People had long assumed it to be true, but now research has actually confirmed it: between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2020 the Netherlands experienced a decline in social engagement. ‘We are talking here about very slight, but stable downward trends over these years’, Meijeren explains. ‘This decline can be attributed first and foremost to the increase in individualism: there is now a greater emphasis on ‘I’ instead of ‘we’. As a consequence, people are less inclined to bind themselves to an organisation. The process of cohort replacement is also playing an important role: older – more socially engaged – generations are disappearing and replaced by younger – less socially engaged – generations. Because of this ongoing development, overall social engagement gradually decreases year by year. Over the long term, this has a significant impact on a country like the Netherlands, which traditionally has a vibrant voluntary sector.’
Fewer members and volunteers
In his study, Meijeren focused on four forms of engagement: 1) membership of an organisation; 2) donations to an organisation; 3) active participation in an organisation’s activities and 4) voluntary work for an organisation. The figures show that, from 2008 to the end of 2020, a downward trend could be seen in all four of these areas at various types of organisations. ‘The biggest decline was in the number of members’, Meijeren explains. ‘At the same time, this also impacts on other forms of engagement. Organisations often recruit volunteers from their members. And the fewer members you have, the harder it is to find volunteers. The number of donations has decreased too, although it should be noted that donations to health organisations were not included in the data source and therefore could not be taken into account in this study.’
According to Meijeren, organisations are facing an alarming picture. This covers three different types of organisations in Dutch civil society, being: activist organisations (including humanitarian and environmental organisations), leisure organisations (such as sports and cultural associations) and interest groups (such as trade unions and consumer organisations). For this study a fourth category was added comprising other organisations (religious organisations, for example). ‘All four types of organisations are still dependent on older generations – people who grew up, so to speak, within the voluntary sector, being involved from an early age. Nearly all types of organisations find it increasingly difficult to attract people. Environmental organisations are the only exception. This can be seen in light of the increasing attention being paid to the climate and the associated concerns that exist within society, which results in more social engagement.’
A glimmer of hope and new opportunities
Nevertheless, there is still hope for organisations. Here, Meijeren is referring to the stability of the downward trend. ‘This stability means that major events hardly impact on social engagement’, he explains. ‘Over the period of study, there were a number of major events. Take, for example, the financial crisis in 2008, followed by the refugee crisis in 2015 and, more recently, the COVID-19 crisis, which is partly included in this study. None of these events resulted in a substantial drop in social engagement, however. This demonstrates that Dutch civil society is pretty resilient: people who are already socially engaged remain loyal to organisations in spite of major events. That implies that organizations have something to rely on.’
Although the results of the study are not entirely unexpected, they can still give organisations food for thought, according to Meijeren. ‘This study could encourage organisations to start looking for new ways to attract people. Take the area of voluntary work, for example, and the initiative thuisgekookt.nl, which involves people making meals on a voluntary basis for other people who, for some reason, struggle to cook for themselves. This is very much reflecting habits of today’s society: volunteers can do something to help others and do it from their own home, at a time that suits them. This flexibility and accessibility also attracts younger generations and encourages them to volunteer. Contemporary societies therefore call for a different approach – one that could in turn lead to new opportunities.’
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