Continuity and Change in Voluntary Action: Patterns, Trends and Understandings: Third Sector Research Series

There are great expectations of voluntary action in contemporary Britain but limited in-depth insight into the level, distribution and understanding of what exactly constitutes such activity. Drawing on extensive survey data and written accounts of citizen engagement, this book charts change and continuity in voluntary activity 1981 to the present. Addressing fundamental questions such as whether the public are cynical about or receptive to calls for greater voluntary action, the book considers whether respective government expectations of volunteering can really be fulfilled. This pioneering study combines a wealth of qualitative material from the Mass Observation Archive between 1981 and 2012, and data from many longitudinal and cross-sectional social surveys.