What motivates volunteer participation: a summary of the Threatened Bird Network survey Janelle Thomas, Meghan Cullen, Danielle Hedger and Caroline Wilson, 2015
Introduction The Threatened Bird Network (TBN) is a national volunteer based program aimed at encouraging community participation in conservation tasks for threatened birds. Established in 1996, TBN has linked community members with a range of opportunities, such as bird surveys, recovery programs and training workshops. TBN has over 6000 members, who volunteer on a range of threatened bird recovery projects. The basic functions of TBN are to match volunteers with conservation activities and vice versa, build the capacity and skills of the volunteers, and enhance the efforts of bird conservation projects, especially community based efforts. In October 2013, an anonymous survey was sent out to all TBN members (via email or hardcopy), in order to gain an insight into the current member demographics and volunteering motivation and involvement. From this survey, 551 members responded and their answers and feedback were collated. This report will outline feedback and general themes recorded in the surveys, addressing five main areas: 1. Member demographic 2. Volunteer involvement 3. Attitudes towards TBN communication 4. Preferred project characteristics 5. General discussion 1
1. Member demographic The sex ratio of survey respondents was relatively even (51% male and 49% female), and the age of respondents ranged from 18 to over 85 years old (Figure 1). A large proportion of respondents were between the ages of 55 and 74 years, while 18 to 34 year olds made up the smallest portion of respondents (see Figure 1). Percentage of respondents 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 18 34 35 54 55 74 75+ Age group Figure 1. The percentage of survey respondents within age group classes. Over half of respondents were retired (52%), with the remaining being employed in full time work (22%), part-time work (16%), other work (i.e. volunteering; 8%), and studying or unemployed (5%). Of the respondents that provided their postcode, 35% reported being residents of Victoria, 24% New South Wales, 14% Queensland, 12% South Australia, 9% Western Australia, 3% Tasmania, 1% Northern Territory, and 0.2% countries other than Australia. The higher number of members in south eastern Australia possibly reflects a combination of population, BirdLife Australia representation in these regions and the lower number of project partners across Northern Australia and Tasmania. 2
As well as being TBN members, 85% of respondents belonged to one or more other environmental group. Of these, 64% belonged to a Conservation, Land Care or Coast Care group, 60% belonged to a Bird Club, 19% were members of a Field Naturalist Club, and 23% were a member of other groups. Of the survey respondents that belonged to an environmental group other than TBN, 26% were also committee members, demonstrating a greater commitment to these groups. However, being a member of a committee didn t appear to influence the amount of time respondents spent volunteering with TBN projects; of respondents that never volunteered, 25% were on a committee, while of the respondents that volunteered occasionally or at least once per year, 31% were on a committee. 2. Volunteer involvement 2.1. Member experience and motivation in volunteering A large proportion of TBN members that responded (72%) had considerable (> 2 years) experience in volunteering for both TBN and other organizations, 12% had some experience (1-2 years), 11% had little experience (< 1 year) and 5% had no experience. The level of volunteering experience differed slightly between the different age classes; fewer respondents in the 18-34 age category had >2 years experience compared to the other age classes, especially the 75+ age class (see Appendix 2). Results suggested that making a difference and viewing birds were the strongest motivators for respondents to volunteer with TBN, with 84% and 66% of people selecting these factors respectively. Community involvement and skill development were the next strongest motivators with 31% and 29% of all respondents being 3
motivated by these factors respectively. When examining these patterns in relation to age group, all groups were most strongly motivated by making a difference except for the 75+ age group in which viewing birds was found to be a slightly higher motivator (Figure 2). The category work experience was rated the lowest motivator for all age groups, except the 18-34 age group who where least motivated by socializing (Figure 2). Percentage of respondents 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 75+ 55 74 35 54 18 34 Motivation to volunteer Figure 2. Percentage of survey respondents in each motivation to volunteer category, according to their age bracket. Note: Respondents were able to choose more than one category. TBN offer a range of activities that volunteers can be involved in to assist in threatened bird recovery. Of these activities, respondents appeared to be more interested in undertaking field based activities (bird counts, monitoring, habitat protection, habitat restoration and technical tasks [radio tracking/banding]), compared to education, raising awareness and administration (see Figure 3). 4
Percentage of respondents 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 75+ 55 74 35 54 18 34 Interests when volunteering Figure 3. Percentage of survey respondents in each interests when volunteering category, according to their age bracket. Note: Respondents were able to choose more than one category. 2.2. Participation in TBN projects Of those that responded to the survey, 31% of respondents had never participated in a TBN project, 30% volunteer occasionally (not every year) and 39% volunteer at least once per year. Of those that volunteer at least once per year, 34% contribute significant volunteer time; volunteering more than 12 times per year (see Figure 4). Percentage of respondents 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 > 12 Number of days per year Figure 4. Percentage of how often survey respondents (who volunteer at least once per year) participate in TBN projects or associated activities. 5
