The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Building a voluntary sector research community
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is the importance of having accurate and up to date data and evidence to support decision making. For that reason, SCVO has decided to partner with a range of stakeholders[1] to build a Scotland-focused voluntary sector research community called the Scottish Third Sector Tracker.
SCVO is looking for 800 representatives from voluntary sector organisations based across Scotland who are willing to share their experiences, views, and concerns, as the sector emerges from the pandemic.
The information gathered from members of the Scottish Third Sector Tracker will inform and direct the way SCVO, and many other organisations including the Scottish Government, provide support to voluntary sector organisations in the coming years.
The findings will also be used to produce regular reports and insights that will be shared widely across Scotland’s third sector to help policy makers and funders shape their own policies and support for the sector.
This community will allow Scottish voluntary sector organisations the opportunity to contribute to a high-profile survey that will reach decision makers across the country.
SCVO has appointed an independent research company, DJS Research, to manage the Scottish Third Sector Tracker. In order to ensure that the research is representative of the whole sector, participation in the tracker will initially be by invite only. The Tracker will run for 18 months, and pilot interviews are scheduled to commence shortly. DJS may be in contact with your organisation in the coming weeks. To express your interest in joining the Scottish Third Sector Tracker please email DJS at STSTracker@djsresearch.com .
Wave One Findings - Summer 2021
The findings from the first, baseline wave are now available. In this wave, organisations were asked to reflect on the challenges of continuing to provide services and planned work during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The findings highlight just how disruptive the pandemic has been for third sector organisations in Scotland. Many could not deliver fully on their work plan across the previous year. However, the sector has responded by adapting and creating new services to meet increased demand and emerging needs.
You can find all the outputs from the first wave, including: a recorded webinar; PowerPoint presentation; infographic summary; summary report and the data tables here. (November 2021).
[1] Those stakeholders include organisations directly funding this project: The Scottish Government; William Grant Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund and organisations taking an advisory role: The University of Glasgow, Social Enterprise Scotland and OSCR.
