International UN Volunteer Specialist Nyasha Karo Mutizwa (Zimbabwe), UNV Communication Officer with WHO Rwanda, conducting interviews in rural communities, breaking through language barriers
The Department of Statistics at the University of Pretoria (UP) is partnering with United Nations Volunteers (UNV) to develop the first-ever Global Volunteer Index.
UP will lead the development of a framework for a global volunteering index. This project is said to anchor the university’s standing as an international leader in translating cutting-edge statistical sciences research excellence into volunteering settings and practice.
"The project will provide a valuable tool for measuring volunteer work and its impact on individuals, their personal development, communities, and national economies worldwide," said Project Director, Prof Samuel Manda from UP’s Department of Statistics.
The initial phase of this project focuses on developing a framework and methodology for calculating the Global Volunteering Index (GVI).
This index will be featured in the upcoming edition of the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report, scheduled for release in December.
The Global Volunteering Index will provide a timely and standardised measurement of volunteering across its critical multiple aspects.
It is said to be a valuable analytical tool to assess people's voluntary contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals.
While Manda will lead the project, professor Sollie Millard, acting head of UP’s Department of Statistics, will serve as senior researcher.
The project collaborates closely with Dr Tapiwa Kamuruko, Chief of the Voluntary Advisory Services Section UNV and his team.
By partnering with UNV, this project will anchor the university’s standing as an international leader in translating cutting-edge statistical sciences research excellence into volunteering settings and practice.
Toily Kurbanov, Executive Coordinator, UNV said: “There is a scarcity of data on the value that volunteers play in sustainable development. To address this, UNV is collaborating with the University of Pretoria to generate data and create a Global Volunteering Index as part of the 2026 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report.”
Kurbanov expressed the hope that the index will assist the member states and all other stakeholders in the continuous fine-tuning of national priorities for volunteer action and inform the required investments in volunteer work..
Professor Barend Erasmus, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at UP, said: “Collaboration between UNV and UP is another example of how UP's deep expertise and international profile support scientific outcomes for impact.”
He added that in this case, the effect is twofold: not only does UP partner with the UN to bring our expertise to bear on a shared problem, but the research itself is on how volunteers have a global impact.
According to Manda, the project will provide a valuable tool for measuring volunteer work and its impact on individuals, their personal development, communities, and national economies worldwide.
He said this project will support the development of the methodological framework and applied research in the field of volunteer work.
A first of its kind, the project aims to develop a framework for the construction of the GVI. The framework will be an essential first step moving towards measuring global volunteering.
The framework will contain background and concept, methodology, variations, and practical steps for constructing the GVI.
Extensive consultations with index developers and researchers, national and international volunteer work practitioners, stakeholders and policymakers will be conducted for the validation of volunteering indicators, dimensions and measuring instruments.
It will be pretested in several countries to assess its validity and usability and provide context and reflect gaps within the data collected in countries.
Tapiwa Kamuruko, Chief, Volunteer Advisory Services Section at the UNV said: “We look forward to the research that will help answer important questions centring on linkages between volunteering and the well-being of an individual, and the value of volunteers to the economic and social development of their communities and societies."
Every three years, UNV produces the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR), a flagship UN publication designed to strengthen the understanding of volunteer work and demonstrate its universality, scope, and reach in the twenty-first century.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za
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