GUIDELINES ON THE SEARCH FOR OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEERS

  1. Background
  2. Objective
  3. Scope of the Search
  4. Categories Of Awards
  5. Qualifications and Requirements for Nomination
  6. Criteria for Evaluation
  7. Regional Search, Nomination, and Validation Process
  8. National Screening and Selection
  9. Conferment of Awards
  10. Prohibition And Exclusionary Provisions

I. BACKGROUND

The Search for Outstanding Volunteers (SOV) is the centerpiece activity of the National Volunteer Month (NVM) which is observed every December pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 55, s. 1998. This is the strategy of the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) to undertake advocacy for the promotion of volunteerism as a tool for development as mandated by Republic Act No. 9418 or the Volunteer Act of 2007.

II. OBJECTIVE

The Search for Outstanding Volunteers aims to identify and recognize outstanding Filipino volunteers and their exemplary performance and achievements in empowering communities and promoting volunteerism as a way of life, contributory to nation-building.

III. SCOPE OF THE SEARCH

The Search is open to the public for nomination of individuals and organizations which had continuously demonstrated extraordinary voluntary service and assistance to the development agenda of the national government. For the purpose of the Search, the following definitions shall be used:

  1. Volunteer refers to individual/s who for reasons arising from their socio-developmental, business and corporate orientation, commitment or conviction, contribute time, service and resources, whether on full-time or part-time basis to a just and essential social development cause, mission or endeavor in the belief that their activity is mutually meaningful and beneficial to public interest as well as to themselves.
  2. Non-Profit pertains to non-stock, non-profit, non-government organization/s, including private academic institution/s and employees’ association in the government that implement volunteer program/s by mobilizing and engaging volunteers to provide services and assistance in socio-economic, humanitarian, civic and cultural development activities.
  3. Corporate refers to private business companies and Government-owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) that implement volunteer program/s either as a component of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or initiated and supported by the employee group, where employees are mobilized and engaged to volunteer their time, skills and resources for socio-economic, humanitarian, civic and cultural development activities.

IV. CATEGORIES OF AWARDS

A. National Outstanding Volunteer Award National Outstanding Volunteer

Award (NOVA) is conferred to individuals or organizations for their exceptional contribution to the development agenda of the national government that resulted to positive outputs within the duration set by the Search. Categories under NOVA are:

  1. Individual
    • Youth
    • Adult
  2. Organization
    • Non-Profit
    • Corporate
  3. Special Award for LGU
    • The Special Award for LGU is conferred to LGUs that implement outstanding volunteer programs that promote participation of the civil society in local governance.

B. Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award

The VLAA is conferred to an individual or organization for consistent and outstanding volunteer service and whose achievement is regarded as an inspiration and role model in the field of volunteerism.

V. QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR NOMINATION

Nominators shall ensure that the nominees meet the minimum requirements for each category, as follows: A. National Outstanding Volunteer Award 1. Individual

  • Must be fifteen (15) to thirty (30) years old for the youth category and at least thirty-one (31) years old for the adult category at the time of submission of nomination;
  • Has been consistently and continuously providing volunteer assistance or implementing volunteer program or project in the last three (3) years for the youth and five (5) years for the adult. The volunteer service or assistance to which the nominee is being nominated for shall also be within the same period; and
  • Has not been found guilty of crime or offense involving moral turpitude.

2. Organization

  • Has been providing volunteer assistance consistently and continuously for the last five (5) years for the non-profit category and for the last three (3) years for the corporate category at the time of submission of nomination. The volunteer service or program to which the organization is being nominated for shall also be implemented within the same period; and
  • The organization must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or PNVSCA or other duly recognized accrediting government institution; or recognized as a volunteer organization by the local government, local institution or community being provided with volunteer services.
  • Has been implementing a volunteer program consistently and continuously for the last two (2) years and has existing mechanism that promotes civil society participation in local governance.

3. Special Award for LGU B. Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Has been engaged in consistent and continuous volunteering activities for at least twenty-five (25) years;
  • Has been a recipient of national or international awards in relation to volunteerism; and
  • Has not been found guilty of crime or offense involving moral turpitude, in the case of individual nominees.

VI. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

All nominees will be evaluated based on pre-set criteria. A. National Outstanding Volunteer Award 1. Individual

  • Performance – Innovative volunteering practice/s, efficiency and effectiveness and promotion of volunteerism.
  • Outputs and/or Outcomes – Benefits, relevance of volunteer assistance and sustainability of volunteer program, project, activity or service.

