This assessment asks you to reflect upon and analyse volunteering and its relationship to the provision of emergency services in Australia and a particular emergency services context you select, for example, fire services, police services, ambulance or State Emergency Services. You will select one model or approach, for example, the traditional ‘high commitment’ model or spontaneous volunteering, and provide an analysis of that. You will then analyse volunteering within an organisation that you select. As such, Assessment Task One is broken into two separate but linked sections.

Section 1) Argue your understanding of the concept of volunteering broadly plus one particular model or approach (that you select) and how that links to the academic literature and to the views of your fellow students. In your response, you will need to incorporate ideas from two activity posts: one of your own post plus at least one from another student in the group.

Section 2) Discuss the characteristics of emergency services organisations. To do this, you will select one emergency services organisation and then explore the role of and contribution of volunteering by the community to that emergency services context (which you selected). To guide your discussion, you will incorporate information on the following:

· Name of the organisation

· Organisational charter

· Key organisational demographics (including workforce demographics)

· Role volunteering plays within the selected organisation

· Types of functions volunteers perform within the organisation

· Summary statement about whether volunteering in your selected organisation is typical of volunteering more broadly in the emergency management sector or is not typical of volunteering.

The assessment task is based on your engagement with the unit content, the broader academic literature and the posts you and your fellow students make to the activity forums and will between 1200 - 1500 words and importantly, your response must be supported by appropriate literature.

Presentation Guidelines:

You are free to present the response in a written format that best suits you, however, you must respond to each requirement (between 1200 - 1500 words) and include as a minimum:

a) Title Page

b) Concept of volunteering plus one particular model or approach (that you select).

c) Emergency management and emergency services in the Australian community and one particular emergency services context (which you select).

d) Direct copy of the forum posts being utilised in Section 1) (Note: this is NOT included in word count).

Note: your response must be supported with appropriate literature (please see the assessment criteria rubric).

Presentation Style:  Font: Arial 11 or 12,  Line Spacing: 1.5 or double spaced. 

The assessment criteria for this Unit are in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle Unit site.

You will be assessed in relation to:

· Knowledge of volunteering in the Australian context

· Knowledge of voluntary participation by individuals and groups in Australian emergency service contexts

· Application of knowledge and skills in participation by individuals and groups in emergency service contexts

· Communication and presentation of knowledge and skills

Using the analysis from assessment task one, you will explore in more detail the nature of volunteering in the emergency services context you have selected, including how the characteristics synonymous with the context enable and constrain volunteering efforts. From this basis you will then consider the future, potential opportunities and ways in which you could enhance volunteering and its sustainability with the chosen context. Importantly, you must show the way in which you propose the emergency management sector and individual emergency service organisation work with their community in order to address volunteer sustainability.

As such, assessment task two is broken into two separate but linked sections:

Section 1) Exploration of the nature of volunteering (explored through and thereby linked to a model or approach to volunteering from the literature) in relation to the chosen emergency services context. Your analysis should include the characteristics synonymous with the context and how these enable and constrain volunteering efforts. Note: I recommend you utilise the model / approach from assessment task one, however, you can change.

Section 2) A postulate future. Exploration of opportunities and ways in which the emergency management sector and emergency services organisation can work collaboratively (e.g. with the community) to enhance volunteer sustainability.

The assessment task will be approximately 1500 – 2000 words in total and importantly your response must be supported by appropriate literature (please see the assessment criteria rubric).

Presentation Guidelines:

You are free to present the response in a written format that best suits you, however, it must include as a minimum:

a) Title page

b) Introduction

c) Section 1

d) Section 2

e) Conclusion

Note: your response must be supported by appropriate literature (please see the assessment criteria rubric).

Presentation Style:  Font: Arial 11 or 12,  Line Spacing: 1.5 or double spaced. 

The assessment criteria for this Unit are in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle Unit site.

You will be assessed in relation to:

· Knowledge of voluntary participation by individuals and groups in emergency service contexts

· Application of knowledge and skills in participation by individuals and groups in emergency service contexts

· Skills in enhancing participation by individuals and groups in emergency service contexts

· Communication and presentation of knowledge and skills