# ESRC and NCVO publish report on ICT, social capital and voluntary action

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2006/10/09/esrc-and-ncvo-publish-report-ict-social-capital-and-voluntary-action/
- Published: 2006-10-09T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

NCVO, the Economic Research Council and the ICT Hub have produced a handy new report
on information and communications technology, social capital and voluntary action.

It looks at how new media is changing how individuals interact with each other, 
with organisations and with government. In particular, by focusing on the challenges
and opportunities of online volunteering it looks at how ICT is having an impact
on ‘social capital’ or the reserve of goodwill generated by people’s social interactions.

The report’s authors make it compelling reading. Jayne Cravens has been a pioneer
in thinking about and implementing online volunteering solutions. She is a former
director of the UN’s Online Volunteering service and the Virtual Volunteering Project.
She has been a long-time contributor to some of the earliest online discussion forums
and email threads on charities’ and nonprofits’ use of the Internet.

Cravens looks at why voluntary and community organisations simply cannot ignore 
the Internet. She argues that “very few people substitute online communities for
onsite, face-to-face ones. Often, one is an extension of the other…”.

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She gives a number of reasons why voluntary organisations should host online communities.
She concludes that “if an organisation does not host its own online community, for
whatever participants, it can expects its volunteers, clients and advocates – and
sometimes, even its staff – to create their own or to participate in those hosted
by others.”

Ben Anderson looks at the impact of ICT in local action. He has found that although“
most ICT initiatives support the development of social capital in the community,
those already rich in it benefit most.” Not surprisingly he has also found that 
top-top, centrally managed ICT projects are often less sustainable than those developed
at grassroots level.

You can download ICT, Social Capital and Voluntary Action as a PDF, as well as view
seminar presentations on this subject from both authors.

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