Participation Unit - Our Wider Work

The Participation Unit is also involved in a range of activities designed to further our understanding of consultation and engagement approaches. Among these are:

• Assessing the impact on citizens of participation in civil society: few practitioners and policy makers have managed to convincingly measure what impact participation in civil and civic society has on those who participate, the society itself and the services delivered within it. Using advanced statistical analysis on three large survey datasets, we are exploring how both perceptions of influence and actual levels of activity are related to overall satisfaction with services and areas. This will be published in a report launched in the Autumn.
• Exploring the nature of influence in the 21st Century: for over 30 years Ipsos MORI has been monitoring the activities of socio-political activists. Over this time our understanding of influence has evolved and has been extended to move beyond direct efforts to influence to look at indirect influence through changing the opinions and behaviour of friends, colleagues and acquaintances. This paper will explore the similarities and differences between activists and influencers and highlights the roles that both have to play in policy debates.
• Understand the implications of undertaking high quality peer research: our recent conference paper to the Market Research Society conference showed how we have been putting the theory behind participative research into practice. In particular, we explored the advantages and drawbacks of using peer researchers to meaningfully connect public and private sector clients with participants, and the implications this has for the research sector.
• Deliberative stimulus materials: building on our 2005 publication 'Who do you Believe: Trust in Government Statistics' we are currently working with Energywatch to understand what impact different ways of presenting and delivering information have on participants' attitudes and subsequent behaviour
• Speaking at events and leading seminars: We are involved in a number of debates and discussions in this area, including regularly appearing at conferences to discuss issues around what the public think about increased involvement and choice and the impact of participation. We also hold regular evening seminars for our clients and stakeholders to discuss specific topics in more detail, as well as running online discussions through our website.