Recruiting Volunteers for a Data Help Desk

It’s important to have a diversity of volunteers from a range of educational experience to staff the Help Desk, both in terms of organizations and topics represented. This is helpful because researcher questions can vary widely. To recruit people with a range of career experience and data knowledge to staff a data help desk, you can employ several strategies.

Emphasize the benefits of volunteering

Emphasize the benefits of volunteering, such as meeting people involved in the data help desk and seeing the types of questions researchers are asking.
Specifically Invite Emerging and Early Career Researchers: Actively encourage the participation of emerging professionals (current Master’s and PhD students) and early career professionals. Highlight opportunities for them to gain valuable experience and build connections, even if they don’t consider themselves experts. Pair them with more experienced volunteers for support.
Emphasize the Value of Diverse Perspectives: Highlight that crowdsourcing responses and having a diversity of volunteers in terms of organizations and topics is valuable. Explain that often the help desk is about providing a lead rather than a definitive answer, making a range of knowledge bases beneficial.
Highlight the Learning Opportunities for Volunteers: Frame volunteering as a chance to meet people involved in the data help desk and see what questions people are asking about. This can be particularly appealing to those earlier in their careers who want to expand their network and understanding of community needs.

List the different ways to participate

Answering data and software questions in person at the booth.
Showcasing demos or tutorials of tools or resources at the booth.
Answering questions virtually (monitoring platforms like Twitter, Slack, or a survey form).
Suggesting questions and answers for a virtual FAQ or knowledge base.
Contributing recorded demos or one-pagers for a virtual resource gallery.
Offer Diverse Modes of Participation: Provide various ways for people to volunteer based on their comfort level and availability. This can include:
- Answering questions in person at the help desk for those with more confidence or availability during the event.
- Sharing demos or tutorials in person to showcase specific skills or tools.
- Answering questions virtually via platforms like Twitter or Slack for those who may not be able to attend in person or are more comfortable with digital interactions. This allows individuals with varying levels of expertise to contribute where they feel most comfortable.
- Suggesting questions and answers for FAQs, which can be a lower-barrier entry point for those less experienced in direct Q\&A.
- Contributing resources like recorded demos or one-pagers, allowing individuals to share their knowledge without real-time interaction.

How to advertise for volunteers

Share a volunteer form (e.g., Google Form) with relevant mailing lists to solicit volunteers.
Utilize ESIP communication channels (e.g., listservs, Slack) to recruit volunteers.
Invite past volunteers to participate again. Volunteer satisfaction is important for repeat participation.
Utilize Varied Recruitment Channels: Use a mix of communication methods to reach different groups:
- ESIP communication channels (listservs, Slack).
- Relevant mailing lists within specific scientific domains or institutions.
- Directly invite past volunteers who have already shown interest.

Example volunteer advertisement

Volunteer to be a Data or Software Expert for the upcoming Virtual Data (and software) Help Desk, to be hosted during #vEGU21 Meeting (19-30 April 2021).

This event, which is a program of the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP), EGU, and AGU, connects researchers with informatics experts familiar with their scientific domain to learn about skills and techniques that will help further their research and make their data and software open and FAIR. You can volunteer to take part in one or more of the following ways:

Answer data (and software) questions (monitor platform and answer where you can)

Share a recorded demo (share a brief recorded demo of a tool or resource, ideally <5 min)

Share a one-pager about your tool or resource

To volunteer, please complete this brief form [link to the form], as soon as possible

Don’t miss this chance to help others with data-related questions and to demo your tool or platform! Questions?

Contact DataHelpDesk. We ask data experts to monitor the #DataHelpDesk Twitter stream and reply directly to any questions they see there via their own Twitter account.

Where to recruit volunteers

Recognize the diversity of potential volunteers, including students, researchers, librarians, and individuals from institutions or departments. Volunteers can range from those familiar with using a resource to those who work on it.
Target a Broad Spectrum of Potential Volunteers: Reach out to individuals at various career stages, including students, postdocs, early career researchers, and established professionals. Emphasize that volunteers do not all need to be advanced experts.
Engage Different Departments and Institutions: Recruit volunteers from diverse backgrounds such as students, researchers, libraries, institutions, and departments. This will naturally bring in people with varying levels of experience and expertise.
Engage Early Career Professionals specifically for their insights and feedback.
Engage ESIP Clusters and other relevant groups within the hosting organization (e.g., AGU Informatics).
Ensure a solid communication plan to inform potential volunteers about the opportunity.
For virtual events, volunteers do not necessarily need to be registered for the main meeting. This can broaden the pool of potential volunteers.

Devlop guidelines clarifying what to expect when volunteering

Develop Volunteer Guidelines
- The guidelines should clarify opportunities and expectations, provide guidance on preparing to answer questions and contributing resources, and include a link to a code of conduct.
Welcome Volunteers with Different Levels of Familiarity
- Explicitly state that volunteers can contribute even if they are only familiar with using specific resources or projects, not just those they directly work on. This acknowledges that a range of perspectives and levels of expertise can be valuable.
Establish a Question Referral System
- Implement a system where volunteers who are unsure of an answer can refer questions to more specialized experts. This allows volunteers with less in-depth knowledge to still contribute by connecting users with the right resources. The #datahelpdesk-experts Slack channel can facilitate this backchannel communication.
Provide Volunteer Guidelines and Support
- Offer clear volunteer guidelines that explain the different ways to contribute and provide support. Emphasize that it’s okay not to know every answer and that the goal is to help guide researchers. Offer orientation webinars to ensure everyone is prepared.
Clearly Communicate Expectations and Time Commitment
- Be transparent about the level of commitment required for different volunteer roles. This allows individuals to choose roles that align with their availability and comfort level.

Encourage volunteers

Remind and encourage volunteers, including deadlines and providing support information via email.
Consider incentivizing participation if resources allow.
Focus on Creating a Welcoming and Inclusive Environment: Ensure that the atmosphere for volunteers is supportive and non-intimidating, regardless of their experience level. This encourages a wider range of people to participate.

Example volunteer recruiting advertisements

Example volunteer form

Open Science & Data Help Desk at EGU25 Volunteer Form