What Are We Doing

In addition to undertaking specific projects for clients such as the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Home Office, Transport for London, the English Secondary Schools Association, Harcourt Publishing and various Local Authorities, the Participation Unit also leads thinking on the subject of participative research:

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 argue that there is a positive relationship between community engagement approaches and feelings of satisfaction with an area and a community.  However, it is much more difficult to find quantifiable evidence of the tangible benefits of community engagement initiatives to service providers, due in part to a lack of appropriate and viable indicators that take into account the scope and quality of various engagement initiatives.

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 behaviours of friends, colleagues and acquaintances.  This paper explores 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 flagship Market Research Society conference showed how we have been putting theory behind participate 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 material

Building on our 2005 publication Who do you Believe: Trust in Government Statistics we explored the impact of different types of stimulus materials with Energywatch.

Speaking at events and leading knowledge enhancement seminars

We are involved in a number of debates and discussions in this area, including regularly appearing at conferences.  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.