Opportunities and threats of voluntary engagement of citizens

Setting the scene Following the British and the Dutch example, Flemish policy makers have recently cut the budgets in fields of child care, (special) youth care, culture and youth work and social welfare. They argue that the... [ view full abstract ]

Setting the scene
Following the British and the Dutch example, Flemish policy makers have recently cut the budgets in fields of child care, (special) youth care, culture and youth work and social welfare. They argue that the state should no longer provide the services that could also be delivered by citizens. They call for citizens to take a more active role in their local community by setting up initiatives to care for each other. This turn in Flemish policy brings a lot of confusion and uncertainty to different actors. Where does this 'power to the citizen' leaves the governement? What role can or should a government take up in this? What this this mean for a professional working in the field? How does the professional and his or her organisation relates to this voluntary engagement of citizens? For their part, citizen initiatives also have to redefine their role. Are citizen initiatives now reduced to implementing the Flemish policy? Are they merely instruments of the governement or can they also take up their critical and politicizing role?

Research questions
In our research we focus on the support of those citizen inititiaves. The following research questions are guiding our research:
- What are the needs of local volunteers in both institutionalised civic associations and ad hoc citizen initiatives?
- Who and how can provide support for the voluntary engagement of citizens?

Methodology
We conducted an online survey to gain insight in the needs of volunteers. 397 citizens filled out the questionnaire. The results of this survey were discussed in 3 focus groups with professionals and volunteers in order to establish a model of support for citizen initiatives.

Results
We identified key elements in supporting citizen initiatives and developped a support model to strengthen their opportunities and to overcome their threats.