Quality assurance

Legislative Decree 40/2017 establishing the Universal Civic Service contains a series of quality standards and control procedures aimed at ensuring the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the programme.

In order to be able to enrol in the Universal Civic Service Register, public and private bodies that implement civic service projects shall meet a number of requirements relating to organisational capacity, such as the provision of qualified personnel, and have a minimum number of implementation sites, both in Italy and abroad (Art. 11).

The selection of volunteers shall be carried out through public calls, in accordance with the principles of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination, and through ad hoc commissions (Art. 15).

The Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service also performs: 

• Control over the management of the activities carried out by the civic service bodies (Art. 20);

• Evaluation of the impact of the programmes on the local territories and communities concerned (Art. 21);

• On-site inspections of the activities carried out by the civic service bodies to ensure compliance with the rules for the selection and utilisation of volunteers (Art. 22).

Volunteers are guaranteed a training period of at least 80 hours in order to acquire the necessary skills to offer a quality service to the beneficiaries of the programme and to the community (Art. 16).

A national and regional representation of volunteers was also set up, aimed at ensuring the constant dialogue between volunteers and the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service (Art. 9).