Volunteering within Western Australia spans the ‘spectrum of participation’ with volunteers engaging in activities that have informal, formal, and hybrid features. Informal volunteering is extensive and more engaged in than formal volunteering yet it is not deeply understood, and it is an understudied area.
Funded by Volunteering WA’s Research Grant Program, Murdoch University is partnering with Chorus Australia in this research project to develop an understanding of the role informal volunteering plays in different communities and chart its character and contribution. This pilot study will likely provide information for a broader externally-funded research proposal.
Conducted by Murdoch University’s Dr Moira Watson, Dr Anne Peachey, and Dr Jo-Anne Kestel with the support of Dr Megan Paull, in engagement with Chorus Australia’s CEO, Dan Minchin, and staff, this pilot study will explore three broad research questions:
- What is the nature and extent of informal and formal volunteering in local communities?
- What is informal volunteering’s potential relationship with more formal volunteering activities and volunteer involving organisations?
- Which practices, platforms and people facilitate informal volunteering in a local community, and what are the practice and policy implications?
Term: August 2024 – March 2026
Murdoch University, Dr Moira Watson
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