The NatCen Blog

Here we’ll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and
analysis through comments from our team of experts. We’d love to hear from you, so post comments or get in touch with us.

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• Posted on 08 July 2011

  Understanding (the Big) Society

  The Big Society seems rarely out of the news. Central to the Conservatives’ vision for government, it’s intended to mark a step change in the delivery of public services and the relationship between government and citizens: 'The basic premise is that if everyone gives a little of themselves, the benefits for the whole of society can be enormous." David Cameron, 23/05/11 Here Andy Scott focuses on what our Understanding Society study can tell us about future prospects for the Big Society.  

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  Tags: BHPS, Big Society, British Household Panel Survey, Understanding Society, volunteering

• Posted on 04 July 2011

  Measuring the big society: the challenge for social research

  In Gareth's last blog he focused on how social research knowledge can contribute to the debate about what the Big Society is and how it can be brought to life. Given its flexible definition, how do we measure whether the Big Society exists and whether it's working? This is the next challenge, and alongside colleagues this is exactly what Gareth is aiming to do through the Evaluation of National Citizen Service.  

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  Tags: Big Society, Evaluation of National Citizen Service, NCS, research design

• Posted on 30 May 2011

  How can social research help us solve the Big Society puzzle?

  This week, the Prime Minister reinforced his commitment to building a bigger, stronger society, with stronger relationships, communities and families at its core. The speech comes on the back of a flurry of recent reports and publications grappling with the essence of Big Society and how to realise it. At the National Centre for Social Research we’re currently involved in a number of studies that look at what makes different people engage in ‘pro-social’ action in their communities. Gareth Morrell gives us a couple of examples:

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  Tags: Big Society, Citizenship Survey