QBE – Qualification and Civic Engagement

Inventory and evaluation of existing qualification programs in the third sector

Goal and task

The research project "Qualification and Civic Engagement" seeks to identify how volunteering in Germany can be exploited and developed in its depth and breadth to meet societal standards and potentials.

The existing training options for volunteering are seen as a promising point of departure. The basic hypothesis is that qualification provides a sustainable potential by and for civic engagement and volunteering in the field of civil society. New providers and consumers however make it more and more difficult to have an overview of this field of action. Therefore, for the first time questions around this topic are raised such as:

What kind of structure and training options exist?
What kinds of experiences result from with diverse approaches?
Which sustainable and replicable innovations can be identified?

To achieve substantial results, the project consists of two different phases: first, the preparation phase assesses the current state of research, followed by a second phase of actual research. The latter collects promising approaches of mobilization and qualification of volunteers on the basis of systematic research in the existing data sources of the Federal Ministry for Family and on the basis of surveys of the main free-welfare umbrella organizations.

The results will be grouped according to type of task and activity, their qualification target groups, and qualification provider organizations. One methodological challenge will be the detection of those approaches that were successful and replicable out of the huge amount of different projects carried out by communes and associations. Examples of good practice will be developed into case studies and presented in a reference book.

The case studies will lead to future suggestions for practice - especially detailed development strategies for policies regarding how to create a supportive environment for civic engagement - and to suggestions regarding the transferability of some of the models detailed in the case studies.