This article looks at the social and economic benefits of volunteering and at how governments can support it. First, four core characteristics of volunteering are defined, and on this basis four broad types of volunteering are identified: mutual aid, philanthropy, participation and advocacy. The main benefits of... Read more

This article will present some findings from a project funded by the Health Development Agency on the relationship between social capital, gender and health. The project involved a case study analysis of a socially deprived community in the north west of England and was carried out between November 1999 and March... Read more

This article looks at research into the question of whether volunteering is beneficial for people with mental health problems. It begins with the literature on engagement in volunteering: are people with mental health problems under-represented as volunteers because their ill health affects the motivation to... Read more

The Learning Volunteer Programme involves volunteers in the museum’s galleries where they interact with visitors by means of displays, specimens and discussions. This report details the findings from a review and impact assessment of the programme. A multi-method research approach was adopted, using semi-structured... Read more

This article explores the role of Volunteer Bureaux in promoting and supporting volunteering in local communities in England. The role of these bodies is a comparatively under-researched topic. Based upon new research, the article explores the strengths and weaknesses of this role, and recommends how the management... Read more

Many disabled people take part in voluntary work of all kinds, including those who also have paid work and those whose main income comes from social security benefit. The Labour government’s extension of active labour market policies to groups of people previously assumed economically inactive has focused attention... Read more

This short article uses national survey data to show that claims that volunteering ‘flourished’ during the recession were premature and overly optimistic and that in fact rates have declined. It goes on to offer some possible explanations for this fall in volunteering and concludes by discussing why it is important... Read more

This paper looks at the emergence of the Third Way as the guiding principle of the New Labour government of Tony Blair, and at what implications it has for volunteering in the UK. It is argued that because the Third Way emphasises the development of civil society, this implies a central role for voluntary action.... Read more

This research looks at initiatives undertaken by volunteers to promote healthy activities in a mainly rural county in the East of England. This is a first attempt at giving a picture of what volunteers are doing at grass roots level and to point the way for future development. The research was conducted by means of:... Read more

This is a report of the survey component of Volunteering for mental health, a larger project, undertaken by National Centre for Volunteering for the Department of Health. The object of volunteering for mental health was to explore the benefits volunteering by people who had experience of mental health problems. The... Read more