Associative voluntary service is a recent device which develops in a context of growth strong in the associative world and in the its human resources (always more than worked voluntary hours and always more wage-earning jobs). In 2006, during its launching, objectives announced by the ministry (50 000) locate associative voluntary service as full public policy ( a donation of one for general interest ) carried also by a diversity of associative mobilisations.

Some years later, how is the associative voluntary service applied and lived by the associative "operators" as by the volunteers? Finally that reveals the associative commitment today associative voluntary service? A donation of one , a prestige experience , a working in the name of citizenship? Is it since then possible to consider associative commitment to be an inevitable form or even refondatrice of our republican pact? And on what conditions?

From these problems and in an objective vision, this study is interested in the perception of associations and of volunteers to include the effects of voluntary service on (associative / personal) plans.

The results of accomplished opinion poll, in an unpublished way, by an interassociative collective and institute CSA show that the volunteers approve this experience by a large majority for a main reason of insertion and of acquisition of professional competences. The report in the professionnalisante utility of this experience is nevertheless variable according to the social origin of the young people, who wish a commitment strong in the State and in the absorbing parts to develop and to improve potentials of voluntary service.

The results of the inquiry of ground also confirm this tendency this time from the point of view of the very heterogeneous conditions of implementation of associative voluntary services in various associations. The living of voluntary experience in association manifest the permanent research of a balance between compared logic or in tension: freedom / pressure, payment by salary / voluntary work, job / plan, innovation / management, etc. This balance depends to a great extent on associative "Gouvernance" of voluntary service (recruitment, reception, monitoring) and real living conditions of the young person which turn out to be correspondent or contradictory with this status.

In the final, taking note the difficulty in grabbing the pure characteristics of associative voluntary service, study questions the purposes of voluntary service as citizen's contribution, as ski jump towards job and as device of social insertion.

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Studies and documents n 7_Volontariat associative