The rate in which survey respondents volunteered with TBN projects did not differ greatly across most states, except for the Northern Territory where survey participants had either never (80% of respondents) volunteered or only volunteered occasionally (20% of respondents) and Tasmania where 46% of respondents had never volunteered (See Figure 5). The low number of project partners and advertised activities in Tasmania and the Northern Territory is a likely factor in explaining the reduced volunteer participation observed in these regions. Percentage of survey respondents 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 NT NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS Never Occasionally At least once a year State Figure 5. Percentage of how often survey respondents volunteer for each Australian state. The frequency at which survey respondents volunteered with TBN projects (never, occasionally or at least once per year) was similar within most age categories, except the 35-54 and 75+ categories (Figure 6). Within the 35-54 age bracket, more respondents fell within the two categories never or occasionally, whereas a larger proportion of the 75+ age bracket volunteered at least once a year (Figure 6). These differences in volunteer engagement are possibly due to time availability associated with career and family commitments or retirement (See Appendix 1), although this needs further investigation. 6
Percentage of survey respondents 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Never Occasionally At least once a year 0 18 34 35 54 55 74 75+ Age group Figure 6. Percentage of how often survey respondents volunteer within each age category. When survey respondents volunteered with TBN projects, 42% drove up to 50km to participate, 19% drove 50km - 100km, 12% drove 100 km -200km and 27% drove more than 200km. The majority (87%) of survey respondents that volunteered preferred to participate in one day activities, a smaller proportion (18%) preferred 2-3 day activities, 7% preferred 3-5 day activities and 11% preferred activities of more than 5 days. Of the survey respondents that never volunteer with TBN projects, 38% provided additional comments on why; 41% didn t volunteer as there were no volunteer opportunities in their area, 24% were too busy to volunteer, 16% required better communication about volunteer opportunities, 10% didn t volunteer for other reasons (i.e. health concerns) and 8% had no transport. Of these respondents, 22% said they would like to volunteer with TBN projects in the future. 7
3. Attitudes towards TBN communication Communication and recruitment of members is vital to the ongoing success of TBN. Of the survey respondents, over 62% had heard about TBN through Australian Birdlife magazine (previously known as Wingspan), a further 25% joined TBN after reading the TBN Volunteer newsletter (titled Volunteer ), and referrals from friends and family accounted for 7% of TBN memberships. The TBN newsletter ( Volunteer ) contains information on partner projects (i.e. updates on project results) and advertises upcoming volunteer activities and events. The TBN newsletter currently comes out every six months; however 73% of survey respondents indicated a preference for more frequent communication via the newsletter, with the strongest preference (28% of respondents) for a newsletter every two months (Table 1). Of those participants who received emails, 77% identified that they are happy with the amount of online communication, while only 12% of respondents requested more online communication. Table 1. Preferred frequency of the TBN newsletter. Preferred frequency of the TBN newsletter Percentage of respondents Every month 21% Every 2 months 28% Every 4 months 24% Every 6 months 19% Yearly 8% 8
4. Preferred project characteristics Respondents were asked to rate the importance of different aspects of volunteer activities, by scoring a series of statements (see Appendix 3), giving each statement a value of 1-5 (1 being not important, 5 being important). All responses were averaged and those with averages above 3.5 were considered the most important to respondents. The project characteristics that were the most important were goals of activities are clear (4.1), supervision friendly and helpful (4.0), providing regular feedback (3.8), activities occur outdoors (3.8) and involvement not costly (3.6; see Appendix 3). A total of 191 respondents provided written comments in the survey; this made up 35% of all respondents. The highest percentage of comments were in regard to not being able to volunteer due to restrictions associated with age, time and geographic location (22%; see Table 2). General comments were provided by 19% of respondents, which included thoughts on bird conservation and notifications about a change of contact details. Positive feedback about TBN was provided by 17% of respondents (Table 2); this included positive experiences when volunteering. A further 13% of respondents would like to see more events and activities in their local area (particularly for activities in Queensland and the Northern Territory), and 12% would like to see a general increase in communication, including suggestions for a monthly agenda of volunteer opportunities and an online calendar of activities. These comments reflect the preference indicated by respondents earlier in this report for a more regular TBN newsletter (see Attitudes Towards TBN Communication section). 9
