USF-VPA (vee-pah) is a community outreach program. VPA consultants are industrial-organizational psychology doctoral students at USF trained and directed by Tammy Allen (USF Professor of Psychology) and Mark Poteet (courtesy USF faculty member of Psychology and President of Organizational Research & Solutions). We work with leaders of volunteer programs to help them understand the perceptions and attitudes of their volunteers and to provide them with ideas to improve their volunteer program.
VPA is an online survey that asks volunteers about aspects of their volunteer experience, including:
The USF-VPA representative handles all logistics around the survey. The VPA process begins with an initial call from the VPA consultant. After the initial call, the client will be asked to fill out an online form to collect information about the client organization. Next the VPA consultant will email the client representative the VPA survey link along with information on how to administer the survey to volunteer employees. After the survey data have been collected, the VPA consultant generates an executive report for the client organization. The VPA consultant will share the survey results via a final consultation call. During the call the VPA consultant will talk through the report, discuss best practices for volunteer organizations, and provide comparisons to national norms for volunteer programs.
VPA is an online survey that asks volunteers about aspects of their volunteer experience, including:
- Satisfaction with the volunteer work
- Commitment to the organization
- Satisfaction with communication
- Satisfaction with those with whom they work—paid staff, other volunteers, coordinators
- Perception of organizational constraints that hinder their ability to contribute
- Burnout/stress as a volunteer
- Intention to remain a volunteer
The USF-VPA representative handles all logistics around the survey. The VPA process begins with an initial call from the VPA consultant. After the initial call, the client will be asked to fill out an online form to collect information about the client organization. Next the VPA consultant will email the client representative the VPA survey link along with information on how to administer the survey to volunteer employees. After the survey data have been collected, the VPA consultant generates an executive report for the client organization. The VPA consultant will share the survey results via a final consultation call. During the call the VPA consultant will talk through the report, discuss best practices for volunteer organizations, and provide comparisons to national norms for volunteer programs.