Become a volunteer.
Curators, recorders, society members and researchers willing to make an introduction now and then. What we ask of volunteers is small: claim a request when you can, make a warm connection, check back once. Below is what you’d agree to, how the queue works, and the sign-up form.
What you’d agree to.
The volunteer agreement and code of conduct. How we handle everyone’s personal data is in our privacy notice.
Volunteer agreement & code of conduct
What we’re doing, and why
The Ommatidium Project exists to widen access to entomology and invertebrate science for people who don’t arrive with an established network. As a volunteer you help by making introductions and pointing people towards the right person, place or opportunity.
What we ask of you
- Claim a request only when you can act on it, ideally within 5 days. If you can’t take it forward, release it so someone else can.
- Make warm, considered introductions, with the requester’s knowledge and consent.
- Check back once, a few weeks on, and update the request’s status.
- When you close a request, record its outcome: who you connected them to and what it led to.
- If you have your own network, use it. It is the greatest strength of our volunteers. Please check that the person truly wants an introduction before you send them one.
Handling people’s information
- Only open the details you need for a request you’re handling.
- Don’t copy, download, screenshot or store requesters’ details outside our shared system.
- Don’t share anyone’s details beyond what an introduction requires, and never outside the network.
- Tell admin at entofacet dot org straight away if information is lost, exposed or sent to the wrong person.
How we treat people
- Respect and encouragement, always. We’re here to open doors, not to gatekeep or test people.
- No discrimination of any kind. Judge requests on interest and need, not background or polish.
- This service is for adults (18+). If a request appears to come from a minor, don’t proceed. Flag it to the project.
- Keep good boundaries: no soliciting requesters for paid work, personal relationships or unrelated agendas.
- Declare any conflict of interest and hand the request to someone else.
What we don’t promise
We facilitate introductions and guidance. We don’t guarantee placements, jobs, references or any particular outcome, and you should never imply otherwise to a requester.
Be realistic, don’t overpromise
Only offer what you can genuinely deliver. For some requests there may be no obvious contact in that field, or only a handful of people in the country who could help, which can come as a surprise to a student or someone just starting out. Be honest about that rather than raising hopes. Popular groups get swamped: a topic like ants can draw hundreds of requests, and we cannot match every one to a person. Do your best, set expectations early, and never promise a connection, placement or reply you cannot guarantee.
Report back so we can keep going
When a request closes, tell us what happened: who you connected the person to, what you arranged, and where it led. If you worked through your home institution, note that too. We use these outcomes, anonymised, to report to funders and keep the project running, so a short note on every closed request genuinely matters.
Stepping back
You can pause or leave at any time. Just let the project know so requests can be reassigned. We’ll remove your access promptly.
The queue, the way volunteers would see it.
This board is fully interactive, click the buttons on each card to try it. Each request lands in New; “Claim” then “Advance” move a card through the stages, and on any open card you can assign an email only expert from our panel of remote specialists. Closing a request prompts you to record its outcome, who you connected the person to and what it led to, and on a closed request you can log a follow up check in a few weeks later, all of which we use for funding reports.
New 1
Claimed 1
In progress 1
Matched 1
Closed 1
Behind the queue: the volunteer side.
Everything below would sit behind a volunteer login and never be visible to the public. This is only a demonstration of what that private area could look like.
The volunteer directory (demo)
So you can see who else is in the network and where to hand a request on: who covers which groups, and who is happy to help with careers, collections, fieldwork or mentoring.
Email only experts (demo)
A separate bank of specialists who help by email only. They are often too far away to give local advice, but they are genuine experts in their group and have given us permission for people to contact them out of the blue. Treat this as a way to reach real expertise when no one local fits.
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