What is the Pathways through Participation project?

It is a joint research project being led by NCVO in partnership with the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) and Involve. It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund through its Research Grants programme. It started in April 2009 and will last 2.5 years.

What are we exploring?

The project aims to explore how and why people get involved and stay involved in different forms of participation over the course of their lives. Participation means many things to many different people. The project will look at participation in a very broad sense and consider the act of taking part in a wide range of social or civic activities.

What approach are we taking?

• This is a qualitative research project.
• The research will focus on three case study areas: one inner city area, one suburban and one rural.
• In each area in-depth interviews will be conducted with a number of individuals involved in a cross-section of participation activities and with those who do not participate.
• The final research phase will involve participatory workshops to discuss the research findings and explore, with a range of stakeholders (voluntary and community organisations, public service providers and policy-makers) how they translate into practice.

How can you engage?

Project outputs including presentations and publications will be available for you to download in our resources section. We will update you on the project through our news section which will also have available articles and reports on participation produced by others. In both sections you have the opportunity to comment, contribute and feedback. We look forward to hearing from you!

Find out more about our objectives, methods and who we are.