A small proportion of comments referred to requests for increased notification time, more training for volunteers, more financial and logistical support for volunteers and more project partner feedback (see Table 2). Table 2. Comments made by survey participants. Comment Number of comments % Time/age/location makes volunteering difficult or not possible General comments (i.e. thoughts on bird conservation, change of address) Positive feedback (i.e. good experience volunteering, TBN helped promote my research) 42 22 37 19 33 17 More events/activities in local area 24 13 Increase general communication 23 12 More notifications about volunteer opportunities 11 6 Provide more training 5 3 Offer accommodation/reimbursements 4 2 Increase communication of results 4 2 General comments about BirdLife Australia 4 2 Enjoy newsletter, but are unable to volunteer 3 2 5. General discussion 5.1 Report conclusions Overall the survey results demonstrated that members were highly experienced, and enthusiastic to participate in TBN projects and make a difference to the environment. Members were generally satisfied with the level of communication TBN provided and nearly 80% of respondents would recommend TBN to friends and family. 10
A large proportion of survey respondents were between 55 and 74 years old and over half were retired. A large proportion (69%) of respondents had volunteered with TBN projects (occasionally or at least once per year), despite being part of one or more other environmental groups. Respondents that volunteered mostly preferred short term (one day) field-based volunteer activities, with nearly half also preferring to travel 50km or less to participate in a project. Less than one third of respondents had never volunteered with TBN projects; this was attributed to not enough projects close to home, time restrictions and lack of transport. Results from this survey reflect the high number of TBN members that are located in south eastern Australia and further highlights the greater number of local volunteer opportunities in south eastern Australia compared to regions such as Northern Australia and Tasmania. It is important that future goals for TBN include greater networking of project partners and increased community engagement in these regions. TBN communicates to members about volunteer opportunities and project updates through emails alerts, a detailed newsletter and frequent updates on the TBN webpage and Facebook page (launched in October 2014). The majority of survey respondents were happy with the level of online communication. The newsletter was also a popular form of communication, with a large number of survey respondents preferring a more regular newsletter. Valuable feedback provided in the surveys will assist in guiding the future direction of TBN, to enhance and improve aspects of both the Threatened Bird Network program and partner projects. Suggestions that we will take on board include: a 11
quarterly e-newsletter, an online events calendar, a focus on field based volunteer opportunities and increased project partnerships and community engagement in remote regions. 5.2 Acknowledgements We would like to thank all of the TBN members that participated in this survey. The time that you took to complete this survey is important for TBN so that we can enhance volunteer experiences, provide rewarding volunteer opportunities, and continue to effectively engage the community in threatened bird conservation. 12
100% 90% Percentage of respondents 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Other Unemployed Retired Full time work Part time work Student 0% 18 34 35 54 55 74 75+ Age group Appendix 1. The age distribution and occupation of survey respondents. 100% Percentage of respondents 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 18 34 35 54 55 74 75+ >2 years 1 2 years <1 year None Age group Appendix 2. The percentage of survey respondents in each age group according to their years of experience. 13
Appendix 3. Rating preferences for volunteers in response to a number of questions and statements. N = number of respondents range of each question. Average rating for each question displayed. Rating (Percentage of respondents) Survey Question N 1 2 3 4 5 Seeing target species 453 14.6 14.6 31.6 23.0 16.3 3.1 Target species is rare 453 20.0 16.0 25.4 21.0 17.9 3.0 Average rating Activity is too physically demanding 464 20.3 17.8 31.7 16.6 13.6 2.8 Activity is 2 hours driving distance from home 455 16.3 11.6 21.5 24.8 25.7 3.3 Activity is 8 hours driving distance from home 417 16.8 10.5 21.6 18.2 32.8 3.4 Activity is in a desirable location 456 18.2 21.5 28.5 20.4 11.4 2.8 Activity was in a group 460 24.1 22.6 31.1 12.8 9.3 2.6 Regular feedback was provided 454 3.2 6.8 24.4 37.4 27.7 3.8 Activity occurred outdoors 460 6.5 8.7 18.7 34.6 31.5 3.8 Free-time was given during the activity 452 14.38 19.91 29.6 25 11.1 3.0 Good weather was predicted on the day of the activity 457 17.9 26.2 33.5 14.7 7.7 2.7 There was a training component to the activity 454 10.1 13.9 34.4 30.4 11.2 3.1 My existing skills were adequate for the activity 462 6.7 15.6 39.0 25.1 13.6 3.2 All equipment was provided (binoculars) 452 57.7 18.8 11.9 5.3 6.2 1.8 Activity goals were clear 458 2.8 3.3 14.8 38.6 40.4 4.1 Involvement was not costly 458 5.5 11.3 24.4 30.6 28.2 3.6 Volunteers were subsidized 457 28.0 17.1 30.4 12.5 12.0 2.6 Transport was provided 452 44.9 19.2 24.1 6.2 5.5 2.1 If necessary accommodation was provided 453 17.9 16.6 29.4 21.2 15.0 3.0 Activity occurred on a weekend 454 34.1 18.1 17.8 15.6 14.3 2.6 Activity occurred on a weekday 451 42.3 21.7 24.2 7.3 4.4 2.1 Supervision was helpful and friendly 456 5.5 3.5 17.3 36.4 37.3 4.0 I could participate with some friends 455 22.2 17.8 32.1 18.7 9.2 2.7 I was personally contacted by the organizer 450 15.3 16.9 29.8 23.8 14.2 3.0 14