Volunteer Survey

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The German Volunteer Survey ( survey : English for "survey"), or FWS for short , is a representative survey that has been carried out since 1999 on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth . It is the most comprehensive and detailed quantitative survey on civic engagement in Germany. Voluntary engagement and the willingness of people aged 14 and over to become involved are recorded in detail in telephone interviews and can be differentiated according to population groups and parts of the country. The FWS represents the essential basis of social reporting on volunteering in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Structure of the survey

The first three waves of the volunteer survey were collected in 1999, 2004 and 2009 and carried out (on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth) by TNS Infratest . The same also wrote the main reports on the 1999, 2004 and 2009 volunteer surveys. Many federal states have had their own state evaluations of the volunteer survey carried out on a large scale (e.g. Bremen, Hesse, Berlin, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg).

The German Center for Aging (DZA) was responsible for the 2014 volunteer survey . The 2014 volunteer survey was accompanied by an academic and a political advisory board . The surveys of the fourth wave in 2014 were carried out by the Institute for Applied Social Science (infas) . The list of questions for the volunteer survey was expanded in 2014 to describe changing and new forms, the contexts of volunteering and the differences between committed and non-committed people. In addition, the survey approach of voluntary surveys in two aspects was expanded: The inclusion of people with an immigrant background has been improved through the use of foreign-language interviews and in the sampling and mobile numbers were next to landline telephone connections for the first time considered.

The main report of the 2014 volunteer survey "Voluntary Engagement in Germany - The German Volunteer Survey 2014" was prepared by the German Center for Aging Issues (DZA) and published by the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth and VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. For the first time, a joint comparative country report was commissioned by 14 federal states.

The data from the surveys and detailed documentation are available to users for scientific research via the DZA's research data center.

Results

In 2014, 43.6% (1999: 34.0%, 2004: 35.7%, 2009: 35.9%) of all people aged 14 and over in Germany volunteered, for example in associations , citizens' initiatives or projects . Another 27% (1999: 32%, 2004: 34%, 2009: 35%) are publicly active, for example in an association or a group , but without taking on certain voluntary tasks there. In 2014, a total of 70% of the population aged 14 and over were publicly and collectively active outside of work and family. The volunteer surveys showed that the public involvement of citizens and their voluntary engagement are therefore considerably greater than assumed, for example, in the Euro-Vol study of 1996 (for 1994 the German engagement rate was estimated at 18%). Voluntary, civic and honorary engagement is so important in Germany that the state could not do without this voluntary assumption of responsibility. Public activity and the voluntary commitment of the citizens are, however, also an expression of the development of German civil society and promote the accumulation of public social capital . Voluntary engagement can benefit not only society as a whole, but also those involved themselves, for example by enabling social participation and giving them the opportunity to have a say.

Scope of engagement

In 2014, 43.6% of all people aged 14 and over living in Germany were involved in some form of honorary or voluntary work - they were actively involved in associations, initiatives , projects, self-help groups or social institutions and took over there voluntarily and unpaid or only for a small allowance certain tasks. In 1999 it was 34.0%. An increase in volunteering can be observed in all population groups . However, the increase is different. Between 1999 and 2014, women expanded their engagement more significantly than men. Thus the rates of voluntary engagement of women and men are getting closer. The engagement of both the younger and the elderly has increased more than the engagement of the middle age groups in the last 15 years. The differences between the educational groups have increased, since the engagement of people with a high level of education rose significantly more between 1999 and 2014 than that of people with a low level of education.

Who is committed

Participation in engagement differs significantly between different population groups. In 2014, women, at 41.5 percent, volunteered a little less than men (45.7 percent). The proportion of volunteers is highest in the age groups of 14 to 29 year olds and 30 to 49 year olds. People aged 65 and over have the lowest proportion. Higher proportions of pupils and people with high school leaving qualifications volunteer than people with medium and low school education.

In Germany, volunteering shows a middle class bias overall . People with a higher education, good social integration and at least average household income are more likely than others to be among those involved in voluntary work.

