The paper was presented at a workshop on 26 September, led by the IVR (Institute for Volunteering Research). Notes from the small group discussions that took place at the workshop have now been written and are available to download here.

We are running two more  workshops in October. For more information and to register:

Local engagement and democracy
Tuesday 18 October 2011, 4.00 to 6.00
Houses of Parliament, London

National policy agendas
Friday 21 October 2011, 10.00 to 12.30 (followed by lunch)
NCVO, London

The survey shows a slight drop in formal volunteering: 39% of people formally volunteered at least once in the last year compared to 40% for the year 2009-10. Interestingly though, the level of formal volunteering  in 2010-11 is now identical to what it was in 2001.

In 2010-11, 34% engaged in civic participation at least once year. The level of civic participation is unchanged on 2009-10 but lower than in any year before then (between 38% and 39%).

Unfortunately, this is the last edition of the survey so we won’t be able to see how the trend evolves.

Philanthropy UK offers a useful round-up of reactions to the initiatives in the Paper, including from organisations such as the Centre for Giving and Philanthropy (CGAP) and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). Also worth reading is the blog post  White Giving Paper: good ideas but no game changers by James Allen, Policy Manager, at NCVO:

“The White Paper is full of ideas, many of them good ones, but none of them are really “game changers”. Cashpoint giving, for example, has potential. Opening up mobile technology to giving is important too. Also in the white paper is a progress report on important, though not headline grabbing, initiatives around making the Gift Aid system work better and cutting some of the red tape that presents barriers to many charities. Government is to be commended for its taking up of NCVO’s Funding Commission recommendation on the need to support the sector in investing in and modernising its own support mechanisms – this money is important and will make a difference. There is a gap, however, between the desire to see a new culture of giving and the proposed mechanisms to achieve it…”

To read the full post.

The report identifies some of the barriers that discourage people from giving time and money to voluntary and community organisations and explores some of the ways in which public engagement can be increased by reducing bureaucracy and red tape. Some of the key recommendations including considering reforms to the law to clarify the liability of charity trustees and volunteers, and displaying prominently information on volunteering in all Jobcentres and emphasising that it does not affect benefits.

Of the respondents who had volunteered over the period April to December 2010, 34.7% had volunteered within the DCMS sectors. The DCMS sector with the most volunteering was sport with 19.8% of people having volunteered in this area. The next most common was the arts with 8.1%. Libraries and archives saw the lowest rates of volunteering with 0.7 % and 0.5 %  respectively.

Between 2005/06 and 2010, there was a statistically significant increase in the number of people volunteering within the arts sector, rising from 6.3 % to 8.1%. The other sectors were largely stable.

Major policy proposals in the paper include:

• A £50million Community First Fund to invest in local savings schemes that pay out small grants well into the future in the most deprived areas. It will match contributions from local donors to encourage more giving. 
• A £10million Volunteer Match Fund to double the benefit of private donations to voluntary projects.
• Harnessing new technology. Including working with mobile phone companies to encourage charitable phone applications. Also talking to banks about donations through ATMs and widening access for people to make small charitable donations when paying for goods by cards.
• Encouraging a new focus reciprocal giving with ideas like setting up an ebay style online community where people can trade time.
• A government review of the relationship between financial incentives and giving.
• Support to encourage charitable giving in schools.

The paper is available to download on the Cabinet Office website along with a number of think-pieces from external contributors covering a wide range of topics as the role of venture philanthropy and how to make better use of technology. Contributors include Stephen Howard (Business in the Community), David Halpern (Institute for Government) and Alan Hatton-Yeo (Beth Johnson Foundation).

Interestingly, the paper highlights that “people frequently cite lack of time, information and bureaucracy as obstacles to giving their time”, but recognises that “while removing these barriers to participation is necessary, it is not sufficient to bring about a step-change in the culture of giving time. Many people give time because they want to help, but there are also specific motivations which differ from person to person, and recognising this diversity is important”. This really resonates with some of the key messages in our literature review ‘Understanding participation’ and more recently in our short report ‘Strengthening participation: Learning from participants’.

