An article examined how civil society organizations fared in gaining funds from the 2007-2013 European Social Fund (ESF) programmes in Wales. It argued that organizations that were structurally embedded would be most successful in gaining ESF funds, with other organizations 'structurally excluded'.
Source: Rebecca Rumbul, 'Structurally excluded? Structural embeddedness and civil society competition for funding', Journal of Civil Society, Volume 9 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A think-tank report examined the state of the voluntary and community sector in Britain. It said that reductions in government funding, low levels of charitable giving, and the ongoing concentration of wealth in the larger, professionalized organizations characterized the decline of the sector in recent years. The report said that contracting procedures were bureaucratic (and favoured larger organizations), and coverage by the sector was geographically uneven. It discussed a range of new initiatives and said that a further report would be published in 2014 to outline proposals for the sector.
Source: Something's Got to Give: The state of Britain s voluntary and community sector, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Report | Summary | CSJ press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined homelessness in England, as part of a five year project. It said that: 'visible' forms of homelessness, including rough sleeping and statutory homelessness, continued to increase; 22 per cent of all homelessness acceptances in 2012-13 were due to the loss of private sector tenancies; temporary accommodation placements and 'out of district' temporary accommodation placements had increased; and these trends were particularly prevalent in London. The report said that front line homelessness services continued to reduce, and it raised concerns about cuts to legal aid and specialist services for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
Source: Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Hal Pawson, Glen Bramley, Steve Wilcox, and Beth Watts, The Homelessness Monitor: England 2013, Crisis
Links: Summary | Crisis press release | Guardian report | Independent report
Date: 2013-Dec
A study examined the impact of local government spending cuts in three boroughs in London, England, since the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2010. The interim report said that there had been a 33 per cent reduction in service funding from central government between 2009-10 and 2013-14, which councils had tried to absorb while minimizing impact on services for those in most need. It said that most savings were achieved through efficiency measures that now presented limited further savings opportunities. Councils had also reduced their involvement in discretionary service provision, much of which had been delivered through voluntary sector organizations. The report noted that the localism agenda would be undermined by the need to cut local authority provision back to a statutory minimum, and that intense targeting could mean that lower levels of need went unmet. A final report, due in mid-2014, would consider the implications of the responses for the lives of local residents.
Source: Amanda Fitzgerald, Ruth Lupton, Ronan Smyth, and Polly Vizard, Hard Times, New Directions? The impact of the local government spending cuts in London – interim report, Working paper SPCCWP07, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Date: 2013-Dec
A survey of children supported by Action for Children found that they were trying to cope with problems such as parents' unemployment, illness, family breakdown and domestic abuse. Frontline staff reported an increase in support needs, including a need for more emotional support, and a deterioration in children's mental health. The survey report called for greater certainty over funding, with five year budget cycles to coincide with the electoral cycle, and a firm commitment to spending on early intervention.
Source: The Red Book 2013: Children under pressure, Action for Children
Links: Report | Summary | Action for Children press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A survey found that staff in community and voluntary sector organizations were facing pay cuts and sinking into debt, were understaffed in the workplace, and were experiencing rising levels of violence and aggression at work. Service users were reported to be deeply affected by service cuts, with care packages cut, rising rent arrears and poor access to advice and legal services. The report called on the government to establish a commission of inquiry, and for better pay, conditions and protections for workers in the sector.
Source: Community and Voluntary Services in the Age of Austerity: UNISON voices from the frontline, Unison
Links: Report | Unison press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Nov
A study examined how civil society organizations in Europe had been affected by the financial and economic crisis. The report noted that the crisis might be seen as an opportunity for civil society to adapt its roles in decision-making processes and in the facilitation of engagement of European citizens.
Source: The Impact of the Crisis on Civil Society Organisations in the EU: Risks and opportunities, European Economic and Social Committee
Date: 2013-Nov
A think tank report examined impact measurement practices across a range of funders. It found a variety of practices, but a growing trend for funders to place importance on impact measurement. The report made recommendations across a range of funding areas.
Source: Angela Kail, Alex Van Vliet, and Lena Baumgartner, Funding Impact: Impact measurement practices among funders in the UK, New Philanthropy Capital
Links: Report | NPC press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A study found that, although supported as a concept by the voluntary sector, the introduction of payment by results (PbR) had been 'seriously flawed'. The study reported that contracts often failed to account for the complex nature of the services provided, meaning providers could be penalized for circumstances outside their control. It found that, in some cases, charities had been unable to accept the risks associated with PbR and their expertise had been lost to the sector and to service users. The report made recommendations for improving the contracting process.
