Universal Civic Service

The Universal Civic Service – SCU is the acronym in Italian – represents the voluntary choice for young people to dedicate a few months of one’s life to the non- armed and non- violent homeland defense, to education, to peace among people, and to the promotion of the founding values of the Italian Republic, through actions taken for communities and territories.

Projects can be carried out both in Italy and abroad (European Union and non-EU countries).

Main actors: volunteer operators, i.e. young people between 18 and 28 years old who decide to dedicate a period of their lives to the Universal Civic Service; public and private organizations registered in the Universal Civic Service Register (Albo SCU) that promote programs and projects; the Department for Youth Policies and Universal Civic Service, in cooperation with Regions and Autonomous Provinces; a consultative body called “National Council for the Universal Civic Service”; representatives of volunteers (at national and regional level); local communities, who benefit from the implementation of the Universal Civic Service projects.

Projects cover several sectors:  Assistance, Civil protection, Environmental heritage and urban regeneration; Historical, artistic and cultural heritage; Cultural, landscape, environmental, sport, sustainable and social tourism promotion and education; Agriculture in mountain areas, social agriculture and biodiversity; Promotion of peace among peoples, nonviolence and unarmed defense; Promotion and protection of human rights; Cooperation for development; Promotion of Italian culture and support for Italian communities abroad; Digital competences.

Objectives:

The Universal Civic Service is the main national volunteering program for the promotion of the values of solidarity, social issues and active participation of young people in projects carried out at local level in different sectors, lasting from 8 to 12 months.  It represents an important opportunity for training and personal and professional growth for young people, who are an important resource for the cultural, social and economic progress of the country, as well as to support their entry into the world of work.

Duration of the Initiative:

8-12 Months.

Positive Impact (Indicators and Outputs of the Initiative):

Since 2015 more than 375.000 young people have volunteered in the Universal Civic Service.

The Legislative Decree establishing the Universal Civic Service defines the quality standards and control procedures aimed at ensuring the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the program. 

Public and private organizations that implement civic service projects shall meet several requirements relating to organizational capacity, such as the provision of qualified staff, and have a minimum number of implementation locations.

The selection of volunteers is carried out through public calls, in compliance with the principles of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination, and through ad hoc commissions.

The Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service also performs the following activities: control over the management of the activities carried out by the civic service organizations; monitoring of the impact of programs and projects on the local territories and communities; on-site inspections of the activities carried out by the organizations, in order to in order to guarantee compliance with the rules for selecting and employing volunteers.

From 2023, 15% of the places offered in public competitions are guaranteed to volunteer operators of the Universal Civic Service who have regularly completed their service.

Preparation Phase:

The Universal Civic Service is implemented through a three-year Plan, i.e. a programmatic document that outlines the general guidelines, objectives, priorities, sectors of intervention and quality standards. The Plan lasts three years but can be updated annually.

Every year several calls for the presentation of the “intervention programs” are published on the Department website, and the organizations registered in the Universal Civic Service Register (Albo SCU) can submit their proposals.  

Each intervention program is composed of individual projects to be implemented in Italy or abroad and are aimed at achieving one or more of the objectives indicated in the three-year Plan and the quality standards identified, in line with the “Agenda 2030”.

According to the general criteria established by law, the proposals are made up of several mandatory elements and some optional elements: information about the organizations involved in the program/project, project description, certification of skills and competences, specific training provided for the volunteer operators, specific measures for the participation of young people with fewer opportunities, relevance of the project.

The Department then has the task of appointing a commission to evaluate the programs submitted. The evaluation of intervention programs and projects lasts a maximum of 180 days and takes place in different phases: a preliminary check based on a formal assessment; a quality assessment, with scores awarded to the programs and individual projects to be implemented in Italy and abroad. The attribution of scores to the projects takes into consideration the following elements: organizations involved, characteristics of the project, skills that can be acquired, specific training for volunteer operators, additional measures for young people. 

After the evaluation and selection phases, the ranking of the approved programs is published on the Department website; subsequently the list with the expected number of volunteer operators who can be financed is published.

In a subsequent phase, a call for the selection of volunteer operators to be included in the projects is published on a dedicated Department website. To participate in the selection, young people must identify the Universal Civic Service project in which they would like to participate. 

The projects last from 8 to 12 months, with a timetable of 25 hours per week, spread over five or six days per week. 

Organizations also provide information about programs and projects through their website and social and media channels.

The selection of candidates is carried out by the organizations: a commission evaluates qualifications and curricular experience acquired and interviews the candidates; at the end of the interview, the members of the commission fill out a form for each candidate with the scores awarded and publish the ranking.

The selected volunteer operators sign a contract with the Department which sets the monthly allowance for carrying out the service, which amounts to approximately 507.00 euros.

The Universal Civic Service is financed through a specific National Fund established by law and managed by the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service. In addition to national resources, the Fund also receives European funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

Implementation Phase:

During the implementation phase the volunteer operators receive the following support: general and specific training (minimum 80 hours), in order to acquire the skills to offer a quality service to the beneficiaries of the program and to the community; up to three months of tutoring to facilitate access to the job market (for placements in Italy) ; monthly allowance and additional daily allowance for projects abroad; training credits; certificate of participation in civic service; certification of the acquired skills; contributions to the pension fund.

The organizations identify a Local Project Operator (OLP), a well-trained staff member with experience relating to the project topics, who holds the role of coordinator and responsible for the activities of the volunteer operators. He/she is the contact person for the volunteer operators for the implementation of the project and is available on site for at least 10 hours per week. 

The Local Project Operator must receive training, as required in the “Training System” filed by the organization when registering in the Universal Civic Service Register (Albo SCU):

A national and regional representation of volunteers was also set up, aimed at ensuring the dialogue between volunteers and the Department.

The organizations responsible for the programs and projects manage the initiative and monitor the progress of activities. They are constantly in contact with the Department to report any changes and critical issues.  The Department has the task of authorizing any request to change the location or related to the carrying out of activities.

During the implementation phase the Department carries out on-site visits to verify the correct implementation of the programs and projects and the correct inclusion and use of volunteer operators.

Post-Initiative Phase:

At the end of the project, the Department sends a questionnaire to the volunteer operators and organizations responsible for the projects to evaluate the Universal Civic Service experience and prepares a report based on the data and information received. The reports are published on the Department website.

Furthermore, every year the Department draws up a report on the organization, management and performance of the Universal Civic Service, which is presented to the Italian Parliament. The document contains information on the activities carried out during the year, illustrates the topics addressed by the Department and presents a summary of the activities carried out by the Regions and autonomous Provinces.