Although the personal basis of voluntary and voluntary work in the various fields of activity is quite different, it can be stated that men more often than women take on leadership and management positions and are more involved in areas of activity with external impact (e.g. political interest representation). Women, on the other hand, are more frequently involved in human activities (e.g. in the social and care sector) than men. Nevertheless, women are also underrepresented in management and management positions in areas of activity with a high proportion of women . Not much has changed in this situation between 1999 and 2014.

motivation

The motives of those involved are diverse. Committed people most often state that they enjoy their work. But there are also many who are committed to get together with other people or to help shape society. Engagement is more rarely motivated by the desire to acquire qualifications . However, this motif is particularly relevant for students. The motive to gain reputation and influence is rarely mentioned, as is the desire to advance professionally through commitment. The motive to earn something through voluntary work has the comparatively least importance for committed people.

rating

The regular implementation of the volunteer survey can be an important component in shaping German volunteering policy. Using the descriptive cross-sectional findings , the trend analysis of the data situation can also be used to formulate statements about processes of change in German civil society . In addition, the voluntary survey is used to publicly recognize the performance of voluntarily committed citizens and to identify relevant funding opportunities.

In the past, it was sometimes criticized that the definition of voluntary engagement is in places fuzzy, as there is not a clear enough distinction between engagement that is done free of charge or that is associated with certain payments. However, the 2014 volunteer survey shows that cash payments play a subordinate role in volunteering. Only 9.9% of volunteers receive cash payments and the amounts are usually low (mostly less than 50 euros per month). In addition, the proportion of volunteers who report that they receive benefits in kind is not high (14.6%). However, students receive benefits in kind more than average. In a time comparison, no increase in cash payments in engagement can be ascertained, so that no trend towards monetization can be proven.

literature

  • All reports of the volunteer survey for the years 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014, including the country reports, are available on the website of the volunteer survey.
  • Julia Simonson, Claudia Vogel & Clemens Tesch-Römer (Eds.) (2017). Volunteering in Germany - The German Voluntary Survey 2014. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. ( Open Access publication )
  • Thomas Gensicke & Sabine Geiss. Main report of the 2009 volunteer survey. Results of the representative trend survey on volunteering, volunteering and civic engagement. Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, Berlin 2010. ( PDF )
  • Thomas Gensicke, Sibylle Picot & Sabine Geiss. Voluntary engagement in Germany 1999-2004. Results of the representative trend survey on volunteering, volunteering and civic engagement. Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, Berlin 2006. ( PDF )
  • Christine Hagen & Claudia Vogel. Voluntary and cross-generational engagement of women and men - analysis potential and further development of the German volunteer survey. Aging information service 39 (2), pp. 3–9. German Center for Aging, Berlin 2012. ( PDF )
  • Bernhard von Rosenbladt (ed.). Voluntary work in Germany. Results of the representative survey on voluntary work, volunteering and civic engagement. Stuttgart, Berlin, Cologne 2001. ( PDF )
  • Hannes Jähnert, Joana Breidenbach & Dennis Buchmann. "That was really fun". Voluntary work in Germany. A comprehensive study by the betterplace LAB on behalf of ING DiBa, Berlin 2011. ( PDF )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Julia Simonson, Claudia Vogel & Clemens Tesch-Römer (eds.). Volunteering in Germany - The German Voluntary Survey 2014. Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, Berlin 2016. ( PDF )
  2. ↑ Julia Simonson, Claudia Vogel & Clemens Tesch-Römer (eds.) (2017). Volunteering in Germany - The German Voluntary Survey 2014. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. ( Open Access publication )
  3. ↑ Corinna merchant, Julia Simonson, Jochen P. Brick man, Claudia Vogel & Clemens Tesch-Römer. Country report on the German Volunteer Survey 2014. German Center for Age Issues, Berlin 2016. ( PDF )
  4. ^ Research data center of the DZA
  5. ↑ Katherine Gaskin & Justin Davis Smith. A New Civil Europe? A Study of the Extent and Role of Volunteering. London 1997.
  6. ↑ Julia Simonson, Claudia Vogel & Clemens Tesch-Römer (eds.) (2017). Volunteering in Germany - The German Voluntary Survey 2014. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. ( Open Access publication )
  7. ↑ Dietmar Dathe (2011: 46). Commitment: Unlimited Resource for Civil Society? In: Eckhard Priller, Mareike Alscher, Dietmar Dathe & Rudolf Speth (eds.). Civil engagement - challenges for society, politics and science, Berlin 2011
  8. ↑ Thomas Gensicke, Sybille Picot & Sabine Geiss (2006: 90). Voluntary engagement in Germany 1999-2004. Results of the representative trend survey on volunteering, volunteering and civic engagement. Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, Berlin 2006. ( PDF )
  9. ↑ Julia Simonson, Claudia Vogel & Clemens Tesch-Römer (eds.) (2017). Volunteering in Germany - The German Voluntary Survey 2014. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. ( Open Access publication )