RUCS brings together social science researchers who share an interest in Civil Society, both as a theoretical issue and as a set of empirical topics relating to the role of associations involved in advocacy and service delivery at local, national and European level. 

Its main base is in the Department of Sociology, but researchers from other Departments at Leicester and from other neighbouring universities are also involved.

Research interests

RUCS links research interests under two areas:

• Civic Engagement: Active citizenship in relation to health, sport, education, science; public opinion and public engagement, consumer choice; political participation, public interest groups, social movements, third sector, NGOs. 
• Social Integration: Issues relating to inclusion/exclusion: gender, environment, ethnicity, childhood, work. 

At Leicester, researchers interested in Civil Society as a mode of political participation and service delivery include:

• Ellen Annandale who works on the role of Civil Society organisations in furthering access to healthcare for men and women
• Ipek Demir who is interested in Kurdish and Turkish associations in diasporic contexts
• Carlo Ruzza (RUCS Convenor) who studies the political activities of anti-discrimination groups at the EU level and in Civil Society groups associated to political parties
• John Williams who is interested in the role of association in the field of sports, particularly anti-racist associations and associations working on disability.

Researchers working on Civil Society and the public sphere include:

• Ian Hutchby who is interested in the ways that modern broadcast talk engages with public issues and the concerns of Civil Society
• Lydia Lewis who is researching the social dynamics of adult community education, gender and mental health (drawing on the capabilities approach)
• Barbara Misztal who is interested in the public role of intellectuals.

Researchers interested in the structural features of the Civil Society associational field include:

• Edmund Chattoe-Brown who examines processes of organisational recruitment, social capital and group solidarity, and inputs to the political process via policy networks. Theoretical interests include research on Civil Society and the public sphere, on trust and vulnerability in relation to Civil Society and relations between Civil Society and social movements.

RUCS focuses on seminars, on the promotion of collaborative research projects, on collaborative publications and on educational and dissemination activities.

In relation to collaborative research projects, until recently, RUCS has been involved in the European network of excellence CINEFOGO (Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe). RUCS is currently focussing on the preparation of European FP7 research applications with its international partners on the social and political role of Civil Society associations. Other empirical researchers’ interests currently pursued within the Sociology Department at Leicester include the study of sporting associations, ethnic associations and gender in health institutions.

In 2010 several Departmental seminars were organised by RUCS on issues ranging from environmental associations to transnational civil society organizations. In 2009 RUCS organised workshops on such issues as the role of Civil Society in the public sphere, ethno-nationalist associations, patients associations in relation to ethnicity and health, and relations between the public sector and Civil Society.

RUCS is part of an international network of Civil Society centres – CIPACI (the Centre for International Studies in Citizenship, Democratic Participation and Civil Society) – with associated members in Europe (including other UK institutions), Latin America and Asia. CIPACI is based at the Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University.

RUCS sponsored events

2011

A series of speakers on aspects of Civil Society (Prof Jan Scholt, Dr Milena Chimienti, Dr Patrick Baert, Dr Edmund Chattoe-Brown) organised by RUCS formed part of the Departmental Seminar Series. [xx link needed]

2010

13 October: John Williams ran a Kick it Out/Black History Month workshop called One Game, One Community? in Leicester, which was aimed at young people in the city, and examined local and professional football's recent role and campaigns in challenging racism in sport.

A series of speakers on aspects of Civil Society (Prof Chris Rootes, Dr László Kákai and Professor Franco Bianchini) organised by RUCS formed part of the Departmental Seminar Series.

2009

Populism Left and Right Workshop (27-28.11.2009)

Civil Society and the Governance of Health Care (20.11.2009)

Governance Through Civil Society Workshop (16.10.2009)

The Power of Civil Society Workshop (10.06.2009)