Posted on May 2, 2007

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Johns Hopkins, International Labor Organization Join Forces to Measure Volunteerism Globally

The Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies in Baltimore have announced an agreement to jointly develop an approach for putting volunteer work on the world's economic map.

Responding to the inadequate treatment of volunteerism in most statistical systems, the partnership will develop a recommended procedure for measuring volunteer work through official labor force surveys in countries around the globe, fulfilling a mandate established in a 2003 U.N. Statistics Division Handbook on Nonprofit Institutions in the System of National Accounts. A start-up grant from United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the focal point of the UN's efforts to promote volunteerism internationally, will help to underwrite the effort.

"Volunteers play an enormous role in improving health, preparing for and responding to disasters, and promoting development throughout the world," said Ad de Raad, executive coordinator of UNV. "We believe this new partnership between Johns Hopkins and the ILO will finally provide a systematic way to document this significant expression of civic engagement."

“Putting Volunteer Work on the Economic Map of the World.” Johns Hopkins University Press Release 4/30/07.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Location(s): Baltimore, Geneva, International, Maryland, Switzerland

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