Volunteering and Social Action Ontology

Reviewing the UK's new volunteering data standard from the ODI

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Reviewing the UK’s new volunteering data standard from the ODI - See more at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reviewing-uks-new-volunteering-data-standard-from-odi-paul-king-7w5je/.

AI and standards to track the value of volunteering

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

AI and standards to track the value of volunteering - See more at: https://www.ukauthority.com/articles/ai-and-standards-to-track-the-value-of-volunteering.

DCMS-backed common volunteering data standard published

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

DCMS-backed common volunteering data standard published - See more at: https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/dcms-backed-common-volunteering-data-standard-published.html.

Open data project for volunteering reaches key milestone

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog talking about the open data project for volunteering reaching a key milestone.

Standards Working Group Meeting 6

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Summary

This will be a retrospective, we will discuss the work of the working group and our achievements and seek members views on what went well, what didn’t go well and your ideas for the future.

MINUTES: Volunteering Data Standards Working Group 6 18 March 2026

Documents:

Volunteering Retro Board
There were no slides for this meeting

Attendee profile

The working group was attended by 18 people, including 3 members of the ODI project team (Andrew, Julie and Matthieu).

There was representation from a range of organisation types, including:

Volunteering Involving Organisation (National)
Volunteering Involving Organisation (Local)
Volunteering Infrastructure Organisation (National)
Central Gov.
Consultancy / Advisory

Retrospective

Andrew Newman (chair) presented a Miro board and explained that today’s session will be a retrospective to provide members with the opportunity to:

Consider what we have achieved and how we have worked together
Think about what we should do next
Explore how we can improve future projects

Andrew provided links to the previous meeting resources for members to use to look back on

Retrospective Resources

Data standard: https://standard.volunteeringdata.io/
GitHub: https://github.com/orgs/volunteeringdata/
Discussion threads: https://github.com/orgs/volunteeringdata/discussions
Past working group meetings (Notes, Slides, Miro): https://standard.volunteeringdata.io/working-group/
Project description: https://theodi.org/insights/projects/open-data-infrastructure-for-volunteering/

Questions

Question: How should a strategic vision for data be developed within the voluntary sector, and who is responsible for leading that effort?

Answer: Andrew Newman explained that while expert organisations like the Open Data Institute (ODI) act as facilitators for technical standards, the voluntary sector itself must own the ultimate vision. Andrew suggested that a representative body—such as the UK Volunteer Forum—could lead this dialogue, with the crucial caveat that the strategy must be inclusive and functional for smaller, local organisations, not just large national ones.

Next Steps

Andrew Newman advised that the ODI are focused on wrapping up work for DCMS by the end of March, but is seeking ways to continue the work and support organisations ready to implement the standard.
Andrew Newman will be in touch with links and questions regarding the updated data standard website.
The group will use the discussion threads on GitHub as a way of asynchronously collaborating and working together.

Croissant 1.1

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog mentioning Croissant 1.1 being applied to volunteering data for AI readiness.

Standards Working Group Meeting 5

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Summary

The fith working group meeting provided an update on the development of the data model and workshopped data access requirements, to inform the design of an API (APIs are computer to computer messaging services) and started to consider the pros and cons of opportunity data being published as open data (Open data is data that anyone can access, use or share).

MINUTES: Volunteering Data Standards Working Group 5 04 March 2026

Documents:

Slide Deck
Miro - https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVG3P3KQk=/

Agenda

Welcome & Project Overview
Data Model Updates
Describing the value of volunteering
Next Steps

Attendee profile

The working group was attended by 20 people, including 3 members of the ODI project team (Andrew, Julie and Matthieu).

There was representation from a range of organisation types, including:

Volunteering Involving Organisations (National)
Volunteering Infrastructure Organisation (National)
Volunteering Infrastructure Organisation (Local)
Local Gov.
General Gov.
Consultancy/Advisory

Welcome and Project Overview

Andrew Newman (chair) presented an overview of the project and the role of the standards working group, explaining that the Volunteering Data Standards Project is DCMS-funded and is a fast-tracked initiative designed to bridge the data infrastructure gap between communities and available volunteering opportunities.

The project follows a standard three-stage development cycle:

Discovery: Identified seven key use cases focused on increasing participation, improving volunteer experiences, and evidencing impact.
Alpha: Developed a formal data standard for volunteering opportunities and the technical infrastructure to support it.
Beta (Current): Moving into real-world implementation through three specific pilots.

The Three Beta Pilots

National Interoperability: Partnering with major stakeholders to ensure data can be shared seamlessly across large platforms.
Grassroots Inclusion: Testing the standards to ensure they are accessible and functional for smaller, local organisations.
AI Readiness: Developing an agentic search bot to test how standardised data can power AI-driven opportunity searches.

Timeline & Next Steps

The project is currently working toward a March deadline to complete the pilot phases. While the AI and grassroots pilots are on track for significant progress. Findings will be shared in future working group meetings to determine the project’s long-term trajectory.

Data Model Update

This phase of the volunteering data standards project focuses on refining the core data model and expanding its functionality.

