Northern Rock Foundation
Northern Rock Foundation announces three-year Third Sector Trends study
Northern Rock Foundation has today announced the final details of its Third Sector Trends Study – an innovative research programme on the scale, dynamics and needs of the voluntary and community sector in North East England and Cumbria.
Using a broad definition of the sector, including charities, social enterprises and smaller community groups not on official registers, the first phase of the Study will be worth £500,000 over three years. It will feature a comprehensive and robust mapping of the sector, including finance, workforce, governance and activities. Professor John Mohan of the University of Southampton will lead this quantitative work, alongside NCVO, Guidestar UK and Cumbria and Newcastle CVS. Dr Tony Chapman of the University of Teesside and Professor Fred Robinson of Durham University will run a complementary qualitative strand, involving policy and stakeholder research and a major survey of the sector using a representative panel based on the data from Professor Mohan’s work.
The Foundation will directly commission and manage the research, and will contribute to the improvement of third sector research nationally by making both the findings and the methodological tools widely available. The Foundation’s chief advisor for the programme is Cathy Pharoah, who is chairing an advisory group of key agencies including the Office of the Third Sector, ESRC, ippr north, Carnegie UK Trust, and local and regional public and voluntary sector bodies. The research will commence early in 2008.
Fiona Ellis, Director of Northern Rock Foundation, said: “For too long, the distinct lack of detailed, consistent, good quality information on the scale and dynamics of the third sector in the UK has hindered its work. Our programme will address that problem by providing better data about voluntary and community organisations in our area. But we will also be a pathfinder, playing a leading role in efforts to develop more effective research on the sector nationally. As a large, regional independent funder we are uniquely placed to innovate, inform and influence in exactly this way.”
Cathy Pharoah said: “The Foundation, its advisory group, and the partnership members have invested a huge amount of time and effort into the preparation of an innovative research programme. The design and plan have already been acknowledged as leading-edge by peers in the field. I’m looking forward to working with the Foundation and the research team to make the programme a huge success in the North East and Cumbria, and nationally.”
Dr Tony Chapman said: “This important longitudinal study will build our understanding of the ‘anatomy’ and ‘soul’ of the voluntary and community sector as it adapts to changing social, political and economic conditions. By understanding the internal mechanics of the sector, we will be able to make sense of the growing connections with the public and private sector activity. The research results promise to challenge many taken-for-granted assumptions about what makes the sector tick and will inform all stakeholders about its dynamics and catalytic contribution to civil society.”
John Mohan, Professor of social policy, University of Southampton, said: “The University of Southampton is delighted to be involved in this project, which will be a unique regional study of the VCS in terms of its scope. This research programme will provide a rigorous assessment of the contribution that the VCS makes to quality of life in the northern region.”
Karl Wilding, head of research at NCVO, said “This type of evidence building is long-overdue in the UK. We are pleased that the Northern Rock Foundation has had the vision to support this project and are excited to be involved. Its impact will be felt not just in the North-East and Cumbria but across the UK.”
A second research phase, developing longitudinal elements of the programme, will be subject to future funding decisions at the Foundation and the potential involvement of other commissioning partners.
Notes to editors
Northern Rock Foundation is a charity established in 1997 when Northern Rock plc converted from being a mutual organisation. The Foundation receives 5% of Northern Rock’s annual pre-tax profits (amounting to over £190 million by July 2007), but it is entirely independent of the bank, and its own board of Trustees makes all policy and funding decisions. For more information visit www.nr-foundation.org.uk
The current Government definition of the third sector is: ‘non-governmental organisations which are value-driven and which principally reinvest their surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives. It includes voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals’. The precise scope of the Foundation’s research will be the subject of further discussion, but its starting point is to take in as broad a range of organisations as possible.
Enquiries:
Rob Williamson, Director of Policy and Communications,
Northern Rock Foundation
0191 284 8412
0775 393 1157