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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.

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:

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:

For more information about Pathways through Participation, visit their website.

 

 
Publications

Participation: trends, facts and figures

Published: March 2011

Aimed at practitioners and policy-makers searching for information on the state of participation in the UK, this publication draws together trends, facts and statistics relating to participation from a range of different sources. The publication addresses the following key questions:
  • Who participates?
  • Where do people participate?
  • What do people participate in?
  • Why do people participate?
It looks at whether there has been decline in participation over the last decades and includes some international comparisons. The publication examines in more detail a number of specific participatory activities (membership, giving, volunteering, timebanking, ethical consumerism, political participation, local governance, campaigning and direct action and protest).

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 debateCivil renewal and active citizenship thumbnail

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.  

A broader parish: working together, improving rural communitiesA Broader Parish thumbnail

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. - 

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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.

  • Download the seminar report (PDF 335KB)
  • Download Marilyn Taylor and Joanna Howard's presentation (PPT 67KB) 
  • Download Heather Blakey's presentation (PPT 143KB)
  • Download Karin Gavelin's presentation (PPT 886KB)

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.

  1. Faith-based voluntary action
  2. ICT, social capital and voluntary action
  3. Individual pathways in participation
  4. Localism and local governance
  5. From local to global
  6. 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.

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. 

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. 

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. - 

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.  

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. 

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. 

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