The State of Volunteering Infrastructure Globally

This paper provides an overview of the state of volunteering infrastructure globally. The study that informs this paper was originally commissioned as background research to the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2018. Different kinds of data provide the basis for the analysis. The main global trends identified are the continued expansion and convergence of volunteering infrastructure; innovations in technology, modalities and partnerships; and new support for inclusion through volunteering. Key trends are also matched with challenges that show the tensions and contradictions inherent in volunteering infrastructure as affected by the context and the available resources. The findings also highlight that not all volunteering infrastructure is positive and that some interventions can have negative consequences for volunteerism by being restrictive, repressive, and exclusive.