”Frivilligt engagement – kun hvis lederen magter det: En analyse af daginstitutionslederens betydning for et frivilligt engagement i de selvejende daginstitutioner”.

This study examines the extent to which the Netværksledelse i selvejende daginstitutioner (network management in independent daycare centres) pilot project has resulted in a higher degree of social responsibility (civic engagement) in board work in independent institutions in terms of professionalism and value creation. The study focuses on collaboration between municipal administrations, daycare managers and voluntary board members. The purpose of monitoring the pilot project is to contribute to formulating new ways forward for independent institutions, and to examine collaboration between administrations and independent institutions as a new way to organise voluntary efforts in municipal daycare. Finally, the purpose is to present the possibilities and limitations of this type of civic engagement, and to present the requirements this imposes on management and management personnel.

The study presents four overall results:

1. Politicians and municipal administrations express that they expect voluntary board members in the independent institutions to show greater value-creating and professional commitment in their assignments.
2. The voluntary commitment only arises and develops through continued interaction between several stakeholders, including public stakeholders. The daily manager at the institution is a key player in interaction on civic engagement in the sense that the daycare manager is closely involved in the interactions in which civic engagement is activated and shaped in practice.
3. Parents primarily show their commitment if the manager acts as a catalyst. Interaction with the manager motivates parents to take part in board work and in other activities in the institution.
4. Management of volunteers not only involves administration, facilitation and management of individual volunteers. The manager also has to be involved in the value-creating process and thereby become a co-creator of the civil voluntary commitment.

The data basis consists of administration documents, qualitative interviews with managers and board members in 31 independent daycare centres in three municipalities, as well as extracts from qualitative comments in a questionnaire survey completed by 1,975 parents who took part in the annual quality measurement survey conducted by Menighedernes Daginstitutioner (an umbrella organisation for independent and private daycare facilities). This is follow-up research of a pilot project, in which a total of 116 independent institutions took part. The researchers behind the study visited 31 of these institutions. The institutions were selected to ensure a spread in economic profile and the size of institutions. During the visits, the daycare managers and board members were interviewed individually or in focus group interviews. They were asked about how they experience their everyday life, and what it is like to be a manager and part of an independent institution. They were asked about their own involvement and how they experience parent involvement. Finally, they were asked how to activate social responsibility in civil society. The analysis of the interviews was based on thematisation on the basis of which patterns across the interviews were identified.

Hjerrild, C.M. & Højlund, H. (2014). ”Frivilligt engagement – kun hvis lederen magter det: En analyse af daginstitutionslederens betydning for et frivilligt engagement i de selvejende daginstitutioner”. Arbejdspapir, CBS, januar 2014.