More ground-ups now, with many set up during pandemic

Study finds majority of people who started such groups were aged 35 and below

- Thian Wen Li

A new report by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) estimates that Singapore has about 450 active ground-up groups, many of which were set up during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The inaugural Ground-up Initiative Study, which was sponsored by the Tote Board, was done to understand the role that ground-ups in Singapore play and the challenges they face. It found that the majority of those who started such groups were individuals aged 35 and below.

This is the first national-level study providing an overview of the ground-up space in Singapore.

The first part of the study was conducted in 2021. Interviews were done with 29 ground-up founders, and nine focus group discussions were held with ground-ups and players in the space, such as charities and government agencies.

The second part consisted of two surveys in 2022, with 431 members and volunteers from 276 groundup groups, and 1,000 members of the public.

A ground-up is defined in the report as "a group of individuals who voluntarily come together to carry out a self-organised project or initiative to benefit the community".

These groups are not for profit and are not registered organisations.