Our research & policy work

Our research and policy work is crucial as it can help propel volunteering forward for the benefit of individuals, communities and society and assist us in delivering our charitable activities.

Through sharing our evidence, published reports and policy positions we engage with and seek to influence relevant stakeholders and decision makers regarding the NHS, social care policy and volunteering.

This area of our work is important as it enables decision makers and other interested stakeholders to be informed of the value and opportunities for volunteering when developing relevant policy.

Our recent activity has included the following:

• We published an article, Volunteering - a powerful social prescription, following research into social relationships, health and wellbeing during the pandemic, which identifies the impact of volunteering as a social prescribing tool for those living with long-term health conditions.
• We launched our research report series Kickstarting a New Volunteer Revolution. We want to see a nation where volunteering is part of everyone’s life:
  • First Timers, explored first-time volunteering and made recommendations for ways to encourage more individuals to volunteer for the first time.
  • Social Mobility: Unleashing the Power of Volunteering examined the motivations, attitudes, benefits, routes and barriers to volunteering, and discussed the implications for civic life and society.
  • Volunteering for a Healthier Britain which sets out how boosting civic participation can tackle health inequalities.
  • Reimagining Social Care – The Role of Active Citizenship which finds volunteering in social care settings boosts wellbeing, mood, and cognitive function amongst residents.
• The London School of Economics analysed the wellbeing and community impacts of participation in the NHS Volunteer Responders programme in Happy to help: The welfare effects of a nationwide micro-volunteering programme. Read more about their analysis in their blog, Happy to help: how a UK micro-volunteering programme increased people’s wellbeing.