1 Oct 2014
Loughborough academic set to investigate David Cameron’s flagship volunteer scheme
A Loughborough University academic is set to investigate the impact one of Prime Minister David Cameron’s flagship Big Society projects is having on society and young people.
Dr Sarah Mills will spend three years researching the National Citizen Service, a volunteer scheme launched in 2011 which is expected to have attracted 100,000 youngsters by the end of 2014.
The project is called ‘A rite of passage? National Citizen Service and the Geographies of Youth Citizenship’, and is being funded by a prestigious Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Future Research Leaders award of £249,630.
Mr Cameron launched his vision for the ‘Big Society’ when the Coalition government came to power in 2010. He said it was about empowering communities, redistributing power and fostering a culture of volunteerism.
NCS, a voluntary scheme for 16 and 17-year-olds delivered through a range of charities, private sector partnerships and youth organisations, is a key plank of this vision.
To read press release click here