Understanding Volunteering:
A Quantitative Analysis of Urban/Rural
Differences in Participation
Alasdair Rutherford
University of Stirling
Helen Harper
Volunteer Scotland
October, 2013
Thanks to AQMeN and Volunteer Development Scotland for funding this project.
Thanks to the Scottish Government for supplying the data and matching.
Thanks also to Marta Odendal, Sian O’Hare and Peter Hughes for research assistance
at different stages of the project.
Motivation
Public policy
The recession has focussed policy makers’
attention on the role of voluntary and civic
participation in the provision of public
services.
Participation across
space
This policy shift towards a co-production
agenda assumes that levels of volunteering
and its distribution in all localities can meet
this demand now and in the future.
Develop quantitative
methods capacity
One of the aims of the AQMeN project was
to develop the capacity of a voluntary
sector organisation to undertake analysis of
quantitative data.
What is a volunteer?
Informal helping
Care for family
Formal volunteering
Informal volunteering
FORMALITY
Compulsory
volunteering
Volunteering Participation
Motivations
Altruism, ‘warm glow’, increase human capital,
increase social capital, involuntary
Opportunity
Depends on human capital, social capital, life
stage, social networks
Varies across space
Large urban/rural differences. Usually
attributed to differences in socio-economic
characteristics of local populations, differences
in social capital
Rural volunteering is broad, with more people
contributing across multiple organisations, but
for few hours per week. Urban volunteering is
deep, with fewer individuals working with
fewer organisations but with a greater time
commitment per week. Trimbell (2006)
Difference in character,
not just quantity
Measuring Volunteering
There are big variations in survey estimates of
voluntary participation depending on question
wording.
The SHS has a reliable and consistent two-stage
question, which provides a good measure of formal
volunteering (within the context of an organisation,
association or group).
Participation By Rurality
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Large
urban
areas
Other
urban
areas
Small
accessible
towns
Small
remote
towns
Very
remote
small
towns
Accessible Remote
rural
rural
Very
remote
rural
Data Merging
Datazones
Data zones are groups of Census output
areas, covering the whole of Scotland and
nested within local authority boundaries,
which have populations of between 500
and 1,000 household residents. There are
6,505 data zones across Scotland.
Local Area Data
drawn from a variety
of sources
Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation,
Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, Census
data, population estimates, business data
Merge
The merge was carried out by the SHS team
at the Scottish Government to preserve
anonymity of respondents
Estimating Volunteering Participation
The individual’s propensity to participate will be a
function of the individual, household, and local
area characteristics:
𝑉 ∗ = 𝑿′ 𝜷 + 𝜀
We observe through survey questions a binary
variable:
1 𝑖𝑓 𝑉 ∗ > 0
𝑉=
0 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
We can therefore estimate a binary logistic
regression:
Pr 𝑉 = 1 𝑿 = 𝛷(𝑿′ 𝜷)
RESULTS: Volunteering Participation
Socio-economic
Characteristics
Women are more likely to volunteer; little
variation across the age categories;
education is a significant predictor of
volunteering
Urban/Rural
Participation constant for small towns, but
increases with remoteness and rurality
Local Area Data
Individuals living in areas that have higher
levels of health and education are more
likely to volunteer. Greater deprivation
levels increase the probability of
volunteering.
Urban/Rural
Rural difference is reduced but not
eliminated by inclusion of local area
characteristics.
RESULTS: Hours of Volunteering per Month
Individual
Women volunteer just under 1.5 fewer
hours per month; age has little effect on
volunteering hours until post-retirement
age; there is no significant effect of income,
although individuals outside the labour
market are likely to volunteer longer hours.
Household
Having children significantly reduces the
number of hours spent volunteering by
around 2 hours per month.
Local Area
There is no urban/rural difference even
before controlling for local area
characteristics. Local characteristics
similarly have little effect.
Findings: Individual & Household
Individual characteristics such as gender, age, and education
are somewhat important in determining volunteering
participation.
Household characteristics such as relationship status and
number of children also have a significant effect.
The characteristics of the neighbourhoods in which people live
then have a further impact on the participation, frequency and
intensity of volunteering.
Findings: Urban/Rural
Volunteering participation is significantly higher in rural
Scotland than urban areas. Those in the most remote rural
areas have even higher participation still. This effect is slightly
reduced by controlling for local area characteristics.
There is neither an urban/rural difference in the number of
hours spent volunteering .
