During 2020/21, the impact of coronavirus on the voluntary sector in Scotland will be a key focus for our research and policy work.
We will use this page to collate our latest blogs, briefings, and position papers, and to update on opportunities for you to help shape our work in this area.
Over the last few months we have ensured the sector’s voice is heard in national conversations including the Framework for Decision Making, the Social Renewal Advisory Board, the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, several Scottish Parliament Committee enquiries and in the House of Lords. We gathered evidence to inform our work directly from the sector through online events, from #NeverMoreNeeded and from SCVO’s Policy Forum Manifesto for the Future.
One of the key points we have raised in these forums is that while emergency support is much needed and very welcome, we must also recognise that the operating environment for voluntary organisations before the pandemic was far from perfect. This was recognised in the recommendations of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery and accepted by the Scottish Government, and we are now beginning to discuss with Scottish Government and COSLA how we can engage the sector in a conversation about increasing collaboration with national and local government to achieve better outcomes for the sector and the people we work with/causes we champion.
Alongside our collaborative work with a range of funders on their emergency responses to Covid, we have also been involved in shorter term lobbying on Gift Aid, and were successful in widening access to business support grants to the sector in the early days of the pandemic.
We have collated and summarised the research available on the impact of Coronavirus on the voluntary sector in Scotland, and our statistics have been used in parliamentary debates and on conference platforms.
The #NeverMoreNeeded campaign is sharing stories of how individuals and organisations are responding.
The Evidence Library is a resource for anyone interested in the voluntary sector in Scotland. Managed by SCVO, the library signposts to research and evidence produced by, or on, the voluntary sector. For further information email: research@scvo.scot.
Email the title, author, date published, web link or attachment, and a short description to research@scvo.scot.
The BSL Partnership consists of representatives from deaf sector organisations receiving funding through the Scottish Governments’ Equality Budget Fund 2017-20. This paper summarises discussions from their meeting in June. It covers the following topics: How COVID-19, and the… hits Read more
This report from IPPR highlights three key challenges facing the UK's labour market in the current recession and the coming jobs crisis. It makes recommendations to government, including replacing the furlough scheme with a ‘Coronavirus Work Sharing Scheme' (CWSS) come October.… hits Read more
Pro Bono Economics have published the results of their Covid Charity Tracker survey for the period 3 to 7 August. The survey drew 455 responses from across the UK and beyond. Key findings include, As a result of covid: 85% of charities expect a negative financial impact… hits Read more
Corra Foundation have published their Insight Briefing for August 2020. This paper considers the impact coronavirus is having on communities and third sector organisations in Scotland, and what the Corra Foundation have been doing to support the sector. It details what have been… hits Read more
Women's Resource Centre (WRC) designed this survey in partnership with Rosa, the UK fund for women and girls, and the Women's Fund for Scotland (WFS), in March-April 2020. The purpose of the survey was for the women’s organisations to describe and explain their needs and the chal… hits Read more
Samaritans surveyed almost 2,000 men aged 18 to 59 to find out how the pandemic restrictions have affected their mental health and support networks. 42% of the men questioned felt that the restrictions have had a negative impact on their mental health, with loneliness and/or isol… hits Read more
The report, entitled The big trend: Are young people replacing old people as the key volunteering group?, says there have been some fairly dramatic changes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, although volunteering among those over the age of 65 has been in decline since 2012… hits Read more
The Cumberland Lodge Report, Resilient Communities, examines opportunities for fostering social cohesion, in ways that help communities to be more resilient to disruptive events and developments and to reconfigure more effectively in their wake. The report looks at recent event… hits Read more
The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) are running a survey to gauge the impact of coronavirus on people's' mental health and support. The survey is aimed at people living in Scotland, over the age of 16, who receive mental health support, or have been referred for sup… hits Read more
The results of a Carers Trust Scotland survey into the impact of Coronavirus on young carers aged 12 to 17 and young adult carers aged 18 to 25 was published in July 2020. They point to a steep decline in the mental health and wellbeing of thousands of young people across Scotlan… hits Read more
