Audits and Monitoring

Well whats been going on this week? Audit city thats what. Like many other charities our work is monitored on a continual basis and regular audits form part of our work pattern. This time it was our Funding Adviser and our Volunteering Accreditation project which got the treatment. The person conducting the audit was really interested in HVA's work which makes a nice change and could really see what we were seeking to achieve with the project. Basically we are setting up a process through which volunteers can ger their skills formally recorded and then work towards a recognised qualification (Certificate in Community Volunteering Levels 1 and 2). Simultaneously we are doing some employer engagement work to encourage a behaviour change so that they recognise the skills obtained through volunteering when they recruit for paid staff. It also gets them to think about the contribution they could make to the community and how they might support members of their own staff who are volunteers. The monitoring officer was also a volunteer which made it easier to get over what we were doing and why. It must have worked because the poster advertising the programme now adorns the conference room in the Borough Councils regeneration unit which means we must have made an impact!!