Family influence on volunteering participation in Western Australia

Project Summary

This project will utilise data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to: profile volunteering patterns among WA families; apply rigorous statistical methods to examine how exposure to volunteering by family members influences an individual’s likelihood and intensity of volunteering later in life; examine the drivers and barriers to volunteering within families and across: generations of the same family; demographic groups and geographic areas.

The 12 month research project will be the first to address the dynamics of volunteering within families and across generations of the same family in WA. The project will provide Volunteering WA with a data-driven evidence base to better understand how volunteering behaviours are shaped within families and across generations. Understanding how early exposure to volunteering within families fosters lifelong engagement will help to inform practical, on-the-ground initiatives to boost participation, particularly among young people. Recommendations from this research will support Volunteering WA in shaping its strategies to build sustainable volunteer networks in WA and strengthen its advocacy with government and community agencies.

To ensure effective communication and dissemination of research findings, the BCEC team will produce policy briefs, host a stakeholder workshop, and provide accessible, solutions-oriented project summaries and briefing notes for the Volunteering WA website.