The relationship between citizen participation and organizational processes and outcomes and the benefits of citizen participation in neighborhood organizations

A major resource of neighborhood organizations is the voluntary participation of residents who give their time and energy to improve their communities. In recent years, there has been a revitalization of strategies to engage residents to volunteer for neighborhood-based organizations. Guided by organizational empowerment theory and the ecological perspective, the current study examined the relationship between citizen participation and organizational characteristics and effectiveness and the benefits received by residents participating in neighborhood organizations in poor communities. The data were gathered through a survey of resident volunteers in four neighborhood organizations in Pennsylvania and were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results showed that volunteers' level of involvement in their neighborhood organization influenced their self-efficacy. However, volunteers' perceptions of their neighborhood organizations' characteristics and effectiveness were the most strongly related to the benefits of citizen participation, contributing to residents' self efficacy, collective efficacy, and sense of community. Implications for social work research and practice are discussed.