Third Sector Research blow to Big Society

In soon to be published research the Third Sector Research Centre casts doubt on one of the central tenets of Big Society - the notion that volunteering can, on its own, improve the level of social capital in an area. Their methodology was as follows: Using the Citizenship Survey (which the Government has now cut - they don't like measurement) "a cross-classification of sampling units by decile of deprivation and region was developed so that volunteering rates could be calculated for 90 types of area.... A measure of social capital was developed and then correlated with the area measure of volunteering, but the assocation disappered once controls were introduced for area deprivation." As they say "This raises questions about whether volunteering can improve the level of social capital in an area in the absence of improvements in economic circumstances" (McCulloch, Mohan and Smith 2010)
In other words "It's the Economy Stupid!"