Matthieu presented an overview of the Volunteering Standards website https://standard.volunteeringdata.io/ontology/

The refactored data model includes core elements such as an activity with a title, description, organisation link, and session details. Explaining that the significant new elements are the introduction of a Role concept, which accommodates different requirements linked to the existing requirement taxonomy, and the addition of Skills, which uses a taxonomy iterated during a December hackathon.

Discussion and questions

Q: Are we covering the Volunteer Application as well in the Data Model? A: A discussion confirmed that the current data model represents volunteer applications through an apply link property available for each Role. The model focuses primarily on opportunities data, and while it supports both internal and external application mechanisms, it has not defined the specific data that must be contained within an application.

Q: What user research will be done for the data values? Organisations have been mentioned, have volunteers been considered? A: Andrew explained that the working group of experts had been used for initial rapid development, including a workshop on accessibility, but acknowledged that they have not yet tested the model’s descriptive values with actual end-users for interpretation.

The group agreed that taking the data model back to end-users would be valuable for future development. Standards are viewed as a continuously evolving process rather than a final product, and further user testing would benefit the development of taxonomies that define the language of volunteering.

Describing the value of volunteering

The conversation shifted to the enduring question of how to help organisations understand and demonstrate the value of volunteering. Initial discovery research identified eight use cases for data in the voluntary sector, including a category focused on evidencing impact, which requires standardised approaches for management decisions and reporting to donors.

The chair introduced a typology for value in the not-for-profit sector developed by Dr Amy Bernett from Middlesex University (a Steering Group Member). The typology aims to provide a basis for standardised reporting on the value of community services and volunteering. The typology includes nine broad categories of value, such as monetary value, recognition, appreciative value, impact on various capitals (social, human, infrastructure, environmental), and personal value.

The next activity was a “Miro” Exercise to explore value, organised around four core questions: challenges in proving value, questions organisations aim to answer about value, necessary data points, and prioritisation of data collection. Participants were divided into three breakout rooms, with an ODI representative in each, to discuss and interact with the Miro board on the topics for 20 minutes, spending five minutes on each of the four areas.

Next Steps

Meeting 6 (18/03/26)

This will be a retrospective. We will present the work of the working group and our achievements, and seek your views on what went well, what didn't go well, and your ideas for the future.

Building the foundations for a more connected volunteering sector

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog talking about the Volunteering Data standardisation effort.

Standards Working Group Meeting 4

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Summary

We presented our data models for accessibility and crisis response, we demonstrated how to log suggestions, issues and questions on the data models. We also looked at sharing volunteering opportunities data, and what information needs to be recorded to enable data sharing.

MINUTES: Volunteering Data Standards Working Group 4 18 February 2026

Documents:

Slide Deck
Miro - https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVG_TGKwY=/

Agenda

Welcome & Project Overview
Data Model Updates
What information needs to be recorded to enable data sharing?
Next Steps

Attendee profile

The working group was attended by 18 people, including 2 members of the ODI project team (Andrew and Julie).

There was representation from a range of organisation types, including:

Volunteering Involving Organisation (National)
Central Gov.
Consulting / Advisory

Welcome and Project Overview

The project follows a standard three-stage development cycle:

Discovery: Identified seven key use cases focused on increasing participation, improving volunteer experiences, and evidencing impact.
Alpha: Developed a formal data standard for volunteering opportunities and the technical infrastructure to support it.
Beta (Current): Moving into real-world implementation through three specific pilots.

The Three Beta Pilots

National Interoperability: Ensuring data can be shared seamlessly across large platforms and adapting the standard as required.
Grassroots Inclusion: Testing the standards to ensure they are accessible and functional for smaller, local organisations.
AI Readiness: Developing an agentic search bot to test how standardised data can power AI-driven opportunity searches.

Timeline & Next Steps

The project is currently working toward a March deadline to complete the pilot phases. While the AI and grassroots pilots are on track for significant progress, the interoperability pilot is currently refining its deliverables with stakeholders. Findings will be shared in future working group meetings to determine the project’s long-term trajectory.

A member asked in the meeting chat: Are the pilots to be completed by the end of March? The chair explained that it is the aim.

Data Model Update

This phase of the volunteering data standards project focuses on refining the core data model and expanding its functionality through specialised extensions and open collaboration.

The project transitioned from a rapid Alpha phase (completed in December) to a continuous improvement cycle.

Open Source Approach: All work is published openly on GitHub.
Community Input: Stakeholders are encouraged to use the GitHub "discussions" feature to contribute expertise on specific topics like data governance, accessibility, and crisis response.
Discussion Threads on Github

The group reviewed 3 aspects of the draft data model in an interactive session and suggested improvements to this model:

Accessibility Extension

Rather than listing "barriers," the model should focus on available support.
Physical & Digital Access: Includes place-based accessibility, transport links, technology assistance, and internet availability.
General Requirements: Tracks age limits, language needs, and expense policies.
Data Quality: Participants expressed a strong preference for pre-defined code lists over free-text or binary (yes/no) options to ensure data remains searchable and consistent.

