Table 1 Characteristics of the included sources

Alakeson, V, Brett, W (2020) [30]

Report

Power to Change

Combination of primary + secondary

UK

Not stated

Collective input from stakeholders

Not stated

• Mutual aid works best at the micro level.

• Mutual aid at scale requires community organisations

• Community organisations have changed quickly to meet local need.

• Bigger institutions rely on community organisations to respond well.

Britain Thinks (2020) [31]

Report

West Midlands Recovery Coordination Group

Primary

West Midlands

36

Series of discussions with Citizen’s panel of local residents

03/06/2020–02/07/2020

• Priorities include getting back to normal safely, healthcare, mental health, education, employment, promoting and supporting business.

Felici (2020) [32]

Blog post

Bennett Institute for Public Policy

Secondary

UK

N/A

Statistical analysis of geographic density of mutual aid groups

27/03/2020

• There is a positive correlation between density of mutual aid groups and measures of socio-economic advantage.

Gardner, 2020 [33]

Newspaper article

The Telegraph

Secondary

UK

N/A

N/A

07/04/2020–16/04/2020

• NHS Volunteer army given fewer than 20,000 tasks since launch.

Jones et al. (2020) [34]

Peer-reviewed article

University of the West of England

Primary

Bristol

539

Survey

06/04/2020–20/04/2020

• Members of Covid-19 support groups provided a wide range of support and cited a variety of successes and failures.

• 46.7% of respondents wanted to become more involved in the neighbourhood in the future.

• With respect to most measures there were no differences in the characteristics of support between respondents in areas of high and low deprivation.

Kavada (2020) [35]

Blog post

Open Democracy

Secondary

UK

N/A

N/A

N/A

• The creation of “micro-groups” in specific areas helped to create trust

• Mutual aid groups used a variety of digital tools to organise.

• The decentralised organising model of mutual aid groups is faster and more agile than the centralised model.

• Mutual aid groups may become involved in political campaigns regarding the broader impact of the pandemic.

Local Government Association (2020) [36]

Website

Local Government Association

Secondary

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

• Large repository of case studies of good council practice in response to Covid-19.

Locality, 2020 [37]

Report

Locality

Primary

Berwick, Grimsby, Norfolk, Holburn, Levenshulme, Hackney, Coventry

7 case study interviews; 57 survey responses

Case study interviews with community leaders; qualitative survey; member roundtables; contributions from local authority leaders

Not stated

• Existing social infrastructure was crucial to the crisis response.

• The crisis has created new and improved partnership working between community organisations and the public sector.

• Community organisations have connected different layers of response.

• Managing new volunteering capacity came with challenges

• Community organisations have adapted at pace but require support for the future.

Mak & Fancourt, 2020 [38]

Peer-reviewed article

UCL

Primary

UK

31,890

Survey of Covid-19 volunteers

21/04/2020–03/05/2020

• Three types of Covid-19 volunteering identified: formal volunteering, social action volunteering, neighbourhood support.

• Volunteering was associated being female, living with children, living rurally, having higher educational qualifications, and higher household income.

• New groups identified as likely to volunteer were people with a physical or mental health condition.

• The predictors of volunteering during the pandemic may be slightly different from other non-emergency period.

McCabe, A., Wilson, M., & MacMillan, A. E. (2020) [39]

Briefing

Local Trust

Primary

26 areas in England

Not stated

“Learning conversations” with residents, community activists and workers; Interviews with Big Local reps

04/2020–06/2020

• Communities have been resourceful in developing creative ways of bringing resources together to respond quickly to community need, using technical knowledge to implement alternative ways of working; applying local knowledge to meet immediate needs; promoting acknowledged roles.

McCabe, A., Wilson, M., & Macmillan, R. (2020) [40]

Report

Local Trust

Primary

26 areas in England

317 conversations; 20 Interviews

“Learning conversations” with residents, community activists and workers; Interviews with Big Local reps

04/2020–09/2020

• Community responses to the immediate crisis have varied significantly.

• Most communities have moved on from an initial crisis response and are looking ahead.

• An established community-led infrastructure underpins an effective community response.

McCabe, A., Wilson, M., & Paine, A. E. (2020) [41]

Briefing

Local Trust

Primary

26 areas in England

Not stated

“Learning conversations” with residents, community activists and workers; Interviews with Big Local reps

04/2020–10/2020

• A new cohort of volunteers has emerged who are often younger and on the furlough scheme.

• Engagement at grassroots level has been more effective than command-and-control.

• Factors identified as important in the successful retention of volunteers include clear boundaries, permissions, social rewards, nurturing relationships, feeling valued.

