Input from your organisation or group into the largest and longest running VCSE trends survey.
Complete the survey here: Third Sector Trends in England and Wales 2025.
It only takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
Your support really makes a difference and every submission is much appreciated.
This survey is being run by Durham University across the whole of England and Wales. They are particularly keen to hear what’s happening in Yorkshire and Humber as we have always had high numbers of responses contributing to previous findings.
Whether you have helped with this research before, or you’re a new organisation, researchers are just as keen to see what you do, how things are going and what you’re achieving.
Whether you’re big or small – thriving, struggling or just going along as normal – they need to hear from you. It’s quick and easy to do on your PC, laptop, tablet or phone. It’s interesting too and really helps to build a picture about how the voluntary sector responds to and initiates change in society.
So if you’re an amateur sports, dance or gardening club, a village hall, a carers’ group, an arts organisation, a campaigning trust; or if you deliver social or health services, care for the environment or run a hostel or food bank – whatever you do, it’s all equally important.
The study is big (6,000+ responses in 2022) and runs right across England and Wales. But its focus is still very local – looking at how the voluntary sector develops and works in areas like ours – whether the interests you serve are focused in a neighbourhood/village – or span national/international boundaries.
It’s completely confidential, incredibly relevant to the voluntary sector and those who support it and only happens every three years.
To take part, click here Third Sector Trends in England and Wales 2025.
If you’re worried about anything – please contact Professor Tony Chapman, Durham University [email protected]
What is the Third Sector Trends Study about and why do we need it?
Only by doing studies on a large scale can a representative view of sector practice as a whole be achieved. If studies do not capture a balanced picture of what is happening, then their findings cannot be taken too seriously. And to assess whether things are changing, such studies must be longitudinal. That can also tell us whether some parts of the sector are thriving, whereas others may be struggling.
The Third Sector Trends Study is the largest and longest running survey of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in the UK. As a longitudinal study, it was designed to explore the structure, dynamics, purpose, energy and impact of the sector in the context of change.
The study is designed to complement rather than compete with existing studies such as NCVO’s Civil Society Almanac and build on data produced by 360 Giving on sector grant funding.
The study was initiated in 2008 by Northern Rock Foundation. Community Foundation North East is now responsible for its legacy. In 2025 the study is being supported financially by Community Foundation North East, Lloyds Bank Foundation England and Wales, Wales Council for Voluntary Action and Millfield House Foundation Since 2012, the research programme has been run by Policy&Practice, St Chad’s College, Durham since when, its geographical coverage expanded, first to Yorkshire & Humber in 2013, to the whole of the North of England in 2016 and to England and Wales in 2019.
An independent study
The study was devised to look at the Third Sector from an ‘independent’ and as far as possible, an ‘objective’ point of view. As such, the study collects and analyses quantitative and qualitative data to explore issues of interest to national and local Third Sector infrastructure organisations, grant-making foundations, national governments, local public sector and health organisations and the private sector and, of course, the thousands of individual charities and social enterprises that take part. In 2022, Third Sector Trends produced a fully representative sample of over 6,000 responses and led to the publication of seven substantive national reports.
Their findings were covered in over twenty journalistic articles in the voluntary sector press. Findings are wellused in local contexts and many locally based studies have been produced using data from the national samples.
What will be explored in 2025
In this seventh iteration of the study, the aim is to get at least 6,000 responses (and a minimum of 500 responses in each English region and in Wales if we can) to produce comparable data for time-series analysis – but we’re hoping for 7,500 responses.
The proposed study will focus on the following issues:
- How has sector structure changed? This will include analysis by organisational location, organisational size, age, legal form, purpose, and spatial range of activity. Special emphasis will be placed on changes in patterns of sector funding.
- Are there signs of change in sector purpose? The study has assessed the impact of a long period of government austerity policy in the last decade, the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020-21 and currently ‘cost of living crisis’ (2025 survey). We will be in a unique position to examine how responsive the Third Sector has been to changing needs.
- Has the ‘people energy’ of the sector changed? In 2022, it was clear that the sector was struggling to recruit and retain employees. We need to see how organisations are faring with more pressures imposed upon them with raised National Insurance cost, rising wages and lower levels of labour market participation. The regular volunteer workforce declined after Covid-19, we need to know whether the sector has recovered – and if not, to identify critical areas of decline.
- Relationships with trusts and foundations. During the Covid-19 crisis, many trusts and foundations relaxed their grant-making practices. In 2025 we intend to examine how the quality and depth of relationships with trusts and foundations has changed – or has reverted to previous patterns prior to the pandemic.
- Relationships with public sector and health organisations It is often claimed that there has been a progressive shift towards devolved decision making in the public and health sectors. In tandem, such policies claim to be committed to involve the Third Sector. But how does that feel on the ground to voluntary sector organisations? We intend to find out.
- Relationships within the Third Sector In the aftermath of the pandemic, the extent of intra-sector working declined to some extent. We need to know whether this has bounced back now that organisations are free to work without restriction. More importantly, we need to look at how productive those relationships are in impact terms.
- Third Sector campaigning, advocacy and influencing. New themes were developed in 2022 to explore influencing. This was ground-breaking analysis raised new questions on the extent, depth and impact of influencing. So in 2025, we will be looking at that in more depth.
- Sector social impact. Crucially, the study will update its analysis on sector impact at both national and regional levels using the well-established methodology developed by this study.
Read more about the study on this Third Sector Trends Information PDF.
