28 Y E A R B O O K 2 0 1 2 DAVID LOVIE IHBC If there’s a single unifying thread running through both my professional role and my volunteering it is ‘Community Heritage’. David Lovie (right) at a Trinity Square Steering Group meeting of city councillors and Trinity representatives David Lovie is a past president of the IHBC and continues to contribute to the work of the institute as the chair of the Disciplinary Committee and a membership assessor. He runs his own business as a heritage XSJUFS BOE DPOTVMUBOU BOE XPSLT UISFF EBZT per week as a church support officer in the Diocese of Newcastle, partly funded under &OHMJTI )FSJUBHF T *OTQJSFE JOJUJBUJWF David currently volunteers in a variety of roles for six organisations, including the IHBC and Civic Voice at the national level and St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle and Alnwick Civic Society at the local level. "T POF PG $JWJD 7PJDF T GJSTU FMFDUFE trustees he is jointly responsible for general oversight of policy, finances and administration. He also participates directly in fundraising, contact with civic societies and contributes to the national management of Heritage Open Days. At the local level, as a member of the Church Council for Trinity Church and Centre, Newcastle he is chair of a community based committee which has been developing and fundraising for a new £400,000 town square in the church grounds. The square will provide an outdoor community focus currently lacking in the adjacent High Street. He also represents Alnwick Civic Society on the local Neighbourhood Plan Committee, seeking inputs from a wide range of sources and synthesising them into issues and options suitable for inclusion in the plan. MOTIVATION My background of involvement in church and community played a big part in motivating me to volunteer. It’s why I went into planning and conservation in the first place and chose a local government DPOUFYU JO XIJDI UP QSBDUJTF Like others of a similar mind, I see myself as advocating and carrying out community and economic activities designed to promote the greater influence and wellbeing of local communities. I enjoy sharing my professional skills and townscape enthusiasm outside my paid professional role – the people and the challenges can be more WBSJFE BOE TPNFUJNFT NPSF FYDJUJOH I am addicted to the dynamics of working with community groupings of all kinds to help develop their capacity JO QMBDF NBOBHJOH BOE QMBDF NBLJOH Finally, volunteering helps me to see my professional SPMF BOE FYQFSJFODF JO B NPSF balanced and creative way. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT I have long run my professional role and volunteering separately but I have carried over many of the skills demanded by my professional role into my volunteering. I think the following have been key: t e"ective communication skills t leadership and the ability to JOTQJSF BOE UFBN CVJME t administration and programming of tasks, time and resources t entrepreneurial skills t technical skills in urban planning design t LOPXMFEHF BOE FYQFSJFODF of political and ecclesiastical management structures. My volunteer work has also helped me to refine my professional skills. For FYBNQMF UP VOEFSTUBOE UIF OVBODFT of where people and communities are really coming from you need to be a careful listener. This helps you to work ‘with’ people rather than ‘for’ them, which o"ers more opportunity for other volunteers to develop their own skills and capacity, rather than just using mine for the duration of the project. CHALLENGES The most common challenges I encounter relate to time management, funding and community motivation. Sooner or later you will find it necessary to time manage your volunteering. It can be tricky to match your volunteering commitment with your spare time unless you are in nFYJCMF PS TZNQBUIFUJD FNQMPZNFOU It may seem odd to mention GVOEJOH JO UIF DPOUFYU PG WPMVOUFFSJOH but much volunteering requires some communal cash, which is getting scarcer. However, a lot can be done for very little through careful costing and the use of contributions in kind. A lack of motivation can be a real challenge in some volunteering situations. Projects can sometimes be IFME CBDL CZ BO BOYJFUZ BCPVU DIBOHF among community members or other stakeholders. However, this can often be overcome through a combination PG JOTQJSBUJPO BOE FYFNQMBS 'FX community projects are so unique that they, or something like them, have not been achieved elsewhere. Finally, communities and neighbourhoods sometimes get a bad press for encouraging parochialism, EJWJTJWF DPNQFUJUJPO BOE NJOJ FNQJSF building. There is some truth in this but the same communities also o"er tremendous opportunities for individual satisfaction. Volunteering can make a real, visible di"erence to a place, an achievement which creates a sense of fulfilment that isn’t always available in our day jobs.
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