The Pathways team and the partnering organisations have been monitoring the developments and debates around the Big Society with interest, and it seems logical that for such a concept to work and be sustained, it is crucial for politicians and practitioners to have a good understanding of how and why individuals involve themselves in various forms of participation throughout their lives.

The new government emphasises how one of the key principles of Building the Big Society is to encourage people to take an active role in their communities, as well as encourage charitable giving and philanthropy. Such forms of participation can manifest themselves in very different ways, so thorough and insightful research is needed to explore the connections and patterns between different participatory activities, something that the Pathways project will also begin to explore as we go into the in-depth interview phase of the project.

The main report can be dowloaded in the CLG website. Alongside the main report, a summary and an annex (with measures of civic health for each upper tier and unitary authority in England) have also been produced.

In a statement, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said that the index would track the civic health of the nation, by bringing together information at the national, regional and local levels in a single report. It would include information on levels of citizen trust in public institutions and each other; levels of civic engagement and volunteering; as well as perceptions of influence, belonging and cohesion. The information will come from the DCLG’s Citizenship Survey, the Audit of Political Engagement, the National Survey of Third Sector Organisations; the Place Survey and other sources.

The plans will be put forward by the thinktank Demos, who have just published ‘Service Nation’ which explores civic service across an individual’s life.