Research on participation has tended to look at participation within a particular type of activity (such as volunteering) or issue (such as housing) at a given time, and usually from an institutional or organisational perspective.
Pathways through Participation brought a fresh perspective to the debate and added to the evidence base by examining participation from the perspective of the individual and exploring the links and connections between different activities and episodes of participation throughout people’s lives.
Pathways through Participation was a two and a half year (April 2009 – November 2011) qualitative research project, which 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.
See the project reports >>