The Scottish Third Sector Tracker – wave four findings (Summer 2022)
The Wave 4 findings paper presents key insights into Scotland’s third sector based on data collected in summer 2022. 429 organisations participated in the Tracker survey and their responses were weighted to ensure the final dataset was representative of Scotland’s third sector. The paper covers current challenges, risings costs and the impacts on organisations and their beneficiaries, staffing and volunteering, financial health, and funding. Particularly evident in this report was the increased prevalence of staffing issues and shortages, volunteer shortages and financial challenges in the third sector. Organisations have seen costs rise across all areas of business, and approximately one third of respondents made use of financial reserves between April and August 2022. Further, many organisations have reported concern about the impacts of the cost of living crisis on their beneficiaries, and in open responses gave insights into issues relating to mental health and wellbeing, rising food and energy costs, and increasing hardship and vulnerability in the communities they serve. Wave 4 also collected key data on funding in and for the third sector. Short term funding was found to be dominant, and respondents described the challenges such agreements create for planning for the future and employment. Behind securing funding for core activities, multi-year funding agreements was respondents’ second most frequently reported fair funding priority. Many respondents also suggested the standardisation and simplification of applications and reporting templates in open responses.
