On the problems arising in determining the true extent of direct (informal) volunteering. (on the example of my research data):

According to the official data of state statistics for 2018, 2020, 2022, the involvement of volunteers amounted to: for 2018 - 1527 thousand people, of which 1190 thousand people participated in direct volunteering, which is 77.93%; for 2020 - 1870 thousand people, of which 1590 - in direct volunteering (85.02%); for 2022: 2701 thousand people, of which 2068 thousand people. - in direct volunteering (76.56%). Reference to the annual compilations of Rostatistics.
Range of activities by types of work: (I will cite those types that are included in the official questionnaire of the survey within the framework of the sample labor force survey):
Social work (providing any unpaid assistance to persons outside one's own household - the elderly, children, the disabled, victims of natural disasters, cooking and serving meals, transporting people, etc.).
Improvement and cleaning of the territory;
Environmental projects (cleaning forests, fields and rivers, planting trees);
Restoration work, construction, repair;
Agricultural work (working on farms and in the fields):
Fundraising for charity or other social projects;
Organization of sports, cultural and other events
Helping animals
Search for missing people
Participation in educational institutions, public, religious and other non-profit organizations, clubs, unions
Providing free medical, legal assistance, counseling, unpaid classes, trainings, consultations
and other
Thus, we can clearly see: informal volunteering covers a wide range of types of volunteer work demanded by society and the state, the number of participants of which is several times higher than the number of volunteers participating formally through organizations.
I would like to say right away that the reasons for the apparently low level of volunteer participation through organizations, given by the results of the workforce survey, is a separate topic for research (we have also researched it), so we do not touch upon them here.
Now about the problems that arise in connection with the presentation of quantitative data on formal and informal volunteering: it should be noted that in the officially published data for government agencies and for the public, only the total number of volunteers is provided, including both formal and informal, without distinguishing them separately.
Overall conclusion: in Russia, the methodology of the sample labor force survey has introduced and applies the tools for measuring direct volunteering, which are in line with ILO recommendations, and which, it should be noted, require further improvement in accordance with the new ILO and UNV recommendations. At the same time, the problem is that the statistics of direct volunteering, which significantly exceeds the statistics of formal volunteering, are actually hidden and are not presented separately from the data of organizational volunteering neither in the state authorities nor in the society. This is an important problem that requires the attention of all stakeholders.
I look forward to receiving your feedback
Thank you very much, Galina

Hi, everyone, I will continue about the terms formal and informal volunteering.
In my opinion it is normal to continue using the terms "formal" and "informal" in everyday speech, however, in the professional lexicon it is important to use the terms corresponding to the International Classification of Employment Status (ICES-18), which defines two types of volunteers, depending on the activity: organization-based or individual (self-employed):
Organizational volunteering - volunteering carried out on the basis of or through organizations that include market and non-market units;
Direct volunteering - volunteering carried out by volunteers on their own initiative for the benefit of households (e.g. friends, neighbors, strangers), community, nature, other than the volunteer's own household.
Beneficiaries of volunteer work: there are 4 beneficiaries: individuals, organizations, society and nature.
Galina

Colleagues, I apologize that my message was accidentally copied twice on the Forum, and it was very long.

Regarding the terms "formal" and "informal" volunteering: These terms (formal and informal) have long been customary for use, but I believe that it is still better to be guided by the terms "direct" and "organizational" volunteering, as provided for in the international standards of the ILO
All the best, Galina

Hi Dereck, Tapiwa and Jacob, I hope this message finds you well.
I'd like to open this with a comment on language. In my experience the terms 'formal' and 'informal' volunteering have not been very helpful. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic many previously heavily regulated and bureaucratic forms of volunteering dropped requirements, whereas ad hoc neighbourhood groups quickly instituted specific bureaucratic requirements. I summarised some findings in a blog in 2021
https://www.uea.ac.uk/web/groups-and-centres/institute-for-volunteering-research/blog/-/asset_publisher/zPfXZQ83PXhv/content/the-mutual-aid-response-during-the-pandemic-three-very-different-things-we-learned?_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_zPfXZQ83PXhv_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uea.ac.uk%3A443%2Fweb%2Fgroups-and-centres%2Finstitute-for-volunteering-research%2Fblog%3Fp_p_id%3Dcom_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_zPfXZQ83PXhv%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_zPfXZQ83PXhv_cur%3D2%26_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_zPfXZQ83PXhv_delta%3D10%26p_r_p_resetCur%3Dfalse%26_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_zPfXZQ83PXhv_assetEntryId%3D4809825#TitleBar

and in a working paper
https://www.uea.ac.uk/documents/96135/2802691/IVR+WORKING+PAPER+Mutual+Aid+v3+11.04.2021+jlg.pdf/29391b33-90d1-924b-07ed-77b640a9f83c?t=1618310383464

Sorry about the long URLs.

The following excerpt about mutual aid which would be a type of 'informal' volunteering, illustrates, I believe, the unhelpful overlaps between 'informal' and 'formal':
"What begun for many volunteers as a beautiful and empowering experience, ended for some feeling overwhelmed or overburdened or disillusioned by the disagreements between different political factions and existing voluntary organisations. Non-hierarchical working was challenged when polarised positions and ideologies that did not feature at the beginning, began to re-emerge as the most immediate need receded. At its worst volunteers experienced the effects of bad neighbours, as they felt bullied online. And so, once the first immediate desperate need had been responded to, volunteers began to remove themselves from the movement."

My suggestion for debate is, we drop the terms 'formal' and 'informal' volunteering altogether but be clear about the characteristics of the forms of volunteering we speak of. In my experience, very few are entirely without organisation and bureaucracy, but how power and agency play out differs greatly.

Looking forward to exploring this more.
Many thanks and kind regards, Jurgen

Dear Dereсk,
Thank you very much for the invitation to participate in the discussion on measuring informal volunteering and the detailed description of the topic of the discussion.

The topic of informal volunteering is one of my professional and research interests, so I am happy to join the discussion.

Thanks again

Galina