This video is a recording of the North West England launch event for the Third Sector Trends 2020 Report. This event was organised by Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW) and took place on Thursday 18th June 2020.

The event was chaired by Warren Escadale (CEO of VSNW) and features:
– a presentation from the report’s author, Prof Tony Champman (University of Durham),
– some reflections on the report’s significance from a policy perspective from Jack Hunter (Research Fellow at Institute of Public Policy Research North),
– a Q&A with Tony and Jack with questions coming from voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector leaders from across the North West.

The Third Sector Trends Report is a ground-breaking longitudinal study, undertaken annually by Professor Tony Chapman from Durham University, which explores the scale, dynamics and needs of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in North West England.

The report, based on a representative sample of over 1,200 organisations, is the latest of a series of reports that began in 2008. This gives the study a long-term view not available from other research on charities and community organisations regionally or nationally. The recent findings paint a picture of a sector that, having stayed fairly resilient during and after the financial crisis, had by December 2019 started to see small increases in the number of organisations, employees and volunteers.

Comprising 20,350 incorporated organisations organisations (and many more which exist below the radar), 115,000 employees and 450,500 volunteers, the sector is a significant part of the North West’s ecosystem and is worth some £2.66bn to its economy.

However, the issue of financial security within the sector in the North West is also of a great concern, as it is nationally. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, only a small minority of organisations held investment assets, whilst cash reserves in the sector are also quite limited. Almost 2 in 5 medium sized organisations had less than £10,000 in cash reserves and of those, 1 in 10 had none. Since the survey was undertaken, the situation is likely to have significantly worsened following the impact of Covid-19. Many charities have been forced to dip into their reserves in order to keep operating in the face of rising demand for services and reduced income from fundraising and trading activities.

The full Third Sector Trends Report for 2020 can be found published on the Community Foundation’s website: https://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/knowledge-and-leadership/third-sector-trends-research/

VSNW is the regional voluntary sector network for the North West of England. It works to ensure the VCSE sector, in all its diversity, takes its full part in shaping the future of the North West. VSNW is a membership organisation which connects to the North West’s VCSE sector through infrastructure organisations, equalities networks and large regional and national providers. VSNW facilitates key partnerships throughout the North West’s sub-regions, including VS6 operating across Liverpool City Region, the emerging Cheshire and Merseyside VCFSE health and well-being Leadership group and the Greater Manchester VCSE Leadership Group. To find out more, get in touch, check what event’s we’ve got coming up in future or enquire about membership, please head to: https://www.vsnw.org.uk/

Prof Tony Chapman, Jack Hunter, Warren Escadale and VSNW can all be found on Twitter:
– Prof Tony Chapman: https://twitter.com/tonychapmanuk
– Jack Hunter: https://twitter.com/JackHunter_uk
– Warren Escadale: https://twitter.com/vsnwescadale
– VSNW: https://twitter.com/vsnwnews

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