Citizen engagement and voluntary action
Citizen engagement and voluntary action are at the heart of civil society. Our work in this area aims to explore why and how people engage in collective action.
Read our publications or events for full details of our work. For more information on our work on citizen engagement and voluntary action contact Véronique Jochum.
- You may also be interested in our research work on social capital.
- See NCVO's policy work on community engagement.
Projects
Pathways through participation: what creates and sustains active citizenship?
This research project is designed to explore how and why people get involved and stay involved in different forms of participation in their communities. It aims to increase knowledge of people's pathways into participation and of the factors that shape this over time.
It is a joint project in partnership with the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) and Involve, and is funded by the Big Lottery Fund's research programme.
The Pathways through Participation project has now published a number of outputs, including:
- Understanding participation: a literature review
- Briefing paper 1: What is participation
- Briefing paper 2: What are the drivers of participation?
- Briefing paper 3: Who participates?
- Briefing paper 4: Why participate?
- Situated practice: Initial reflections on the organisation of participation
- Using participatory mapping to explore participation in three communities
- Strengthening participation: Learning from participants
Final Report
The final report from the 2.5 year project was launched on 13 September 2011. The report highlights the importance of institutions and organisations in creating an environment in which participation can flourish - such as linking up people with similar interests or concerns and providing spaces or multi purpose hubs for people to come together. Among the questions looked at in the report are:
- What makes people get involved in their local communities?
- What makes people stay involved?
- And what stops them?
- And does getting involved in activities as diverse as volunteering or voting over time lead to even more committed people?
- How does involvement change over a person's lifetime?
Read the final report or the summary report.
Learning events briefing papers
The Pathways through Participation project looks at participation in a very broad sense and considers the act of taking part in a wide range of social, public and individual activities including volunteering, giving money, voting or signing a petition. Following the launch of the project’s final report, three learning events took place in Autumn 2011 to highlight the implications of the research findings from the report for volunteering, local engagement and policy. At these learning events the following briefing papers were launched:
- Informing and influencing policy (PDF 441KB)
- Local engagement in democracy (PDF 436KB)
- Volunteering as a participation pathway (PDF 359KB)
For more information about Pathways through Participation, visit their website.
Publications
Participation: trends, facts and figures
Published: March 2011
- Who participates?
- Where do people participate?
- What do people participate in?
- Why do people participate?
Understanding participation: a literature review
Published: December 2009
This review by the Pathways through Participation project looks at the historical and current drivers of participation, the activities and actors of participation and different theoretical approaches that contribute to a better understanding of participation. It closes with an emerging ‘participation framework’ that will be further developed and refined in the subsequent stages of the project.
Civil renewal and active citizenship: a guide to the debate
Published: June 2005
This report reviews current thinking on civil society, civil renewal and active citizenship. - It highlights the value of voluntary action within civil society and the significant contribution of the voluntary and community sector to civil renewal and citizen engagement.
- Download Civil renewal and active citizenship: a guide to the debate Veronique Jochum, Belinda Pratten, Karl Wilding (PDF 1.09 MB)
- Download the Review of the civil renewal and active citizenship debate Sophie Millner (PDF 559KB)
A broader parish: working together, improving rural communities
Published: November 2006
This policy and research report looks at community governance and explores the relationships between parish councils, voluntary and community organisations, and individuals in rural areas. -
- Download A broader parish report Claire Steele, Veronique Jochum, Jemma Grieve, Sally Cooke (PDF 920KB)
- Download the executive summary of A broader parish (PDF 707KB)
Past events presentations
Changing governance structures and processes
9 October 2008, NCVO - This seminar was jointly organised by NCVO and the ESRC NGPA research programme at the Centre for Civil Society (LSE). It looked at how civil society organisations in the UK and other countries are experiencing the shift from government to governance.
Engaging citizens seminar series
June 2006 - October 2007 - NCVO organised a series of 6 seminars on civil renewal and active citizenship with the Economic and Social Research Council. The seminars provided an opportunity to share insights into how active citizens contribute to an inclusive and cohesive society.
- Faith-based voluntary action
- ICT, social capital and voluntary action
- Individual pathways in participation
- Localism and local governance
- From local to global
- Human rights, a tool for change
To mark the end of the seminar series a report was written to highlight the key messages, findings and recommendations of each seminar in the series. The report also summarises the key issues for policy, practice and research across the series.
- Download Engaging Citizens - the summary of the seminar series (PDF 510KB)
1. Faith-based voluntary action
15 June 2006 - This seminar looked at how faith shapes voluntary action and influences the type of voluntary activity people choose to take part in. - It explored the challenges and issues of the current policy agenda for faith-based organisations, statutory agencies and government bodies.
- Download Faith-based voluntary action (PDF 1.91MB)
- Download Professor Vivien Lowndes' presentation (PPT 70.5KB)
- Downloa Greg Smith's presentation (PPT 4.27MB)
2. ICT, social capital and voluntary action
05 October 2006 - This seminar explored different views on whether ICT is strengthening or diminishing social capital. - It looked specifically at virtual voluntary action and examined how this may differ from traditional forms of face-to-face voluntary action, in terms of social capital.
- Download ICT, social capital and voluntary action (PDF 1.53MB)
- Download Dr Ben Anderson's presentation (PPT 433KB)
- Download Jayne Cravens' presentation (PPT 358KB)
3. Individual pathways in participation
24 January 2007 - This seminar looked at people's pathways to and from participation. - It explored whether involvement in community activities as a volunteer, member or beneficiary can lead to involvement in decision-making structures and processes within and outside the VCS. -
- Download Individual pathways in participation (PDF 491KB)
- Download Professor John Annette's presentation (PPT 156KB)
- Download Dr Stella Creasey's presentation (PPT 115KB)
4. Localism and local governance
20 March 2007 - The seminar on local government looked at the emphasis on community involvement in governance. - It asked whether policy is effectively contributing to positive changes and explored the impact on the design and delivery of public services. It also considered the impact of community governance on social capital and community cohesion.
- Download Localism and local governance (PDF 327KB)
- Download Professor Marilyn Taylor's presentation (PPT 111KB)
- Download Dr Stuart Wilke-Heegs' presentation (1.93MB)
5. From local to global
28 June 2007 - This seminar explored how the link between local and global is developing in social movements, campaigns and giving. It also examined how participation of individuals across national boundaries is strengthening the idea of global citizenship.
- Download From Local to global (PDF 735KB)
- Download John Gaventa's presentation (PPT 123KB)
- Download Christopher Rootes' presentation (PPT 83.5)
6. Human rights, a tool for change
31 October 2007 - This seminar looked at how human rights based approaches can contribute to improving service delivery and empowering people to participate fully in society.
- Download Human rights, a tool for change (PDF 585KB)










