Handbook for Municipal–Voluntary Collaboration: The Involvement Ladder

Background: Life expectancy is rising. Most older adults wish to age in place, including if they develop care needs. Yet loneliness, isolation, and limited access to meaningful activities remain challenges for older adults living at home – both with and without municipal services. Many municipalities seek guidance on strengthening collaboration with the voluntary sector. In response, the Dignity Centre and the Centre for Development of Institutional and Home Care Services developed the handbook Living Well at Home (Bo godt hjemme) to show how municipalities can involve the voluntary sector to support activity, social connection, and engagement for older adults. The handbook provides practitioners with practical guidance and tools to strengthen collaboration.
Description: The project comprised a literature review, an advisory group with five municipalities, and two national surveys – one sent to all Norwegian municipalities and one to volunteer coordinators – to identify needs, organization, challenges and opportunities in current collaboration. We also collected input from 32 contributors from municipalities, voluntary organizations, and volunteer centres. Municipalities reported a need for more systematic approaches, improved communication flow, clarification of roles and responsibilities, and strengthened competence related to volunteering. Voluntary organizations and volunteer centres highlighted the need for support to make their activities more visible and to reach the target group. These insights informed the handbook’s structure and tools.
Results: The handbook was launched in December 2025. A central framework is the Involvement Ladder, outlining five levels of collaboration between municipalities and the voluntary sector: (1) informing citizens about voluntary services, (2) internal information sharing within home‑based services, (3) identifying needs and facilitating contact, (4) volunteer coordination within home care services, and (5) initiatives for vulnerable groups. Each level includes examples and advice from municipalities and voluntary actors. The handbook also addresses legal considerations, motivation and follow‑up, and includes templates. It provides structured, practice‑oriented guidance suitable for municipalities in diverse contexts.
Lessons learned: Variation in municipal organization and needs underscored the importance of a framework that allows for local adaptation, which the Involvement Ladder supports by helping actors choose the collaboration level that best fits their local context. Project findings suggest that better communication flow and a systematic approach to collaboration between municipalities and the voluntary sector can strengthen preventive and health‑promoting efforts for older adults living at home.