Volunteer Centre Skopje continues with the activities related to the project “Towards Effective Humanitarian Volunteering” – TEHV for the EU Aid Volunteers program.

Between 1-3.12.2020 online trainings were held which presented tools and ways to properly determine the needs of the host organization, the needs of the volunteers, as well as the proper evaluation of the project results.

On the first day we were presented with the tool “Cultural Compass”, a website where you can compare two or more countries according to several indexes – power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. This tool is very useful because it indicates the cultural and economic differences between the country of the host organization and the country of the volunteer and therefore the needs, expectations, and adjustments of the host organization can be determined.

The second tool that was presented to us is a “Needs assessment” questionnaire that every organization should have and which refers to determining the gap between the current results and potential/possible results. It refers to what are the needs of the community, what is needed for volunteers to bridge the gap from their current results to potential and possible results. It shows ways in which volunteers will be involved in the organization, appreciation of their work, support and motivating for creativity and innovation, accepting cultural differences and involvement in the local community by adapting to local management/leadership styles, and respecting local cultural norms.

The questionnaire should also contain data on the technical possibilities, needs, and creation of a pleasant and safe working environment.

On the second day, we continued with the training in which we practically answered the questions from the “Needs assessment” questionnaire in groups, exchanged ideas and thoughts about the expectations and doubts/fears of the organization and the volunteers, and ways to reach out to them. We build strategies for recruiting and motivating volunteers as well as evolving project results and impact on local communities.

The third training was about the evolution of volunteer management, inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact, data collection through which the effort can be accurately and correctly determined data on how many participants in the target group were covered by the training, knowledge gained, and practical impact on the community.

With this training, Volunteer Centre Skopje strengthened its capacities related to volunteer management and building strategies for needs recognition and evaluation, as well as for motivating and recruiting volunteers.VCS tirelessly continues its work in the field of humanism and volunteering in these difficult times of global pandemic.

Josip Gegaj

Andrej Naumovski