Charity sector umbrella body Navca has teamed up with the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research to research ways to increase local giving and support local social action.

Running over three phases, the research will review current initiatives for promoting local giving and philanthropy, case-study three locations to find out what approaches have been used, and report on the lessons learnt. The research is intended to influence policy makers and foundations and provide information for Navca members.

Neil Cleeveley, director of policy and communications at Navca said the research is not just about increasing financial support: "We’re interested in the potential to increase local giving to support local voluntary and community actions in all its forms.

"We decided to undertake this research because we don’t believe enough is known about the current level of local giving. The priority is to get more financial resources into the local VCS, but we’d be interested in how we might increase, for example, pro bono support."

Cresr, part of Sheffield Hallam University, has worked with a number of charitable trusts including the Big Lottery Fund, Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the past, as well as with a multitude of central government departments undertaking research on social and economic regeneration, housing and labour markets. Its research with Navca will be funded by Sheffield Hallam's Knowledge Exchange Programme.