-profit organisations of access to professional methods, techniques and tools for implementation of development programmes dedicated to the above group. The need for professionalization of management in Polish non-profit organisations has been identified in various reports (e.g. Klon-Jawor association) examining the condition of Polish NGOs, as well as noticed by Verum Foundation and Coedro during their cooperation with non-governmental organisations. This view was even more clearly expressed in the conclusions of the study (Klon-Jawor) carried out during the pandemic. NGOs focused on caring for children and engaging volunteers struggle with the problem of maintaining long-term cooperation with them. Difficult topics the volunteers deal with have a significant impact on their motivation, the way they cope with stress and their burnout. Organisations that can offer training and development programmes gain a team of loyal volunteers, but what most important in this project - motivated and committed volunteers have a very positive impact on the welfare of their pupils. These values of the Programme were confirmed during the pilot with the participation of non-ptofit organisations. The results of the project are: Modular Training Programme (IO 2 – in Polish, English, Norwegian), which consists of 6 methods of individual and group work, 6 extensive thematic modules and over 30 exercises, techniques and tools for individual and group work. In addition, a methodical guide has been developed for those undertaking training in non-profit organisations (IO 3 – in Polish, English, Norwegian) also available in the form of an e-course (Polish, English). The inspiration for this comprehensive Programme dedicated to Polish non-profit organisations was the Best Practice Report (IO 1 – in English and Norwegian) prepared by the Norwegian partner. The report contains an analysis of the research carried out in Norwegian NGOs, highlights the solutions that increase the motivation and commitment of volunteers, and also shares ideas and proposals for exercises and workshops.
Summary of bilateral results
The cooperation made it possible to understand the phenomenon of the high involvement of Norwegian citizens in the non-governmental organisations. The maturity of non-profit organisations in Norway, resulting from a high level of professionalism of management, as well as the use of various solutions to strengthen motivation and commitment of ownvolunteers taking care of people at risk of exclusion, especially children, allowed the Polish partners to benefit from this rich experience. Thanks to this, Polish NGOs that haven’t so far had access to professional training resources gained a comprehensive modular training and development programme and the methodology of its implementation in their own organisations. The cooperation with a partner from one of the Donor States resulted in new ideas, which naturally led to the decision of continuation o the cooperation in another project. The proposal submitted in the 2nd call, which was approved for funding, concerns an e-course project for volunteers working with children "Motivus - motivation and resilience in times of crisis" and is a response to the challenges and problems that were revealed by the pandemic.