Interviews investigating an existing Third Sector Organisation (TSO) pro-environmental behaviour change intervention, Carbon Conversations. The study aimed to : (1) Understand the character and delivery of Carbon Conversations, through interviews with those involved with developing, organising and facilitating the Carbon Conversations programme. (2) Understand the influence of participation in a standard Carbon Conversations course on participants’ everyday practices (wave CC1). (3) Investigate the influence of a shorter version of Carbon Conversations on food-related everyday practices and carbon footprints of participants recruited from a range of third sector groups with an interest in the environment, including wildlife and conservation groups, gardening and food-growing groups and those associated with outdoor activities (wave CC2). The Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) is a Venture Funded Centre, in partnership with the Office for Civil Society and the Barrow Cadbury Trust. TSRC is based at the University of Birmingham, but is a joint venture with the University of Southampton, with additional contributions from Middlesex and Kent. Research activity includes: (1) Analysis of theoretical issues and development of a critical understanding of the policy environment for the sector. (2) Securing and analysing reliable data about the size, shape, structure and dynamics of the sector - including quantitative data, drawn from administrative sources and large scale surveys, and in-depth qualitative research with a selection of sector organisations. (3) Analysis of the economic and social impact of the sector, including the role of the sector in delivering public services, the development of social enterprise, the role of organisations in the environmental field, and the mapping and analysis of smaller community organisations operating ‘below-the-radar’. Third sector policy has now been devolved to the separate administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and research includes analysis of the impact of this devolution. TSRC also employs a Knowledge Exchange Team to ensure that its work has a direct impact on policy and practice.
CC1 wave: Survey distributed by partner organisation to all listed facilitators, who were asked to pass this on to Carbon Conversations participants of groups they had facilitated. This method was chosen because no central database of Carbon Conversation participants was available.Then interviewees were selected from those survey participants consenting to participate in further parts of the study. Selection was intended to capture: geographic variability (in line with the data, with clusters in London, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Scotland); a range of household incomes; a range of responses to key questions, including those who agree or strongly agree with the statement, ‘I find it hard to change my habits to be more environmentally friendly’, who say they would like to do a lot more for the environment, and who report that there are things that make it difficult to make a change; including the few survey participants that strongly disagreed with the statement, ‘Taking part in Carbon Conversations has helped me take action to reduce my overall carbon footprint’; and capturing variation in recorded change in practices. CC2 wave: Survey distributed to TSOs with a focus on wildlife, conservation, gardening and outdoor pursuits based in Cambridgeshire agreeing to promote the study to their membership / staff. People were selected to participate in 2 workshops and 2 interviews, one before and one after the workshops, from the full list of those completing the survey and consenting to participate in further parts of the study; participants were selected according to the following criteria: they had not participated in Carbon Conversations already; and there were at least two environmentally friendly behaviours they indicated they rarely engage in.
