Social Futures Institute
     

Impact of the Changing Funding Environment on the Voluntary and Community Sector

Professor Tony Chapman, Robert Crow, Jane Ward, Judith Brown

Sponsor/collaborating institutions

Funded by Government Office North East to support the work of the Voluntary and Community Sector Task Force.

Background

It has been estimated the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the North East may lose up to £50m in resources after 2006 due to a number of changes to the funding environment. In particular the VCS is vulnerable to the loss of European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, Single Pot funds and lottery funding.

Aims

  • Explore the key characteristics of the sector, focusing on different patterns of employment and volunteering, types of governance, sources of income, beneficiaries and the principal functions of voluntary and community organisations (VCO). The intention is to get a clear picture of the structure and functions of VCOs and the means adopted to sustain themselves, rather than make projections on the size, scope and contribution of the sector in the north east.
  • To explore the funding expectations of VCOs in view of predictions about the changing funding environment. The intention is to research the extent to which different parts of the sector consider themselves to be more or less vulnerable to a downturn in funding and to assess which parts believe their income will grow or remain stable. The research also seeks to assess the potential impact of funding cuts on VCOs and investigate the consequences for beneficiaries.
  • The final aim is to research the extent the VCS is preparing for a changed funding environment. The intention is to assess the level of knowledge changing funding and explore which different parts of the sector are preparing. In this stage the aim is to assess how realistic the sector is about its sustainability in view of the plans that have been established to face new challenges.

Methods

The study involves a postal questionnaire survey to 1900 voluntary and community organisations across the whole of the North East of England.

Key findings

 Voluntary and Community Sector report key findings (pdf - 561kb)