Citizen Involvement in Boulder County Government, Colorado

In 2000, government officials and departments heads in Boulder County, CO embarked on a project to redefine and strengthen volunteer participation in local government programs. This included meetings of volunteer program managers from many departments, a day of facilitated discussion and training with an outside consultant (Susan Ellis, Energize), and other research. Led by Diane Knudsen in the Community Services Department, a task force was organized to articulate the County's philosophy about volunteers and also to list best practices in volunteer management. The result of this task force's work is shared here. The final Vision/Philosophy Statement was printed and framed for each department to be publicly displayed. Here is the text, posted with permission.

Boulder County & Citizen Involvement

Vision
Boulder County values and provides opportunities for active participation of its citizens in voluntary partnerships that enhance and enrich government services and the quality of life in the community.

Philosophy
Boulder County government is a joint venture between its citizens and the individuals and departments that are charged with the responsibility of carrying out the functions of local government.
To assure that citizens have opportunities for meaningful and effective engagement in local government operations, professional standards in volunteer management are accepted as the guidelines for best practices.

The following sheet was also printed and widely disseminated:

Boulder County Volunteer Management Best Practices

County Staff:

• department directors and managers provide leadership in planning and decision-making for citizen involvement
  
  
• assigned responsibilities for working with volunteers are included in appropriate staff job descriptions; volunteer supervision experience is preferred for those positions
• all new staff receive an orientation on volunteer programs, philosophy and policies

• staff responsible for volunteer supervision receive training in volunteer management skills

• staff who supervise volunteers will have volunteer management skills included in their performance standards

• staff participate in creating new strategies to involve citizens and in volunteer program evaluation

• staff work as partners with volunteers, but are not replaced by volunteers

Volunteer Program Managers:

• volunteer program managers are human resource professionals who mobilize citizens to assist in solving problems or meeting specific organization needs; they recruit, screen, select citizen volunteers, work with staff to ensure that volunteers are given appropriate orientation, training, supervision, evaluation and recognition, and advocate for volunteers

• volunteer program managers follow professional standards as accepted by the Association for Volunteer Administration

• volunteer program managers are part of the program planning/decision-making in their divisions/departments

• volunteer program managers have classifications congruent with their job descriptions and are provided with resources consistent with program objectives

• infrastructure is provided for county-wide resources for volunteer programs in such areas as: marketing, data collection and reporting, publicity, volunteer policies and procedures, county orientation materials, staff training in volunteer management and supervision, and recognition of volunteers

Volunteers:

• prospective volunteers can expect the same hiring procedures and standards as apply to employees, including interviews, reference and record checks, and acceptance on a non-discriminatory basis
  
  
• volunteers receive current written job descriptions, orientation to county government, training for specific positions, supervision and job satisfaction interviews by supervising staff, meaningful recognition, and opportunity for input and suggestions regarding programs
  
  
• volunteers may be offered benefits which include: insurance (liability, excess automobile, excess accident), mileage when driving on county business, and participation in staff training

For further information, contact:

Diane Knudsen
County Volunteer Program Manager
Community Services Department
2040 14th Street
Boulder CO 80302
303-441-3560
drkcs@co.boulder.co.us

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Permission is granted for organizations to download and reprint this article. Reprints must provide full acknowledgment of source, as provided:

Excerpted from Boulder County and Citizen Involvement, 2000.

Found in the Energize website library at: http://www.energizeinc.com/art.html