Staffing and project costs

The resources required to support the opportunity will depend on the way you choose to work with an organisation. Whilst brokering opportunities can be a relatively light touch approach, partnership projects can be resource heavy due to the the size and scale of overseas volunteering opportunities. This is the case in particular during the pre-departure phase due to the amount of administration involved, and therefore requires a sufficient level of staff commitment.

Staffing

Staff roles may include the project organiser, administrative support, and staff required for sign off on various documents such as an MOU or the risk assessment. To help ensure the staffing needs for a partnership project can be met it is important to consider:

  • The delivery model including the number of volunteers required and the timescale for recruitment, pre-departure preparation, project delivery and returned volunteers activity
  • The financial model and management
  • The development of project documents e.g. role descriptions, project policies
  • Use of the relevant systems, policies and processes
  • Management of health and safety
  • The marketing and recruitment process
  • Pre-departure logistics and administration including flights, visas, vaccinations etc.
  • Pre-departure training and support for the volunteers, including fundraising support
  • Management of the project delivery
  • Post-project requirements

Identifying the related project management and administration requirements can feed into the agreement with the organisation with regards to each partners responsibilities.

Project costs

The total cost of an overseas volunteering project tends to range from £1000 to £2,500 per student depending on the length of project and where in the world it takes place. Costs include:

  • Administration costs, for example for recruitment and pre-departure preparation including any training, handbooks and pre-departure support;
  • ‘Getting there’ including flights, visas, vaccinations and travel insurance;
  • In-country costs such as accommodation, staff support, local orientation, project-related travel and any meals.
  • Additional fundraising, some organisations ask their volunteers to raise a specific amount of money on top of the above costs, to go towards the work of the charity.

Keeping project costs affordable and realistic is an important aspect of the planning stage, as this can be a barrier for many students to engage. Thought should be given to how this can be managed, for example by providing part-funding for students. This could be linked to criteria such as students from a widening participation background.

Fundraising is considered a very important aspect of overseas volunteering, helping students to engage with the cause, communicate the project to others, and develop valuable skills. It is also a large factor in commitment to overseas opportunities and supporting the students to fundraise should be factored in to the pre-departure process. The Volunteering and Community Engagement Team has advice for students fundraising for overseas volunteering, including using the University's crowdfunding platform.

Students will also require some spending money, which will depend on the local living costs, and what students plan to do in their spare time.