Institute for Research on Social Programs

Past & Current Projects

Allen M. Omoto, the Principal Investigator of IRSI, has conducted over 12 years of research on civic participation, volunteerism, and helping relationships.  Below, you will find a brief summary of our current and some of our previous projects.

Current Projects

Elder Voices Project. The Elder Voices Project, funded through the Fetzer Institute, is a longitudinal, multi-phase study of volunteerism and community participation among elderly individuals living in local retirement communities. The first phase of the project, completed in the summer of 2002, consisted of completing in-depth interviews with 67 individuals on their life history, instances of volunteerism, and religious and spiritual values. The second phase of the project, initiated in the summer of 2003 and continuing through the summer of 2004, consists of conducting a longitudinal survey on volunteerism, civic and community participation, religious and spiritual values, and physical and psychological health outcomes. Please click HERE to read a brief report summarizing some of our initial findings from the project.

SHARE Project. The SHARE (Study of the HIV/AIDS Resource Environment) Project is a five-year study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and conducted in conjunction with the University of Minnesota. The goals of the project are to use experimental methodology to test methods for making more effective, positive, and lasting impact of community-based organizations.

Please click here to visit the webpage of our collaborators at the University of Minnesota.