Source: David Hunter and Ruth Breidenbach-Roe, Payment by Results Contracts: A legal analysis of terms and processes, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Links: Report | NCVO press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A prospectus set out the potential for 'local impact funds' to provide a new kind of finance for charities and social enterprises. The funds would be led by local sector bodies, and would bring together local and national partners and investors to provide tailored 'investment support' for charities and social enterprises.
Source: Place Based Social Investment: A prospectus for growing the local social economy, Social Investment Business Group
Links: Prospectus | SIBG press release | Civil Society report
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined whether big charities were increasingly dominating total charitable income in England and Wales. On the basis of trends in income concentration ratios, there was no evidence that the biggest charities accounted for a growing share of total charity income. But a longitudinal perspective, relating income growth to initial size, showed that initially large charities had significantly higher median relative growth rates than those that were initially small.
Source: Peter Backus and David Clifford, 'Are big charities becoming more dominant?: cross-sectional and longitudinal perspectives', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 176 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2013-May
A report examined the impact of reductions in public spending on charities. It was estimated that charities' income would be 12 per cent lower in 2017-18 than it had been in 2010-11 – assuming that local authorities passed on reductions in funding in proportion to how much their own settlement from central government had been reduced.
Source: Neena Bhati and Joe Heywood, Counting the Cuts: The impact of spending cuts on the UK voluntary and community sector – 2013 update, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Links: Report | NCVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-May
A report said that government contracts in developed (OECD) countries needed to enable voluntary sector organizations to give their staff better employment conditions, because many of the jobs they helped to create were 'precarious and low-paid'. Organizations said that they wanted longer-term contracts from governments to help meet the cost of the social value they created through employing vulnerable people.
Source: Heather Buckingham and Simon Teasdale, Job Creation through Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | TSRC briefing
Date: 2013-May
An article examined financial vulnerability among third sector organizations, and the benefits, applications, and methodological challenges of undertaking research into it.
Source: Chris Dayson, 'Understanding financial vulnerability in UK third sector organisations: methodological considerations and applications for policy, practice and research', Voluntary Sector Review, Volume 4 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
A report examined the commercial enterprise opportunities available to charitable organizations. 9 out of 10 charity executives (88 per cent) reported that they were already earning at least a portion of their income through charging directly for core services, or trading activity. 65 per cent reported that they planned to increase the relative share of their earned income further in the following 5 years.
Source: Charities Unlocked: Realising the commercial and social value of charitable assets, The Social Investment Consultancy (TSIC)
Links: Report | Charity Times report
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the use of market failure by the coalition government to redress the under-capitalization of the third sector. It considered five market failures used to justify policies towards social investment: imperfect information; imperfect competition; externalities; absence of public goods; and cultural and behavioural barriers. The evidence showed that policy-makers should be cautious in the use of market failure, and suggested alternative approaches. 'Social investment' had taken on a discursive power to justify actions that exposed the third sector to financial markets.
Source: Peter Wells, 'When the third sector went to market: the problematic use of market failure to justify social investment policy', Voluntary Sector Review, Volume 4 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
An article highlighted 'important variations' between organizations and localities in government funding of third-sector activity in England. Organizations serving personally or socially disadvantaged people were most likely to be publicly funded, and deprived neighbourhoods and local authorities had the highest share of publicly funded organizations. At the neighbourhood scale there was evidence for an interaction effect between kind of organization and area deprivation, such that organizations working in deprived areas with disadvantaged groups were particularly likely to receive some public funding.
Source: David Clifford, Frida Geyne-Rahme, and John Mohan, 'Variations between organisations and localities in government funding of third-sector activity: evidence from the national survey of third-sector organisations in England', Urban Studies, Volume 50 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
A paper described a new process for collecting data on the finances of voluntary organizations in England and Wales. The aim was to create a shared, consistent dataset that would provide a rigorous base for future study of the voluntary sector.
Source: David Kane, Jenny Clark, David Clifford, John Mohan, Joy Dobbs, and Pete Bass, Collecting and Classifying Data from Charity Accounts for England and Wales, Working Paper 93, Third Sector Research Centre
Date: 2013-Feb
A think-tank report examined the ways in which small voluntary and community sector organizations utilized and received funding, and recommended steps to ensure that the 'Big Society' agenda neither passed these organizations by nor squeezed them out of their vital community functions. It highlighted the need for more flexible approaches to funding.
Source: Ed Cox and Katie Schmuecker, Taken for Granted? The needs of small voluntary and community organisations in a Big Society era, Institute for Public Policy Research
Date: 2013-Jan