In 2012, the Trust will be leading a new project that examines the inter-relationships between UK advocacy groups, citizens, and Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) that regulate trade, markets and consumer policy.

IGOs are cross-border institutions that influence many areas of economic life, from freight standardisation to product labelling, bank inter-lending to environmental protection.

Economic IGOs have increased in number and size since the Second World War to meet new regulatory and public policy challenges created by the increasing technical sophistication of global markets.

Governance structures in the IGO environment are reserved to nation state actors, and often reflect delicate balances of power between different global economic blocs. The role of the citizen-consumer in dialogue with IGOs is predominantly mediated through voluntary sector organisations.

Many UK charities, advocacy groups, research and consumer organisations seek to influence the IGO environment. Some are highly successful, and internationally recognised as global civil society leaders.

The Trust will be undertaking a research study of this theme, using the World Trade Organisation as a test case. As the newest of the major economic IGOs, and with a complex history of civil society engagement, the Trust will be commissioning primary research within the UK to gauge citizen attitudes to the WTO and its operations.

It will also be studying citizen awareness of the voluntary sector organisations that influence the institution, and seeking to identify civic engagement and participatory best practice from those leading organisations in the field.

The initial research findings will be published in the summer.