Government policies need to be fleshed out but a coherent landscape for the sector exists within the coalition, said chief executive of Volunteering England Justin Davis Smith at a BT Volunteering event last night.

He used his speech at the event to outline the threats and opportunities in what he called “the era of co-production”.

Davis Smith gave several “words of warning” for the sector as it reached its latest turning point with the new coalition government, outlining finances and the idea of volunteering being seen as a cheap option as major threats.

This is still a time of great financial difficulties, he said, but quoting FDR Roosevelt added that this provided an “opportunity for real creative experimentation”. Embracing new technology and engaging more with the community as a pool of volunteers-in-waiting would benefit the sector, he advised.

Discussing the Big Society plans the Volunteering England chief said that the voluntary sector provided “good value” but it was “not cost free” and the presence of volunteers was “absolutely not to replace paid staff but to work alongside and complement paid staff”.

He said: “I think that the real challenge that we have is to pursuade policy-makers and our politicians who will be struggling, as you know, with our current debt, to recognise that in order to take volunteering forward we have to invest. 

“One statistic that particularly struck me... was that for every pound invested in volunteering there was a return of about seven pounds. So, hugely good value, but we have to invest that one pound in order to unleash the power of volunteering.” 

Volunteering England was already on the treadmill, he told Civil Society, having attended roundtable meetings with the new minister for civil society, Nick Hurd, while he was still in opposition. “We’re excited about the way the government can work with business to take this to the next stage,” he said. 

Looking to the future, Davis Smith advised that moving funds to small and medium-sized charities was essential and said that by using larger companies with connections to small and medium companies, the corporate equivalents could be tapped to provide the necessary funds. 

The charity has a strong relationship with BT, which was hosting the event in celebration of Volunteers' Week and which already works on a number of volunteering projects feeding through to small charities. It’s businesses like BT, said Davis Smith, that can help provide this level of assistance.