This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and the Voluntary Sector.
Voluntary organizations do not only have effects directly through the activity that takes place there. They can also have social effects beyond this on individuals and society, from neighborhoods to society in general.
It is often difficult to identify such societal effects that would not have occurred without the organisation's activity, because the organization is also part of society which influences its activity. In this project, we analyze societal impacts by looking at changes over time.
Research questions
Voluntary organizations are expected to be able to contribute to inclusion in society by involving marginal groups in their activities and in the management of the organisation. We therefore ask the following research questions in this project:
- Do voluntary organizations contribute to the inclusion of ethnic minorities and women through the fact that these groups have increasingly become organizational members and board members over the past decades?
- Are there differences between different types of organizations (ICNPO category, age, operating costs, number of members and employees, for example) when it comes to the proportions of ethnic minorities and women among members and board members and changes in these proportions?
