Time banks: rewarding community self-help in the inner city?

Time banks are new community-based initiatives in the UK that use time as a unit of local currency. Participants give and receive help in exchange for time credits. Reciprocal volunteering, community participation and active citizenship are encouraged, particularly for the socially excluded who normally volunteer least. The findings of case study research with an inner city time bank from Glasgow in Scotland are presented, to assess their role and potential as tools for promoting community development and overcoming social exclusion. The paper concludes with a summary of important lessons learned for practitioners, and policy recommendations to help them to achieve their objectives.