Introduction
- This project is about:
- Understanding what it has been like working in the voluntary sector during the pandemic
- The challenges that voluntary sector organisations face
- How voluntary sector organisations have sought to overcome those challenges
- The goal of the project is, by using a representative sample of organisations, to really understand what the voluntary sector is experiencing over time and to learn from those experiences.
- The project partners are:
- Nottingham Trent University
- Sheffield Hallam University
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations
- This first report provides a taster of some of the emerging findings of the study, more of which will be published over the next few months.
- Every month the project will produce:
- A Covid 19 impact barometer providing real-time data about the impact the virus is having on the sector.
- A dashboard which will allow users to drill-down into the data and see the impact of the pandemic on different types of organisation or places.
- A representative panel survey showing how different types of organisations are responding.
- In-depth interviews with different VCOs examining the changing impacts.
The First Barometer {from 697 organisation responses – September 2020}
- 39% reported a deteriorating financial position over the last month.
- 20% had seen their financial position improve over the last month
- 53% expect their financial position to stay the same over the next month
- 34% expect their financial position to deteriorate over the next month.
- 45% reported that the range of services offered had decreased over the last 6 months
- 36% said that the range of services offered had increased over this period
- 56% expected that demand for their services would increase over the next month.
- 60% of organisations reported increased operating costs due to the implementation of Covid 19 safety measures.
- The size of paid workforce remained stable over the month preceding the survey.
- A net 11% reduction in the number of volunteers over the month preceding the survey.
- 80% expect Covid 19 to have a moderate or significant negative impact on delivering their objectives next year.
- 10% reported that it was quite likely or very likely that their organisation would no longer be operating next year.
- 66% have moved some existing services online since March.
Understanding the Sector Responses.
- Many different experiences.
- Many respondents felt that that the magnitude and significance of living and working in the VCSE sector during the pandemic was a key experience in their lives.
- For some this has been the most intense period of their working lives.
- Others, who were furloughed, as organisations tried to save money, described feeling “unloved”, worried about redundancy and as experiencing a type of bereavement.
- Some organisations have transformed how they work, developing new ways of working by streamlining processes and inventing new ways of working (e.g. Zooming).
- Many of these transformations were made possible because the organisations were building on, scaling or accelerating existing plans.
- The (sometimes dramatic) changes in working practices and service delivery has increased the demand on the workforce.
- Many workers described these changes as “energizing”. Others, because of increased work intensity, were concerned about their own well-being and burnout.
- Many organisations are finding ways of encouraging well-being and learning to say “no” to extra demands.
- The pandemic has transformed many of the ways that organisations work, with trustees, senior leaders, operational staff and volunteers working together in new ways.
- Funding continues to create real concerns for many organisations leading to uncertainty about their futures.
- Some organisations are using their reserves in order to survive.
- Others are making cuts or reducing services.
- Some small organisations fear they will be overlooked and are particularly struggling with competing demands on them.
- While there have been many new funding streams available, these have produced some challenges.
- These challenges, and the pandemic generally, have led to some organisations reappraising their mission and purpose.