The Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis and Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) in Washington, DC, started the Global Service Institute (GSI) in March 2001. The primary objectives of GSI are to build a global knowledge base and understanding of civic service and to assist with the design and implementation of policies and programs worldwide. GSI supports the development of a global research agenda, hosts a Web based information network, and supports innovations in policy and program development. The Ford Foundation provided the initial grant to begin GSI.

CSD is pleased to announce the publication of a research report, The Forms and Nature of Civic Service: A Global Assessment by Amanda Moore McBride, Carlos Benitez, Michael Sherraden, and others.

The Forms and Nature of Civic Service: A Global Assessment assesses organized, formal civic service programs around the world. Documentation of service forms, programmatic differences, numbers of participants, and geographic distribution may be informative for service practitioners and policy makers, and may help guide development of research agendas on civic service. The report also includes data on program goals and activities, participants, who is served, and features of program operations.

This research is the first systematic attempt at a global assessment of civic service. It is a first step in CSD's research on the topic. Searching by every country and using information from organizational memberships, publications, and the Internet, 210 civic service programs were identified and surveyed. Findings may begin to illuminate the extent and nature of civic service programs around the world.

The report is available without charge in PDF format at CSD's Global Service Institute website http://gwbweb.wustl.edu/csd/gsi/Publications/ , or you can request a printed copy by sending an email with your name, title, organizational affiliation and postal address to gsi@gwbmail.wustl.edu or by calling the Global Service Institute at (314) 935 8827.