The project Leading and Learning – Connecting Nordic Museums and Archives in Volunteer Leadership, is a continuation of the previous Nordic Academy for Volunteer Management, and focused on improving and professionalising the work with volunteers in museums and archives. Leading and Learning focused in particular on involving the archive sector, and it ran between 2021-24.
Within Leading and Learning, a survey of volunteer activities at archives in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was carried out. Link to the report on the survey in English.
We have also developed an educational material that can be found below.
Educational Materials for Volunteer Management in Museums and Archives
The material contains three parts:
1. Basis for the development of a volunteer policy.
2. Examples of volunteer activities at museums and archives in the Nordic countries.
3. Dilemmas to discuss in a group.
The material is available in English and several Nordic languages. It can be downloaded as a PDF. The material can be used for your own further training within the organisation or as a basis for a course.
The material has been developed jointly by the parties in the project. Responsible for the production have been Lowissa Wallgren Frånberg, Jamtli in Sweden, Annika Johansson, Skansen in Sweden and Ulla Rohunen Werstas Museum in Finland.
1. Basis for the development of a volunteer policy
Anyone who wants to have a well-functioning volunteer organisation needs to do the groundwork. A discussion should be held in the the organisation’s management team and anchored firmly with the staff. The material contains questions that we believe you need to take a stand on, regardless of whether you already have volunteers or if you want to start up with a new volunteer activity.
- Why do we want to engage volunteers?
- What tasks will the volunteers perform?
- Which volunteers are welcome?
- What are our requirements?
- How do we motivate our volunteers?
- How should we communicate with our volunteers?
- What can volunteers get from us?
- Safety and security in the assignment?
A guide to make a volunteer policy – Danish
A guide to make a volunteer policy – English
A guide to make a volunteer policy – Finnish
A guide to make a volunteer policy – Norwegian
A guide to make a volunteer policy – Swedish
2. Examples of volunteer activities at museums and archives in the Nordic countries
Volunteers can be directly linked to the organisation, engaged through an association that owns or collaborates with the cultural institution. They may be engaged in the activities that take place behind the scenes, such as: transcription, registration, or digitisation. They can participate in the meeting with visitors, audiences or guests. Some volunteers live their lives together with the organisation and have a long-term commitment and a burning interest. Others are temporarily involved and take on occasional assignments.
What kind of volunteers would you like to invite to your organisation?
Below are a number of examples of different types of volunteering. Every museum and archive is different. Volunteering takes place in different ways. The examples are meant to be used as inspiration.
Examples of volunteer activities in archives and museums – Danish
Examples of volunteer activities in archives and museums – English
Examples of volunteer activities in archives and museums – Finnish
Examples of volunteer activities in archives and museums – Norwegian
Examples of volunteer activities in archives and museums – Swedish
3. Dilemmas to discuss in a group
The following dilemmas are intended as a basis for discussions that can lead to greater security and preparedness for problems that may arise in relation to volunteer activities. They can be used for discussion within the organisation or in connection with meetings between organisations.
We have tested the following working method in the project:
Form groups of 3-4 people in each group.
Choose 3-4 dilemmas to discuss in each group.
Spread out in different places.
Discuss each dilemma for a maximum of 15-20 minutes.
Gather after about 60 minutes.
What did you come up with?
Dilemmas for printing – Danish
Dilemmas for printing – English
Dilemmas for printing – Finnish
Dilemmas for printing – Norwegian
Dilemmas for printing – Swedish
More knowledge about Volunteer Management
What motivates museum staff in the Nordic countries to have or to not have volunteers? What are the challenges and opportunities? Read more about it here.
What motivates volunteers to volunteer at museums in the Nordic countries? Read more about it here.
Would you like tips and advice on how to develop volunteer activities in museums? Read more here.
Would you like to read a collection of articles by authors committed to exploring and improving our understanding of volunteering in the Nordic countries in areas such as sport, social work and cultural heritage? If so, read Nordic Figurations of Volunteering.