On the subject of removing barriers, decentralisation minister Greg Clark launched, just before Christmas, a ‘barrier busting’ service “to help volunteers, community groups and social enterprises overcome bureaucracy and get things done in their neighbourhood”. Definitely one to watch…

Much of the discussion and workshop dialogue was relevant to the work the Pathways through Participation project is exploring. Mike Locke, Director of Public Affairs for Volunteering England raised important questions regarding participation and life stages; do new citizenship programmes lead to lifelong participatory habits? Will changes in older people’s lifestyles and work patterns affect individual participation? The nebulous concept of volunteering was a recurring talking point throughout; is helping a neighbour to clear snow ‘volunteering’? Is engaging in decision making mechanisms a form of ‘volunteering’? Does one form of volunteering lead to another? All key issues the Pathways project is grappling with.

Tom Leftwich, policy advisor for the Office for Civil Society outlined the government’s take on participation in the Big Society. He spoke of the importance of engaging young adults with programmes such as the National Citizen Service for 16 year olds, and how essential it is to explore the barriers to participation such as bureaucracy and red tape, and remove such blocks. On the Wednesday I spoke to delegates from Siegen and Lille about the Pathways through Participation project and the barriers to participation. I was fascinated to hear how similar barriers and blocks tend to be beyond the UK. However it was interesting to hear about the importance of ‘project based’ participation particularly in Siegen in Germany. A local community development, for example the laying of a new football pitch, can often become a real hub for participation, bringing together local residents and which can lead to progressive individual participation (e.g. laying the pitch, playing on the pitch, coaching on the pitch). I was struck by how natural it is for people to participate, especially in rural Germany where there might be less amenities and leisure activities. Children grow up surrounded by participants and a sense of mutual-aid, and it becomes a social norm as they grow into their adult life. I was told of the saying in some German areas, “everyone here has started a club”.

To find out more about the European Year of Volunteering, including individual stories and a campaign toolbox, visit http://europa.eu/volunteering/

There was a conversation on Radio 4′s Thinking Allowed last week about recent research on participation. John Mohan from the Third Sector Research Centre was talking about the Centre’s use of Citizenship Survey data to identify what they are calling the ‘civic core’. This refers to the small segment (less than 10%) of the population responsible for a disproportionate level of voluntary work, charitable donations, and participation in civic groups.  

In response, professor Su Maddock questioned what gets left out of the picture when data is based solely on the Citizenship Survey. She challenged listeners to think about participation in different ways – not just in terms of traditional volunteering, which she describes as ‘doing to’ but also mutual organisations and social entreprises, which she described as ‘doing together.’  An expanded understanding of participation could mean that the ‘civic core’ is greater than what the Citizenship Survey would suggest. I was interested in the language of ‘doing to’ vs ‘doing together,’ and the questions this distinction raises about the differences between the two models.

The second story which caught my eye was a blog post in The Guardian about the launch of a new report on participation in neighbourhood websites by Networked Neighbourhoods. The study looked at participation on online forums in Brockley, East Dulwich, and Harringey. It found that these forums were seen by the residents and council representatives as largely positive channels through which residents could meet others in the neighbourhood and gain a sense of power around local decision-making, and both residents and council staff could acquire and share information. It also highlighted what many respondents found challenging about these types of sites: complaint. This raises questions about how neighbourhood website structure and site moderators can encourage meaningful debate and discussion, of which anger and discontent can be perfectly healthy parts, without letting what the report calls ‘aggressive negativity’ stiffle the exchange.

 All the presentations, session outlines and discussion notes are now available via googledocs: http://bit.ly/bigsocietyevidenceseminar 

Unsurprinsingly, I would recommend you reading the documents relating to the session on participation, including Colin Rochester’s outline ‘Participation: how does qualitative help us?’ which focuses on motivations and looks at some of the reasons why people participate.

Also worth a read is John Mohan’s outline ‘What do volunteering statistics tell us about the prospects for the Big Society?’ which further develops some of the ideas he presented in a recent article on the civic core.

The seminar presentations and the supporting publication can be downloaded here.

The next seminar, on international volunteering for young people, will be held in early December. Keep an eye on IVR’s events page for more information when it’s announced.