Volunteer Audio Skills Research 2026

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Volunteer Audio Skills Research 2026 — Questionnaire
Thank you for taking part. The questionnaire should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

1. Which of the following best describes your role? *Technical team leader/coordinatorVolunteer audio technician/crew memberChurch/venue/organisation leaderPaid audio/technical practitionerPerformer/musicianTrustee/committee memberEducator/trainerOther

2. What type of organisation or setting are you answering about? *Church/place of worshipAmateur theatre/drama groupIndependent/amateur theatre venueChoir/orchestra/concert band/brass band or other music groupBand or grassroots music organisationPub/club/music venueCommunity centre/village hallFestival/event organisationCommunity cinemaSchool/college/youth organisationArts/charitable organisationSports/social clubOther

3. Where is the organisation based? *EnglandScotlandWalesNorthern IrelandOutside the UK

4. What is your broad geographic area?Please enter your region, county or the first part of your postcode only (for example, Staffordshire or WS12). Please do not enter your full postcode.

5. Approximately how large is the organisation or regular audience/community it serves? *Under 5050-99100-249250-499500-9991,000+Not sure / not applicable

6. Approximately how many people regularly undertake audio or live-sound roles in your organisation? *1-23-56-1011-20More than 20Don't know

7. How difficult is it for your organisation to recruit enough people with the audio skills you need? *Not difficultSlightly difficultModerately difficultVery difficultExtremely difficult / a major operational problemNot applicable / don't know

8. How do your audio volunteers or grassroots crew mainly learn the skills they need? Select all that apply.From another volunteer/crew memberTrial and error / learning on the jobManufacturer tutorials or manualsYouTube or other online materialTraining organised internally by the church/venue/groupExternal short courses or workshopsSchool, college or universityProfessional industry experiencePrivate tuition/mentoringThere is no structured learning

9. How confident are you that your organisation can tell whether a volunteer is competent to undertake a particular audio task unsupervised? *Very confidentFairly confidentNeither confident nor unconfidentNot very confidentNot at all confidentWe have no formal way of assessing this

10. When a new audio volunteer joins, is there a defined progression from beginner to independently competent operator? *Yes - documentedYes - but informalIt varies according to who trains themVery little structured progressionNoDon't know

11. What are the biggest gaps in volunteer AUDIO knowledge or skills in your organisation? Please select the five that you consider most important. *Basic signal flowSafe connection of equipmentMicrophone choice and placementGain structureMixing speechMixing musicEqualisation (EQ)Dynamics/compressionPreventing and managing feedbackStage monitoring / IEMsDigital mixing consolesWireless microphones / RFSystem setup and loudspeakersTroubleshooting and fault findingHearing protection / sound-level safetyElectrical and safe working practicesWorking effectively with musicians/speakers/performersKnowing when to seek more experienced or professional help

12. Are existing external qualifications or structured training routes practical for your audio volunteers? Select all that apply. *Yes, and we use themCost is a barrierTravel/location is a barrierTime/attendance requirements are a barrierThey are too professional or academic for our needsWe do not know what suitable provision existsWe have not found anything appropriateWe do not need external provision

13. How much structured learning could a typical audio volunteer realistically undertake over 12 months? *Less than 5 hours5-10 hours11-20 hours21-40 hours41-80 hoursMore than 80 hoursDon't know

14. Where could audio volunteers realistically undertake learning? Select all that apply. *In their own church/venue while volunteeringAt home through online/self-directed learningShort evening sessionsOccasional weekend sessionsManufacturer-led sessionsRegional workshopsFurther-education collegePrivate tuition or mentoringIntensive/residential learning

15. What difference would having more competent audio volunteers make to your organisation? Please select the three that would make the greatest difference. *More reliable services/performances/eventsBetter sound or technical qualityBetter audience/congregation experienceImproved accessibilityImproved safetyLess pressure on experienced volunteers/crewEasier recruitment and retentionGreater volunteer confidenceMore opportunities for young peopleBetter livestream/recording outputA pathway towards employment or professional technical workLittle or no difference

16. Would a nationally consistent framework describing practical audio knowledge, skills and progression from beginner to advanced practitioner be useful? *Extremely usefulVery usefulModerately usefulSlightly usefulNot usefulUnsure

17. If such an audio skills framework existed, how might your organisation use it? Select all that apply. *Recruiting volunteersInductionPlanning learningAssessing competenceDeciding when somebody can work unsupervisedIdentifying skills gapsSetting development goalsRecognising achievementProgression to employment or further educationSelecting external trainingWe would not use it

18. Have people who developed audio skills through your church/community/arts organisation subsequently used those skills elsewhere? Select all that apply. *Yes - paid professional technical workYes - further or higher educationYes - volunteering in other arts/community organisationsYes - other employmentNot that I know ofDon't know

18a. If yes, can you give a brief example?Please do not include names or other information that could identify an individual.

19. What is the single biggest difficulty you face in developing competent audio volunteers?Optional — please tell us briefly about the main difficulty you experience.

20. Can you give an example where insufficient audio knowledge or competence caused a problem?Optional — please describe the situation briefly. Please do not include names or other information that could identify an individual.

21. How did you hear about this research? *The Church Sound & Media Summit (TCSMS)AWVT website, email or social mediaInovaplus website, email or social mediaFacebook church sound/media groupOther Facebook groupReddit - r/churchtechReddit - r/livesoundReddit - r/techtheatreReddit - another communityLittle Theatre GuildNODAMaking MusicACRE / village hall networkCinema For AllBrass Bands EnglandABTT or another industry organisationColleague/friend

22. May Inovaplus Ltd and AWVT contact you about this research? *YesNo

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23. May an anonymised quotation from your response be used in published research and/or funding applications? *YesNo

Research participation *

I have read the information provided about this research and understand how my responses will be used. I confirm that I am taking part voluntarily.

Please do not fill in this field.