Policy blog

The other week the Economy and Fair Work Committee published the findings of its enquiry into the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, looking at the impact the Act has had over the last decade. The Committee found that while the Act has had a positive impact on increasing... Read more

SCVO were invited to give evidence to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on the 9th of January 2024 as part of the Committee’s scrutiny of the 2024-25 Scottish budget. SCVO were also invited to suggest key issues that the Committee should be made aware of. For SCVO... Read more

Back in 2015, SCVO and TFN surveyed around 1,000 sector workers about their experiences working in the voluntary sector. Eight years, four UK prime ministers, two referendums and a pandemic later, it was high time for a refresh. Last month GCVS and the Scottish Centre for... Read more

The week represents an opportunity to showcase work that has been done throughout the year to tackle poverty, while also calling for system change to address the root causes of poverty. Read more

On 19 January 2023, SCVO wrote to Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work to outline the key challenges facing Scotland's voluntary sector in relation to Fair Work. Fair-Work-and-Grant-Funding-Mr-Lochhead-2023-01-19Download Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has warned that third sector groups have been let down by today’s Spending Review.  Read more

It won’t address poverty and inequalities, which are the biggest draining effect on our country’s economic and social wellbeing Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Shona Robison MSP to highlight concerns over the recent announcement of the Scottish Budget for 2022-23 - you can view SCVO’s Chief... Read more

As we look to restrictions lifting this summer, much talk has rightly been on rebuilding the economy. Yet a quick look at Scottish Government’s new Council for Economic Transformation shows the Scottish voluntary sector is often being overlooked in these conversations. Our policy... Read more

June - August 2020 Download a PDF version of this research paperDownload Introduction This paper presents a summary of the existing literature on the impact coronavirus is having on voluntary sector organisations in Scotland. It includes research published primarily by Scottish... Read more

The First Minister sets out the Scottish Government’s policy stall for the year ahead At the beginning of each September, the Scottish Government delivers its Programme for Government; a sort of mini manifesto for the year ahead, which sets out new legislation, spending... Read more

Our analysis of the voluntary sector’s pre-COVID finances, published today, highlights a complex patchwork funding landscape of fundraising, trading, contracts, grants and reserves, all of which have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in different ways. The complexity of... Read more

You're never standing still in a policy role at SCVO. One minute, you're getting to grips with charity law or the voluntary sector's contribution to Scotland's National Outcomes. Then you're asked to get your head around state investment banks. SCVO and Social Enterprise Scotland... Read more

We have created a web resource to highlight real-life examples of positive working relationships between the voluntary and public sectors – where the relationships are mature, the funding arrangements sensible, and the outcomes beneficial to communities. In this short blog, Jenny... Read more

Last month I blogged on the need for Scotland’s third sector to step up its role in Scotland’s publicly owned investment bank. Now, with the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee’s Stage One Report published, I consider how work to set up Scotland’s National Investment Bank... Read more

Scotland’s third sector is no stranger to encouraging forward-looking ideas that protect and enhance our society, economy and environment. But, are we all strangers to the Scottish National Investment Bank (the ‘Bank’ or SNIB), billed by the First Minister as a cornerstone of the... Read more

As some of you will already know, SCVO are taking a look at how to improve grant funding. We’re well aware that others in the sector have worked in this space over the years, so here’s a wee roundup of some of those approaches which will be informing our own work in the coming... Read more

Council finance officers are today analysing what effect the Scottish Government’s budget will have on local finances. One area likely to be welcomed by authorities is a commitment to move to three-year council budgets. This will result in less uncertainty across Scottish... Read more

I recently attended the Corra Foundation’s conference on funding (Corra being the relaunched Lloyds TSB Foundation and a large funder here in Scotland). The day – entitled ‘Change convention: a space to explore how to create positive change in uncertain times’ – kicked off with... Read more

Do the First Minister’s announcements mark a truly radical change in approach and will actions match the warm rhetoric? With MSPs back from the summer recess, the First Minister outlined her Programme for Government for the year ahead. The programme was trailed as the Scottish... Read more

Our new research shows need for funders and the third sector to map out a better system Read more

Summary When it comes to local funding from public bodies, the sector suffers from short term, small pots of money, with long-term funding in the minority; this can have real impacts for individuals and communities. The sector still does not always get the support it needs, and... Read more

Why is the UK-wide Big Lottery Funding scheme so important? Read more

One week after the referendum, SCVO’s Policy Officers Network met to wrestle with the implications of Brexit for the third sector. Read more

The story behind the city of discovery’s set of asks from the next Scottish Government. Read more

Our sector has an ambitious vision for Scotland’s future. The question is how can we make our vision a reality? Read more

Community Capacity and Resilience Fund SCVO Update Report February 2016 Context The Community Capacity and Resilience Fund focuses on small, local, grassroots, community-based organisations to pilot ideas that will help them mitigate the impact of welfare reform and social... Read more

Media stories about poor fundraising practices suit the welfare cuts agenda Read more

The Third Sector in Scotland has been involved in the governance and implementation of European Structural Funds since the UK joined the EU. As the national body representing the interests of all Third Sector organisations in Scotland, SCVO secured support from the Scottish... Read more