What is Pathways through Participation?

Pathways through Participation is a two-and-a-half year research project that aimed to improve our understanding of how and why people participate, how their involvement changes over time, and what pathways, if any, exist between different activities. The project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund and led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in partnership with the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) and Involve. It started in April 2009 and finished in November 2011.

What approach did we take?

• This was a qualitative research project.
• The research was conducted in three field study areas: one inner city area, one suburban and one rural.
• In each area, in-depth interviews were conducted with a number of individuals involved in a cross-section of participation activities.
• The final research phase involved 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.

What’s on this site?

You can find out more about the project in our About section. Project outputs - including the final report, briefing papers and literature review - are available to download from our Resources section. Our Project updates section includes updates on how the project is being followed up, as well as archives of project news and related news. And our Contact us section lets you do exactly what it says.