Crisis Response Extension

To support spontaneous volunteering during emergencies, suggestions were made in three broad areas:

Skills & Readiness: Focused on crisis-specific skills, first aid training, and physical stamina (e.g., ability to stand for long periods).
Assets: Tracking access to necessary equipment, such as vehicles.
Safety & Logistics: Includes requirements for PPE, risk assessments, and multi-agency coordination.

Metadata for Data Sharing

The project is considering how best to define metadata standards (data about the data) required to make volunteering datasets truly interoperable. To ensure data is discoverable, ensure sensitive information is handled correctly, and users can verify if a dataset is fit for their specific purpose. The group provided input on descriptive, structural, and administrative metadata essential for sharing volunteer opportunity data at scale.

Discussions

A working group member asks whether accessibility in volunteering should be managed through standardised data labels or through personal conversation and role adaptation.
The chair acknowledged that personal discussions were an important part of the onboarding process but that providing data about accessibility should help potential volunteers to identify opportunities that would be suitable for themselves.

A member highlighted that a lack of resources and funding—specifically the loss of dedicated “access to work” grants—creates a financial barrier for small organisations. The discussion surmised that better data about opportunities to volunteer could enable better targeting of monetary support and adaptations needed to help them open their doors to diverse volunteers?

A member highlighted the need to clarify the technical structure of the accessibility fields—specifically, will physical and digital accessibility be simple top-level flags or nested properties with specific boolean attributes. The project team flagged that they are still determining which fields should be binary (yes/no), free-text, or pre-defined code lists and that not everything has been modeled in detail yet.

The working group discussed enabling sector-wide data sharing. The discussion identified that metadata is the key to helping users determine if a volunteer opportunity dataset is trustworthy and “fit for purpose.”

Next Steps

Meeting 5 (04/03/26)

We will focus on describing the value of volunteering as data, this will include the value to people volunteering and the value to the volunteer-involving organisation.

Meeting 6 (18/03/26)

This will be a retrospective, we will present the work of the working group and our achievements and seek your views on what went well, what didn't go well and your ideas for the future.

Open data infrastructure for volunteering

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog talking about the open data infrastructure for volunteering.

Connecting volunteers: What we learned from our hackathon

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog talking about what we learned from our hackathon.

Standards Working Group Meeting 3

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The third working group meeting was more retrospective, the working group reviewed what had been achieved so far, explored the outputs from the hackathon and continued the discussion about open data.

Meeting Notes (PDF): View the note of the meeting
Slides (PDF): View the slides from the meeting
Whiteboard (Miro): View the whiteboard created at the working group meeting

Open Data Infrastructure for Volunteering Hackathon (2025-12-03 & 2025-12-04)

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A two-days hackathon bringing together volunteer platforms, developers, and community organisations to test the first draft of the volunteering standard and explore how open data can connect more people with opportunities to help.

Themes

The intelligent opportunity matchmaker: How can we use standardised data to move beyond simple keyword search?
The conversational and generative search agent: Can finding a volunteer role be as easy as asking a friend?
Inclusion and accessibility mapping: How can we use data to broaden reach and ensure no one is excluded?
Crisis response and spontaneous volunteering: How can a volunteering data infrastructure be used to rapidly find and deploy volunteers in an emergency (e.g. a flood)?

Standards Working Group Meeting 2

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The second working group meeting provided an update on the development of the data model and workshopped data access requirements, to inform the design of an API (APIs are computer to computer messaging services) and started to consider the pros and cons of opportunity data being published as open data (Open data is data that anyone can access, use or share).

Meeting Notes (PDF): View the note of the meeting
Slides (PDF): View the slides from the meeting
Whiteboard (Miro): View the whiteboard created at the working group meeting

Standards Working Group Meeting 1

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The first working group meeting introducing the project, and the role and purpose of the standards working group. It explored the very first version of the data model and members were invited to discuss what was missing.

Meeting Note (PDF): View the note of the meeting
Slides (PDF): View the slides from the meeting
Whiteboard (Miro): View the whiteboard created at the working group meeting

Join the Volunteering Data Standards Working Group

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog talking about joining the volunteering data standards working group.

ODI to develop open data standard for volunteering

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

ODI to develop open data standard for volunteering - See more at: https://www.ukauthority.com/articles/odi-to-develop-open-data-standard-for-volunteering.

Open data programme a 'vital first step' to boost volunteering, charities minister says

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Open data programme a ‘vital first step’ to boost volunteering, charities minister says - See more at: https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/open-data-programme-vital-first-step-boost-volunteering-charities-minister-says/management/article/1937583.

Charities minister backs project to make volunteering data more accessible

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Charities minister backs project to make volunteering data more accessible - See more at: https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/charities-minister-backs-project-to-make-volunteering-data-more-accessible.html.

New open data infrastructure initiative to strengthen volunteering across communities

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We have published an article on the ODI’s blog talking about our initiative to strengthen volunteering across communities.