The significant difference between urban and rural areas lies in
the decision to participate, rather than in the level of
participation.
Are there differences in the nature of that participation?
Volunteering Activity Type by Rurality
Raising money
Committee work
Office work, admin
Providing advice, assistance to others
IT support
Education, training, coaching
Advocacy
Campaigning
Providing transport, driving
Visiting, buddying, befriending people
Counselling
Helping organise, run events, activities
Providing direct services
Representing others
Managing, organising other volunteers
Generally helping out
Whatever is required
Urban/ accessible Rural/ inaccessible
32%
37%
20%
30%
12%
14%
15%
18%
3%
3%
13%
12%
2%
2%
4%
5%
7%
9%
8%
8%
4%
4%
26%
32%
8%
11%
4%
5%
6%
7%
35%
41%
23%
32%
χ2 Test
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
Volunteering Activity Type by Rurality
Raising money
Committee work
Office work, admin
Providing advice, assistance to others
IT support
Education, training, coaching
Advocacy
Campaigning
Providing transport, driving
Visiting, buddying, befriending people
Counselling
Helping organise, run events, activities
Providing direct services
Representing others
Managing, organising other volunteers
Generally helping out
Whatever is required
Urban/ accessible Rural/ inaccessible
32%
37%
20%
30%
12%
14%
15%
18%
3%
3%
13%
12%
2%
2%
4%
5%
7%
9%
8%
8%
4%
4%
26%
32%
8%
11%
4%
5%
6%
7%
35%
41%
23%
32%
χ2 Test
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
Volunteering Activity Type by Rurality
Raising money
Committee work
Office work, admin
Providing advice, assistance to others
IT support
Education, training, coaching
Advocacy
Campaigning
Providing transport, driving
Visiting, buddying, befriending people
Counselling
Helping organise, run events, activities
Providing direct services
Representing others
Managing, organising other volunteers
Generally helping out
Whatever is required
Urban/ accessible Rural/ inaccessible
32%
37%
20%
30%
12%
14%
15%
18%
3%
3%
13%
12%
2%
2%
4%
5%
7%
9%
8%
8%
4%
4%
26%
32%
8%
11%
4%
5%
6%
7%
35%
41%
23%
32%
χ2 Test
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
Policy Implications
Potential for “big
society”
These findings suggest that there may be
potential for increased voluntary activity in
urban areas, as individuals with similar
characteristics are currently less likely to
participate if they live in a more urban area.
Caution …
However, there are some cautionary notes.
The potential lies in increased individual
participation rather than increased intensity by
existing volunteers. The demand side is
important: namely, the types of activities and
opportunities that are offered by organisations.
Social capital
Social capital is still an important determinant
of volunteering supply and is relatively
persistent. Despite the great policy interest in
volunteering over the past thirty years,
volunteering participation has held fairly
steady.
Conclusions
Role for policy?
Policies to increase voluntary participation in
public service provision are likely to be more
successful in some areas than others.
One the one hand,
Communities with existing higher levels of
participations may be better equipped to
absorb additional voluntary roles, as the social
connections and support structures are already
in place.
On the other,
These communities may already be at capacity,
with available volunteers unable to take on any
more responsibility for public service provision.