2. Organization

  • Qualities of the Organization – organizational culture and policy, and volunteer management system.
  • Performance – innovative volunteering practice/s, efficiency and effectiveness and promotion of volunteerism.
  • Outputs and/or Outcomes – Benefits, relevance of volunteer assistance, sustainability of volunteer program, project, activity or service, and replicability.

3. Special Award for LGU

  • Qualities of the Organization – organizational culture and policy, and volunteer management system.
  • Performance – innovative volunteering practice/s, efficiency and effectiveness and promotion of volunteerism.
  • Outputs and/or Outcomes – Benefits, relevance of volunteer assistance, sustainability of volunteer program, project, activity or service, and replicability.

B. Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Promotion of volunteerism – information and capacity building.
  • Benefits, relevance of volunteer assistance – change in the quality of life of assisted communities and alignment of the volunteer service/ assistance with development goals of the government.
  • Influence and inspiration – role modelling and positive examples in the exercise of its roles and responsibilities in implementation of development programs

VII. REGIONAL SEARCH, NOMINATION, AND VALIDATION PROCESS

  1. The Regional Search Committees (RSCs) shall be constituted at the regional level to proactively promote and conduct the Search that includes but not limited to the generation of nominees, validation of information, and preparation of documentation relative to such nominations.
  2. The RSCs shall be chaired by the NEDA Regional Offices (NROs), the Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO) for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government National Capital Region (DILG-NCR) for the NCR.
  3. The RSCs may request and/or accept nominations from other individuals and organizations. Nominations forms may be downloaded at www.pnvsca.gov.ph or may be obtained from the following agencies:
    • PNVSCA
    • NEDA Regional Offices
    • Regional Planning & Development Office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
  4. The RSCs shall conduct validation using the criteria for evaluation through the following:
    • Table review of documents submitted;
    • Face-to-face, phone, or online interview of nominees;
    • Site visit to nominees and beneficiaries
    • Consultations and coordination with relevant organizations and individuals that can provide credible information about the nominee; and
    • Other means of securing information which the RSCs may employ.
  5. The NEDA Regional Office (NRO), as the RSC Secretariat shall prepare a report of the validation. In the case of the NCR and ARMM, the reports will be prepared by the PNVSCA and the RPDO, respectively.
  6. The RSCs shall convene to review the validation reports and confirm the nominees who satisfactorily meet the qualification criteria and standards. The committee shall rate the nominee using the appropriate validation form (Annex D).
  7. All nominees garnering a rating of at least 85% will be endorsed to the NSC.
  8. The RSC shall prepare a one-page profile to include the highlights of the nominee’s accomplishment which will be submitted to the NSC together with all the documents relative to the Search. RSCs shall also prepare a maximum of three (3) minutes video documentation of the validation interviews and site visits.
  9. PNVSCA shall provide a budget for the regional search through a memorandum of agreement between the PNVSCA and the NROs/RPDO-ARMM. The budget for the NCR Search shall be managed by PNVSCA.

Nominators shall accomplish the nomination form (Annex A) and submit the same to the concerned Regional Search Committee (RSC) covering the area where majority of the volunteer program, project, or service of the nominee is implemented.

The nomination form must be supported by documentary evidence as deemed necessary. Documentary requirements and checklist can be found in Annex B. All documents shall be organized into one (1) file folder. The accomplished nomination forms must be submitted to the respective RSC by July 15, 2019. Nominations received beyond the deadline will be considered for the consequent year.

VIII. NATIONAL SCREENING AND SELECTION

  1. The National Selection Committee (NSC) chaired by NEDA shall conduct screening and evaluation of the nominees submitted by the different RSCs using the criteria and standards set forth by the Search (Annex E).
  2. The NSC shall select the national awardees and endorse the selected awardees to the National Volunteer Month Steering Committee (NVM-SC) for confirmation.
  3. All regional nominees endorsed to the NSC will be given certificates of appreciation for their voluntary service.

IX. CONFERMENT OF AWARDS

The awarding ceremony will be held in December of every year as the centerpiece activity for the National Volunteer Month. The NOVA will receive a trophy while the VLAA will receive a medal and a certificate of recognition. PNVSCA will cover the transportation, accommodation, and meals of the awardees during their attendance to the awarding ceremony.

X. PROHIBITION AND EXCLUSIONARY PROVISIONS

  1. Self-nomination is not allowed
  2. Nominees who did not qualify for the national award may be re-nominated.
  3. National awardees of previous years are no longer eligible to be nominated in the NOVA category but may be nominated in the VLAA category.
  4. Nomination of the organization and the head of same organization in the same year is not allowed.
  5. Members of the NSC are not eligible to nominate.