The research vInspired commissioned, 2009 to 2018
The evidence reviews, evaluations and surveys the vInspired charity published on young people and volunteering, what each found, and the files being recovered.
Updated on 13 September 2026
Why this page exists
Between 2006 and 2018 the vInspired charity, first known as v, the National Young Volunteers Service, commissioned research on young people and volunteering, and some of it is still cited: by a peer-reviewed journal, by practitioner guidance, by policy writers. When the charity closed in November 2018 the files went offline with it, and the citations now point at nothing. This page lists what was published, what it found, and where each file stands. It is the address the old citations now land on.
The reports
A rapid review of the evidence on young people, volunteering and youth projects (December 2009). Written by Georgina Brewis of the Institute for Volunteering Research for v, as part of the formative evaluation of the charity’s programme. It is the report most often cited: by a 2021 article in the journal Healthcare on adolescent wellbeing and participation, by LabourList in 2010, and by Climate Just’s guidance on partnership working, which points readers to it for examples of the personal benefits of volunteering for young people. The file is being recovered and will be served from this page.
Measuring the Impossible: Making a Start (NFER for v, around 2010). An executive summary from the National Foundation for Educational Research on measuring the impact of youth volunteering. CYP Now reported its cautious finding: that youth volunteering improved young people’s chances in education, but that there was not yet evidence that young volunteers carried on volunteering in later life. The file is being recovered.
Anatomy of Youth (v). A survey report on young people’s lives. Its digital identity chapter found that 42 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds knew someone who had been embarrassed by content posted about them without consent, and that 60 per cent of 14 to 21 year olds had never considered the future consequences of what they posted. Seven members of the charity’s youth board reviewed it: the v20 Cyberteam’s take.
The Team v evaluation (CFE, 2012 to 2013). An independent evaluation of the charity’s leadership programme, with young people trained as peer researchers. Interim reports came in April and July 2012 and the first year’s report in September 2012; the emerging findings were positive, and the second year of the programme changed in response. Emerging findings and learning through evaluation record what was found and what changed.
Student volunteering (with the NCCPE and the Institute for Volunteering Research). Research for the charity’s Vinspired Students programme found that 63 per cent of students volunteered, that 87 per cent would recommend it, and that 85 per cent said it improved their communication skills and 83 per cent their employability. The charity’s summary.
Campaign surveys (2013). The Get Trashed campaign surveyed 2,000 young people on clothing and waste; the Lolz not Trolls campaign surveyed young people on trolling. The findings are on the Get Trashed and Lolz not Trolls pages.
Voicebox (2009). Monthly opinion data from 16 to 25 year olds, published openly at the time. The data did not survive the closure; the Voicebox page records what it was.
Stories
Alongside the research, the charity published a volunteer of the month every month for years, each one a first person account of what volunteering gave a young person. They are the accounts practitioners still ask for. A few to start with: Liam O’Dell, Robert Bellis, Nicco Kihaka, Joseph Roncarelli, and the whole series under stories and insights.
Research today
Vinspired no longer commissions research, but it holds a growing record of verified volunteering, and it writes about the evidence as it appears: for example, what the OECD found about volunteering and career skills.
Recovering the files
The two reports marked as being recovered were served from addresses on the old site that no longer exist. We are retrieving them from the web archive and from the charity’s surviving files, and each will be served from a permanent address on this page as soon as it is back. If you saved a copy at the time, we would be glad of it.
Next step
If you hold a copy of one of the missing reports, or you are researching youth volunteering and want to talk about the record Vinspired holds today, write to us.