More urban communities may have untapped
potential but weaker networks, while more
rural communities have better connections but
risk overloading individuals.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING …
Alasdair Rutherford
University of Stirling
Helen Harper
Volunteer Development Scotland
Describing Volunteering
35%
30%
25%
20%
Male
Female
15%
10%
5%
0%
2006
2007
2008
2009
Volunteering Organisation Type by Rurality
Child related with school
Child related outside school
Adult education
Sport, exercise
Religion
Politics
Elderly
Health, disability & social welfare
Health & safety, first aid
Environment, animals
Justice, human rights
Local community, neighbourhood
Citizens groups
Hobbies, recreation, arts
Trade union
No. Observations
Urban/ accessible
20.8%
18.9%
4.1%
12.4%
18.6%
2.2%
13.8%
18.9%
3.0%
6.2%
2.9%
14.2%
3.6%
14.3%
2.6%
4,499
Rural/
inaccessible
22.0%
22.4%
4.7%
13.0%
18.6%
2.6%
18.2%
16.8%
4.5%
9.3%
3.1%
28.7%
4.8%
18.3%
1.6%
1,170
χ2 Test
***
***
*
***
***
***
*
***
**
Volunteering Organisation Type by Rurality
Child related with school
Child related outside school
Adult education
Sport, exercise
Religion
Politics
Elderly
Health, disability & social welfare
Health & safety, first aid
Environment, animals
Justice, human rights
Local community, neighbourhood
Citizens groups
Hobbies, recreation, arts
Trade union
No. Observations
Urban/ accessible
20.8%
18.9%
4.1%
12.4%
18.6%
2.2%
13.8%
18.9%
3.0%
6.2%
2.9%
14.2%
3.6%
14.3%
2.6%
4,499
Rural/
inaccessible
22.0%
22.4%
4.7%
13.0%
18.6%
2.6%
18.2%
16.8%
4.5%
9.3%
3.1%
28.7%
4.8%
18.3%
1.6%
1,170
χ2 Test
***
***
*
***
***
***
*
***
**
Volunteering Organisation Type by Rurality
Child related with school
Child related outside school
Adult education
Sport, exercise
Religion
Politics
Elderly
Health, disability & social welfare
Health & safety, first aid
Environment, animals
Justice, human rights
Local community, neighbourhood
Citizens groups
Hobbies, recreation, arts
Trade union
No. Observations
Urban/ accessible
20.8%
18.9%
4.1%
12.4%
18.6%
2.2%
13.8%
18.9%
3.0%
6.2%
2.9%
14.2%
3.6%
14.3%
2.6%
4,499
Rural/
inaccessible
22.0%
22.4%
4.7%
13.0%
18.6%
2.6%
18.2%
16.8%
4.5%
9.3%
3.1%
28.7%
4.8%
18.3%
1.6%
1,170
χ2 Test
***
***
*
***
***
***
*
***
**
Volunteering Participation
female
Area: Urban
Area: Other urban
Area: Small accessible towns
Area: Small remote towns
Area: Very remote small towns
Area: Accessible rural
Area: Remote rural
Area: Very remote rural
SIMD Rank (Deciles)
Local population demographics
Businesses: Education, Health or Social Work (%)
Businesses: Community, social and personal services (%)
N
Model 1: Individual Data
1.158
Model 2: Matched local area
1.153
(0.0539)***
(0.0539)***
Reference
Reference
1.020
1.035
(0.0559)
(0.0655)
1.136
1.144
(0.0886)
(0.0962)
1.226
1.189
(0.158)
(0.156)
1.742
1.711
(0.268)***
(0.276)***
1.298
1.155
(0.0887)***
(0.0988)*
2.050
1.718
(0.226)***
(0.218)***
2.333
1.803
(0.231)***
(0.228)***
16,797‡
x
x
x
x
16,797‡
Volunteering Hours
female
Area: Urban
Area: Other urban
Area: Small accessible towns
Area: Small remote towns
Area: Very remote small towns
Area: Accessible rural
Area: Remote rural
Area: Very remote rural
SIMD Rank (Deciles)
Local population demographics
Businesses: Education, Health or Social Work (%)
Businesses: Community, social and personal services (%)
Constant
N
Model 1: Individual Data†
Model 2: Matched local area †
-1.392
-1.377
(0.695)**
(0.684)**
Reference
-0.669
Reference
-0.158
(0.777)
(0.808)
1.096
1.578
(1.490)
(1.478)
2.697
3.053
(2.133)
(2.168)
0.0726
-0.0546
(1.726)
(1.838)
-1.075
-0.829
(0.924)
(1.141)
-0.382
-0.578
(1.327)
(1.589)
1.261
0.403
(1.190)
(1.468)
9.615
(3.722)***
3,588‡
x
x
x
x
7.671
(5.712)
3,588‡
First stage
Respondents are first asked:
“The next set of questions are about the kinds of
things that some people do to give up their time,
without pay, to help people or for the benefit of
their neighbourhood or a wider area, and either
through organisations or acting as individuals.
Thinking back over the last 12 months, have you
given up any time to help any clubs, charities,
campaigns or organisations. I mean in an unpaid
capacity”
Scottish Household Survey Questionnaire
Second Stage
Respondents who answer ‘no’ are then presented with
a list of types of organisation or group, and are asked:
“We often find that people forget about some of the
things they have done because they only do them
occasionally or wouldn't normally think of it as helping
people or their community. Have you undertaken any
work or activities on a voluntary basis for any of these
types of groups or organisations at any time in the past
12 months?
Code all that apply. Probe fully. Any others? Any
others?”
Scottish Household Survey Questionnaire