What is the purpose of the National Volunteer Register?

The idea to create a National Volunteer Register (NVR) for the UK was born in 2000. With the advent of budget airlines it rapidly developed into an initiative to create a European network of registers. This is in recognition of the fact that it is as easy to participate in two or more trials in London and Paris as it would be to participate in two trials in Leeds and Manchester.

The idea behind NVR is to not create a mammoth database but to create a web of databases where users remain in control of their own data. Only a small proportion of their databases have to be made visible to other users and no commercially sensitive information has to be shared or passed on to a third party.

A central database is available for those users who have no in house database system (e.g. academic centres) and where the number of volunteers they need to register would not warrant creating one.