Volunteering in the cultural sector in the East Midlands

CFE was commissioned by Arts Council England, Museums Libraries and Archives Council East Midlands, Renaissance East Midlands and English Heritage to identify the number of organisations benefiting from volunteering and the number of people engaged in volunteering in the arts, museums, libraries, archives and the wider heritage sectors in the East Midlands. The research also explored the value of volunteering to individuals and communities including links to community empowerment and demonstrated the benefits of volunteering in the cultural sector through case studies.

The research used a combination of research techniques including a literature review, an online survey of volunteers and volunteer managers, and qualitative interviews with stakeholders.  

Full report

The full report presents the findings from our research on volunteering in the cultural sector in the East Midlands. Key findings from the research include:

  • there are approximately 82,000 volunteers in the cultural sector in the East Midlands
  • volunteers demonstrated a high level of civic engagement with 95 per cent of respondent volunteers having voted in the last general election
  • one in five (20%) of the cultural organisations surveyed were members of Local Strategic Partnerships and 16 per cent were members of cultural forums
  • nearly one third (29%) of volunteers wanted managerial training, as opposed to only 13% of volunteer managers who felt that they required it
  • nearly all the volunteers surveyed (98%) said they volunteer as they enjoy getting satisfaction from the results of their volunteering
  • two thirds (67%) of volunteer managers surveyed believed that their organisation would not be able to fulfil its aims without volunteers

The report makes a series of recommendations for cultural sector policymakers, cultural organisations, Third Sector infrastructure organisations, regional agencies, local government and the Cultural Improvement Partnership East Midlands including:

  • working closely with the wider Third Sector infrastructure to increase the cultural sector’s proportion of volunteers as a whole
  • establishing initiatives to encourage more volunteers from diverse backgrounds to volunteer in the cultural sector
  • encouraging organisations and partners to develop further training opportunities for volunteers

The full report can be found here.

Executive summary

This document provides a summary of the full report and contains key findings, conclusions and recommendations from the research. 

The executive summary can be found here.

Case studies

The case studies provide further insight into the role of volunteers in the cultural sector across the five main areas of museums, libraries, archives, the arts, and the wider heritage sector.

The case studies accompany the full report and provide examples of effective practice for cultural organisations when working with volunteers. The case studies also demonstrate explicit links between the role of volunteers in the cultural sector and National Indicators.

Citizens’ Eye
Hosted by Leicester City Library, the Citizens’ Eye Community News Agency encourages and enables a network of over 25 volunteers to become ‘Citizen Reporters’. Volunteers can develop their skills and interests through contributing to a range of publications created by Citizens’ Eye. 

This case study can be found here.

Surtal Asian Arts
Surtal Asian Arts is a vibrant Asian arts organisation which promotes South Asian arts and culture in Derby, Derbyshire and the East Midlands region. Volunteers from the local community provide a range of support including organising festivals and community based art programmes and helping out with the promotion of activities.

This case study can be found here.

Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire

The Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire aims to promote, conserve and enhance the historic environment of the county. The Trust is currently trying to widen the demographic profile of the volunteers they work with through projects such as ‘Heritage Open Days’.

This case study can be found here.

Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum

Ran entirely by volunteers, Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum has a vast collection of photographs and artefacts that are on display in a Victorian bungalow, itself a living piece of history. The museum manages to unite the local population through local events and activities.

This case study can be found here.

Lincolnshire Archives

Lincolnshire County Council’s Archive Office, Lincolnshire Archives, preserves a range of archived literature, historic material and microfilms related to the county of Lincolnshire. Volunteers are involved in a variety of activities including the Retro Conversion project which used a dedicated team of volunteers to work flexibly to word-process existing archived materials.

This case study can be found here.

Galleries of Justice

Volunteers support has been embedded in the Galleries of Justice through links with the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, Her Majesty’s Prison Service and the Nottingham Volunteer Bureau.

Volunteering activity has enabled the museum to set up a café for visitors which is a key source of income for the museum.

This case study can be found here.

People Express
People Express is a community arts organisation providing an artistic programme of training and learning opportunities, which extend people’s skills. Volunteers undertake task such as facilitation, marketing or event management.

This case study can be found here.



For more information please contact Abigail Diamond or Elizabeth Davies on 0116 229 3300.