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Why do small and local charities matter, and are they being taken for granted by policymakers?

This is the question being asked in a new Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) North call for evidence, which opens today.

Against a backdrop of falling funding, and a recent string of charity failures, including the highly publicised collapse of Kids Company, the consultation will explore why small and local charities matter, and how changes in public funding models are affecting their activities.

Central government funding for charities has fallen by £1 billion since 2009/10. A recent review of voluntary finances found that small and medium sized charities have been particularly affected, losing between 34-38% of income in five years (2008/9 – 2012/13). A recent survey of 800 such charities found that 72% believe that funding is one of the biggest challenges they currently face.

IPPR North are calling for evidence of the particular strengths and weaknesses of small charities, and the impact that changes to public funding models are having on their ability to work with the people and communities who rely on them.

The call for evidence period runs from Thursday 3rd September 2015 to Monday 28th September 2015 (see details below). It is aimed at all organisations and individuals who wish to contribute their research, analysis and policy ideas on the future of the Third Sector, and of small and medium-sized organisations in particular.

It is hoped the research will provide a useful health check on how small and medium charities are adapting, and make recommendations to local and central government that will set out how they can best support the sector.

Jack Hunter, researcher at IPPR North, said:

“Charities play a vital role in our society but there is no doubt that small and medium-sized organisations are facing significant challenges to the way that they operate. Research shows that funding cuts and the impact of commissioning from government have been dramatic, and charities are increasingly competing directly with one another for cash.

“All too often, the playing field appears skewed towards larger organisations that can invest resource in tendering for big contracts and demonstrating value-for-money, with small and local organisations left behind.

“What evidence can we point to in order to make a strong case for small and local charities? And how are these charities adapting to a new landscape around them? Our new research project will help answer these questions”

Submissions can be made by email (as attached Word documents) to research@ippr.org. Paper submissions can also be posted to: Jack Hunter, IPPR North, 2nd Floor, 3 Hardman Square, Manchester, M3 3EB.

Contacts:

Jack Hunter – j.hunter@ippr.org
Danny Wright – d.wright@ippr.org – 07887 422789

Notes to Editors:

The full call for evidence and brief can be viewed on IPPR North’s website:
http://www.ippr.org/publications/small-and-medium-sized-charities-call-for-evidence

For the purposes of this call for evidence, we define small or medium-sized charities as those with an annual turnover of between £25,000 and £1m. Our focus is on locally-based organisations (i.e. those whose activities are centred around a particular locality, rather than national-level bodies)
In the next few months IPPR North will undertake a review of the existing evidence on the state of small and medium-sized charities. In particular, the call for evidence would welcome submissions looking at:

• Existing studies and research about the strengths and weaknesses of small charity organisations in service delivery, responsiveness to local conditions, and developing more preventative, holistic and person-centred approaches to service provision.

• Evidence of the contribution to social and economic value made by small and medium size charities. This would ideally be at an aggregate level, however we are open to receiving reports from individual organisations where they think they have a particular contribution or approach that would be interesting to us.

• Analysis and evidence about how the funding approach of public sector commissioners can work, or not, to the advantage of small and medium-sized charities. Some key issues that could be considered include:

1. the threat from ‘single issue’ commissioning to ‘multipurpose’ community organisations

2. the lack of accommodation within bidding mechanisms or evaluative frameworks for collaborative working between small charities

3. the high demands on staff time and capacity of small organisations to complete funding bids, and the financial risks these involve.

4. the problems and opportunities for small charities associated with ‘prime provider’ commissioning (through the Work Programme, for example) and Social Impact Bonds. A recent survey of 800 small and medium-sized charities – Expert yet undervalued and on the frontline, the Views and voices of small and medium sized charities - highlighted the pressures they are facing around increasing demands, reducing resources and the challenges they are facing around public funding and commissioning. See:http://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/assets/uploads/Expert_Yet_Undervalued_-_Grantee_Opinion_Survey_2015_WEB.PDF

This project is part of a programme of work devised by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales that will set out robust and actionable evidence of both the strengths and needs of small and medium-sized charities at a critical point in the sector’s development.