Research and discussion at the New Voluntary Sector Researchers’ Session 2006

Bringing together researchers from the UK and overseas, the New Voluntary Sector Researchers’ Session at this years NCVO/VSSN research conference proved to be both highly engaging and sociable. Over the course of an afternoon seven presentations on research from the world of volunteering and the voluntary and community sector were delivered by students and practitioners. As well as giving us the chance to hear about each others research it was a great opportunity to meet other researchers.

The session was opened with four volunteering themed papers looking at such issues as the construction of volunteer identities, volunteer motivations and youth volunteering. Following this, there was a diverse range of topics on the voluntary and community sector with presentations on civil society organisations and the mass media in Italy, post soviet civil society in Russia and the role of PCT public panels in decision making. A wide range of research methodologies were on show during the session including the use of discourse analysis, participant observation, interviews and surveys.

As part of the session Colin Rochester delivered an interesting key note speech ‘Academic and Practitioner Research: Chalk and Cheese or Ham and Eggs’ looking at the differences and similarities of academic and practitioner research and how we as researchers we can work closer together.

A very successful and enjoyable day was rounded off a visit to the student union bar!

Write up by Joanna Machin, Institute for Volunteering Research

See also the 2006 research conference page.