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Hi everyone, To add one more perspective on this topic, here is the report from a study I did with Nicola Buckley at the University of Cambridge on, 'The Role of University Student Volunteers in Festival-based Public Engagement’. http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publication/student_volunteers_in_festivals.pdf The study included both student volunteers and festival organisers. A key concluding point: ‘It must be understood that if they are to be used most effectively, student volunteers are not free labour. Staff time, training and resources are required and these activities require funding and careful planning and attention.' Best wishes, Eric --------------- Dr Eric Jensen, Fellow Higher Education Academy Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer), Department of Sociology, University of Warwick http://warwick.academia.edu/EricJensen Latest book: - Doing Real Research (SAGE): https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/doing-real-research/book241193 Check out a sample chapter here - https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/73894_Jensen_Chapter_6.pdf Sociology at the University of Warwick ranked: The Guardian, Complete University Guide and The Times Good University Guide – 3rd QS World University Ranking - 23rd On 5 Sep 2018, at 20:14, Katherine Mathieson <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: Hi all I’ve been following the conversation about volunteers and science festivals with interest because I recognise the competing pressures of wanting to deliver good quality live events on modest budgets and give enthusiastic science communicators opportunities to build up their experience, while also recognising that unpaid internships/work experience act as a barrier to social mobility, social justice and improving diversity in the science engagement sector. I doubt there is a single model that will work for everyone, but I’m happy to share the British Science Association’s (BSA) current approach as MK suggested, in case it’s useful to you or in case you can suggest further improvements we could make. At the British Science Festival, we rely on the skills and enthusiasm of around 25 “Festival Assistants”. Roles vary but typically they work for five or so days on-site. They work to a schedule we give them and are welcome to attend public events outside their working hours. All of them are paid – either at or above the living wage. We advertise all these roles externally via our website. Until about five or six years ago, at least some of these roles were available as volunteer roles – we would offer to pay for travel and accommodation in lieu of a wage, and this option was usually more attractive (and had higher financial value) for people who lived a long way from the Festival’s host city. As I recall, this option was wound down because of guidance from HMRC that the same role cannot be offered as either paid or volunteer (and I can see the point of that guidance). It also helps the Festival to contribute to the local economy. I believe, based on feedback from the Assistants themselves, that the British Science Festival’s Assistant roles provide useful experience of our sector and that they are enjoyable. But they are business critical roles for us, with a fixed schedule of work and compulsory (paid) training – and therefore we believe they should be paid. There are many people working in the science engagement sector now (including at the BSA) who have worked or volunteered as Festival Assistants in the past and they may have a useful perspective to add here. However, at the BSA, we do recognise the value of volunteers. Our Branch volunteers organise public science events that reach hundreds of thousands of people every year, across the UK. Our Section volunteers help prepare Festival talks and other events on cutting edge research. These people are volunteers; they have much more control over when and how they engage with us, and much more autonomy over (for example) the content and format of the events. Many of our volunteers are volunteering as part of their professional commitment to public engagement, though we also have many volunteers who are students, retired or otherwise volunteering in their own time. We also occasionally host people who are doing work experience as part of a recognised academic or educational programme. For example, we host a few one-week work experiences for teenagers each year as part of a Social Mobility Foundation programme, and we host people doing projects as part of funded PhDs. Please bear in mind that I’m not a specialist in HR practice or employment law. I hope this insight is useful to you. Feedback is very welcome – I’m [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Thanks K Katherine Mathieson Chief Executive British Science Association 165 Queens Gate, London, SW7 5HD www.britishscienceassociation.org<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.britishscienceassociation.org&c=E,1,uoZ65jJOMV8oD8P_XZy_UgHNa3xToJSJOkKD8LL-m11KftZjHEa5dGmsRWEG0Pb4s5jzfrTbIaLUNlTSx3jQ3FDsiN9OlEEK7RX8wjnm9gBGE-w_MLWbDzbIsQ,,&typo=1> @BritSciAssoc<http://www.twitter.com/britsciassoc> | @Kath_Math ********************************************************************** psci-com how-to: Once subscribed, send emails for the list to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. 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