As the funding landscape tightens, organisations in the Third Sector – that is organizations that are neither government (public sector) nor business (private sector) – might be looking to volunteers to fill capacity gaps – and to make their budgets go further. 

But as anyone who has worked as a volunteer can probably confirm, organisations don’t always make best use of their skills and enthusiasm. Research can help. In this blog, Dr. Susannah Pickering-Saqqa describes how reflective practice – a structured way of thinking about, understanding and learning from what we do – can help sustain and empower volunteers. 

Drawing on her work with students and four small charities (Freedom2, Care4Calais, Newham Renewal Programme, and INADES), Pickering-Saqqa explores the often-overlooked emotional and ethical challenges volunteers face. 

The team found 64 conceptual models of reflective practice which addressed the four priorities identified by partners: training, commitment and motivation, their relationship to resource constraints, and diversity.

In order to convey the complex models in an accessible way, the team brought on a graphic designer. The result? A curated set of 27 colour-coded cards, each offering a reflective model tied to real volunteer experiences. The cards are visually accessible and grounded in academic thought, making them useful for volunteers, coordinators, and charity leaders.

The resource is part of a broader initiative called the Charity Sofa, which launched on the 29th January this year at the University of East London. Charity Sofa  is a weekly online forum where small charities can engage in dialogue, share challenges, and receive support.

The project shows how research that is grounded in lived experience and designed collaboratively can make a tangible difference in sustaining volunteer engagement.