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.
Shifting Sands: A support to planning for Scottish voluntary organisations 2025
The information on the following pages is correct as at 1 January 2025
We know how hard it can be for voluntary organisations to plan for the future. How do you predict how much money you’ll have? Will you need to recruit staff or volunteers? Will you be able to keep the ones you’ve got? What opportunities are out there and is there another shock looming over the horizon?
We would like to help you navigate the ever-changing landscape you’re operating in.
We’ve written this guide for Chief Executives, leadership teams and trustees, to help you think about the external factors that might impact on your organisation in 2025/26 and beyond. It covers political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental issues that are new or that will be particularly pertinent in 2025/26. Some of the information may be new to you, some may not be relevant. Take what you need from it.
How to use this guide
The information in this guide is presented as a PESTLE analysis of factors impacting the voluntary sector’s operating environment in Scotland during 2025/26.
Find out more about PESTLE analysis.
Not all of the issues listed will impact on your organisation. You could use the information in this guide to develop a PESTLE analysis specific to your organisation, taking the relevant information from our guide and adding in issues not covered here that relate to the topic area you work on, or the geographical areas you work in.
You could also use the PESTLE to develop a SWOT analysis for the year ahead. A SWOT analysis details your organisation’s internal strengths and weaknesses, and considers external opportunities and threats. It can be a useful tool to help reconnect you with the more positive side of planning, as we can all have a tendency to focus on the negative. Find out more about SWOT analysis.
The information in the document may also be a useful way to open up discussion within your organisation that will help you to plan in another way that works for you. We’ve included some prompts for discussion that may help you.
Throughout the guide we signpost sources of support, where you can find more information if there are issues you will need to address in the coming year that you are less familiar with.