NewLocal, 2020 [42]

Report

New Local

Primary

UK

94

Survey of local government leaders, chief executives and council mayors

9/04/2020–21/04/2020

• 95.6% of respondents highly value the contribution of community groups in their council’s effort to tackle Covid-19 (47.4% very significant, 48.2% significant).

• Council chiefs are more confident there is community cohesion in their area, with confidence levels at 71.9%

NHS England (2020) [5]

Website

NHS

Primary

N/A

N/A

N/A

27/03/2020–29/03/2020

• The NHS Volunteer responders initiative has recruited 750,000 people in 2 days.

O’Dwyer (2020) [43]

Blog post

Kingston University

Primary

UK

854

Survey of mutual aid group members

Not stated

• Participants are predominantly white, female, middle class, and more political than average.

• Participants were generally left wing but tended not to see their mutual aid groups as political.

Scottish Government (2020) [44]

Report

Scottish Government

Primary

Scotland

62

Qualitative survey of community organisations

15/05/2020–27/05/2020

• The pandemic has prompted large changes to the operations of respondents.

• Covid-19 has presented increased demands, most prominently the provision of food.

• Half of participants mentioned improved partnership working.

• Priorities for the future include mental health support, employment, building a wellbeing and low carbon economy, tackling inequalities, capitalising on rise in community support.

Spratt (2020) [45]

Newspaper article

The i

Secondary

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

• ACORN have seen a large increase in membership over Covid-19.

• ACORN have been holding “eviction resistance” bootcamps to tackle the rise in evictions.

Taylor and Wilson (2020) [46]

Report

Community Organisers

Combination of primary + secondary

UK

Not stated

Literature review; Interviews with people involved in community organising

Not stated

• Communities with an organising history were able to respond quickly and flexibly as previous community organising activity meant that local people were already connected.

• Vast majority of support provided was “practical help” including delivering food, collecting prescriptions, making check-in calls.

• Organisers adapted to the need to go online through use of technology but also developed methods for reaching the digitally excluded.

• Community organisers have supported residents to challenge government policies and practices.

Tiratelli (2020b) [47]

Blog post

New Local

Secondary

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

• The activity of mutual aid groups declined sharply when lockdown eased.

• Many mutual aid groups are dormant but the infrastructure they have created remains.

• Mutual aid groups may spring back into action if a second lockdown occurs.

Tiratelli & Kaye, 2020 [48]

Report

New Local

Combination of primary + secondary

UK

Not stated

Literature review; Observation of mutual aid groups’ social media; Interviews with mutual aid participants

Not stated

• Some mutual aid groups form spontaneously and others as outgrowths from existing community projects

• Digital infrastructure was important

• The furlough scheme led to a different demographic profile of volunteers than usual

• Activities of mutual aid groups have evolved to encompass wider social support over time

• Councils should adopt facilitative approaches to working with Mutual Aid groups rather than controlling or indifferent approaches.

Tiratelli, 2020a [49]

Report

New Local

Combination of primary + secondary

UK

Number of interviews not stated

Literature review; Interviews with experts on the topic of community mobilisation

Not stated

• Community engagement is a shallower process than community mobilisation.

• Approaches to community mobilisation can focus on different units: individuals, groups, places, and services.

• Public bodies interested in community mobilisation need to: take a facilitative approach; listen to communities; build something that was not there before; have clear goals.

Volunteer Scotland, 2020 [50]

Report

Volunteer Scotland

Primary

Scotland

4827

Survey of charities

05/05/2020–15/05/2020

• 37% of charity volunteers have been unable to work during COVID-19.

VSF (2020) [51]

Report

Primary

Secondary

N/A

13

Collective input from Volunteering Support Fund projects

Not stated

• Many projects shifted their operations to the online world.

• Support was offered to volunteers and service users with using technology.

• Many projects reported increase in volunteer recruitment.

• Projects adapted to respond to the pandemic, some changing their focus entirely.

Wein (2020) [52]

Report

Dignity Project

Primary

UK

182

Survey of mutual aid group members

11/05/2020–30/05/2020

• In 53% of groups a small group of people made the decisions whilst 33% had more consensual decision-making.

• Support on technology and communication was most desired by groups (32%)

• 83% of respondents intended to take some political action in the coming year and 49% will take at least 3 actions.

• Demographics: 65% female, median age 48, 48% earned less than median income, better educated were overrepresented.

Wilson, McCabe & MacMillan (2020) [53]

Briefing

Local Trust

Primary

26 areas in England

Not stated

“Learning conversations” with residents, community activists and workers; Interviews with Big Local reps

04/2020–08/2020

• Informality has assisted the speed and flexibility of responses to Covid-19 but scaling is an issue.

• Organisations have been mixing both formal and informal ways of working.

• Pre-existing community infrastructure has facilitated the co-ordination of responses to Covid-19.