A note from Professor Daniel King, Director of the VCSE Observatory at Nottingham Trent University
Can you believe it’s 15 weeks since our last VCSE Barometer? In May we received over 1,100 responses and learnt that:
- Despite more than half of charities of all sizes expecting to meet demand over the summer months, 47% of large and medium-sized charities did not think they would do so, compared to 31% of small charities.
- Almost six in 10 (56%) charities said that volunteer recruitment over the past year had been difficult. Since November 2022 the proportion of small charities ranking it as a main organisational concern grew from four in 10 (45%) to six in 10 (63%).
Every quarter findings such as these are fed back to national policy-makers to enable them to better understand what’s happening in the VCSE sector right now.
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of our next survey on 13 September. Your voice matters, and by participating, you play a crucial role in shaping data-driven decisions that will create positive change within the UK’s Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.
Complete the survey here anytime between 13 and 27 September
The VCSE Barometer aims to create a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the sector’s challenges, trends, and opportunities and we’re proud and delighted to be working closely with many of the major UK national and regional infrastructure organisations to achieve this goal.
Why Participate?
By joining the survey, you’re contributing to a new ‘heartbeat’ of valuable data that informs policies, strategies, and decisions affecting the sector. Our recent Wave 2 survey was pivotal in securing £100 million in funding for VCSE organisations in the Spring Budget. Together, we can drive change and secure support for our sector’s growth and sustainability.
What’s Topical Now?
Our May Barometer uncovered that charities of all sizes believe that volunteer wellbeing has worsened over the last 12 months, so we have decided to take a closer look at this in September, with a topical question set that explores wellbeing as an organisational purpose, wellbeing impact measurement, and changes in indicators of staff and volunteer wellbeing over the last year. We thank What Works Wellbeing for their invaluable help in developing these questions.
What’s new?
With the support of Lloyds Bank Foundation, we’ve been working on maximising the usefulness of the survey and making it easier to complete. New features for September include the ability to view the whole question set before beginning the survey, and an option to request a copy of responses, which will be emailed as soon as the survey is submitted. We know that some organisations like to use the survey as a tool to reflect on their own situation within staff and leadership teams, and we hope that having a copy of responses will make this easier.
Don’t miss out:
The survey closes at midnight on Wednesday 27 September.
Your participation is essential in supporting a thriving VCSE community. We’re grateful for your support and excited to work together to drive meaningful change.
Complete the survey here anytime between 13 and 27 September
With thanks.
Warm regards
Professor Daniel King
Director, VCSE Data and Insights National Observatory
Daniel.king@ntu.ac.uk / @DanielKing76 / @VCSEObservatory