Volunteer Cornwall appoints Helpforce to evaluate Volunteering for Health programme

Helpforce has been appointed by Volunteer Cornwall as the independent evaluation partner for its Volunteering for Health (VfH) programme.

The Volunteering for Health programme is a £10 million national initiative delivered through a partnership between NHS Charities Together, NHS England and CW+ (the charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust). The programme supports 12 organisations across England to explore how volunteering can improve health and social care outcomes for local communities.

Volunteer Cornwall's VfH programme brings together Volunteer Cornwall, NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, and Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust to explore how volunteering can improve health and wellbeing outcomes, strengthen community connections, and support more integrated care.

Through this partnership, Helpforce will provide independent evaluation and impact measurement support, helping Volunteer Cornwall and their partners understand the effectiveness of their interventions while generating the evidence needed to support future investment, sustainability, and growth.

Joey Cross, Volunteering for Health Programme Manager at Volunteer Cornwall, said:

"Volunteering has an incredible ability to improve people's lives, strengthen communities and support better health outcomes. Through the Volunteering for Health programme, we're developing new approaches that bring together the NHS and voluntary sector to provide more joined-up support for local people.

"The programme has three core elements. Our Test and Learn sites are delivering a Community Health Volunteer role that supports people as they move through health and care services, helping to improve individuals’ experience and connection to local communities. Hearts and Minds training is helping NHS staff better understand the role of volunteers and the voluntary sector, while the Innovation Fund is supporting organisations to build stronger relationships between NHS and VCSE services by making use of the volunteering infrastructure developed through the programme.

"To maximise the impact of this work, we need robust evidence that demonstrates what works, where we are creating value and how we can continue to strengthen support for local communities. Helpforce's experience in evaluating volunteering programmes, combined with the charity’s understanding of the health and care landscape, makes them the ideal partner for this programme."

Measuring the impact of volunteering across health and care

The Volunteering for Health programme includes innovative community volunteering models, workforce development initiatives, and activities designed to strengthen collaboration between health services and community organisations.

Helpforce will lead the design and delivery of a comprehensive evaluation framework, enabling partners to understand the programme's full impact on participants, volunteers, staff, and organisations.

The evaluation will include:

• Designing the evaluation framework and methodology

• Developing surveys and data collection tools

• Conducting interviews and case studies

• Analysing quantitative and qualitative data

• Identifying learning and opportunities for improvement

• Producing interim and final evaluation reports, including recommendations to support future sustainability and growth

By creating a consistent approach to impact measurement across the programme, Helpforce will help build a clearer picture of how volunteering contributes to healthier communities, stronger partnerships and more connected health and care systems.

Trusted expertise in volunteering evaluation

The appointment reflects Helpforce's growing track record in delivering high-quality evaluations for volunteering programmes across the health, care, and voluntary sectors. To date, Helpforce have evaluated more than 85 projects and programmes and generated over 500 evidenced outcomes.

Amerjit Chohan, CEO of Helpforce, said:

"Volunteering is increasingly recognised as a vital contributor to healthier communities and more resilient health and care systems. However, if volunteering is to secure long-term investment and support future growth, organisations need strong evidence that demonstrates both impact and value.

"We're delighted to be working with Volunteer Cornwall and their partners on this important programme. Through robust evaluation and practical insight, we'll help generate evidence that not only measures outcomes but also strengthens the case for volunteering as a key part of health and care delivery.”