Published works

In 2014 we presented the framework of our BNHCRC project “Improving the retention and engagement of volunteers in emergency service agencies” across four themes. This year’s report provides the “bricks and mortar” of our operations thus revealing a firm shape of the developing research.

The first theme recognises the evolving landscape of ‘the volunteer’ in today’s emergency service. The people who sign up for, and turn out to training and callouts are a jumbled mosaic comprising many different personalities, needs, expectations and desires. No longer can we rely on a homogenous set of personal traits and values, brigades and units are now populated with a mix of generational identities, ethnicities, educational backgrounds and socio-economic identities. This study intends to provide a better understanding of who the ‘volunteer’ is and what it is they value. The research within this theme has seen steady progress; following on from a comprehensive literature review, the next stage of the research involves collecting survey responses and establishing focus groups in the NSW State Emergency Service (SES). The outcome of the study will produce a complete values audit package that could be used by other emergency services to better understand the motives of their own volunteer workforce.

The second theme addresses one of the most frequently expressed concerns by volunteers about their organisation, that is poor leadership, specifically at the level of the Brigade Captain and Unit Controller. Our Leadership Development Program introduces a leading theory of motivational leadership borrowed from psychology. In 2014 we offered the program as a pilot to volunteer leaders of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and NSW SES. Data collected showed that leaders were able to adopt a more autonomy supportive leadership style after the training. Furthermore, the volunteers working with them are more satisfied with their volunteering job and less likely to leave when they have their basic psychological needs fulfilled. More research is required to substantiate the data. The findings of the pilot study were presented at the Forth World Congress on Positive Psychology in Florida, USA. We expect to hand over the program to the emergency service agencies in 2017.

The third theme looks at progress of gender diversity in the Australian emergency services. We are keen to examine this issue from a causal perspective to try to understand the important elements which may be shaping or constraining gender migration in emergency service agencies. A review of publications related to gender in the emergency services is in preparation and input from stakeholders is being sought.

The forth theme that aimed to examine best practice in cadetship programs has been discontinued due to a refocus of end-user interest.