Involve’s Pathways through Participation research, with NCVO and the Institute for Volunteering Research, showed that the reasons people start, continue or stop participating are shaped by a multitude of factors that shift in significance over time and are in turn shaped by the impact of participation itself. These factors are:
- individual factors, including motivations, personality, identity and resources
- relationships and social networks, including with an individual’s family, friends, neighbours and colleagues
- the groups and organisations through which people participate, and the particular structures, processes and culture of those groups;
- the local environment and place, including local spaces, events, institutions and politics
- wider societal and global factors, including national events, social movements and long-term societal and global trends.
