IMPACT - Your message to policy makers

In January 2016 TSI published a new policy brief addressed primarily at EU policy makers.

This is what we tell them:

• Inequalities in opportunities to participate in third sector activity need addressing;
• Third sector specific contributions to systemic societal change must be further studied and highlighted;
• Standardized indicators of third sector impact at the macro-level are urgently needed.

We say this because TSI empirical research unmasked some widely acquired beliefs. We would like to confirm our findings with your experiences, and thus strengthen the call on policy makers to include certain reflections on impact in future policy considerations.

Please share first-hand experiences that suggest or refute the following issues:

• Individuals who already have better well-being, health and social trust are more likely to be involved in the third sector.
• The effects of voluntary participation are gendered and can also vary by age, employment status, income, type of association and type of involvement.
• Volunteering boosts political engagement, but not necessarily personal well-being.
• Volunteering helps well-being and mental health of people unemployed only when coupled with generous welfare benefits.

TSI carried out research on each of those statements, drawing on the research literature and empirical data. Now we are eager to hear your accounts on the effects of third sector participation at individual level. Is there anything, based on your every-day experience, that you believe policy-makers should know?

Please pass on this call for contributions in your networks and encourage contacts to participate.