The Civil Society Economy

What’s New

• We're hard at work on the UK Civil Society Almanac 2009, and want your views on the content and design of previous editions. What do you use the Almanac for? Does it contain the right data on Civil Society to help you in your work? What analysis would you like to see? Take our online consultation or email your thoughts to David Kane - 01 August 2008
• The UK Civil Society Almanac 2008 is available - 20 February 2008
• NCVO is a partner in Northern Rock Foundation’s Third Sector Trends Study. This study examines the scale, dynamics and needs of the voluntary and community sector in North East England and Cumbria. Find out more about the project on the Northern Rock Foundation’s website.

• Our work on the civil society economy
  • Other relevant NCVO information 
  • Publications
  • Events

For more information on the civil society economy contact Oliver Reichardt  or David Kane.

NCVO’s Research on the Civil Society Economy

"The NCVO almanac continues to be the sector’s most important reference book."
Ed Miliband MP – Minister for the Cabinet Office

Each year, NCVO produces the Almanac, an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the sector.

The publication provides facts and figures on the sources of the sector’s income, how the money is spent, who works in the sector, and much more. In February 2008, the Almanac has been expanded to look at all Civil Society Organisations, giving a unique picture of Civil Society in the UK.

As well as publishing the Almanac, NCVO is active in a number of other areas:

• leading efforts to better define and classify the sector,
• working internationally to compare the UK’s voluntary and community sector with other countries,
• a partner in Northern Rock Foundation’s Third Sector Trends Study,
• working with the Office of National Statistics on the Quality Measurement Framework, which seeks to more effectively measure public services provided by the voluntary and community sector.

Read our publications for full details of our work or see:

• Key findings

Other relevant NCVO information

• Visit our webpages for more information on the VCS workforce.
• Visit our webpages for more information on charitable giving.
• NCVO Members have exclusive access to downloadable almanac content

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Publications

The UK Civil Society Almanac 2008

Published: February 2008

The UK Civil Society Almanac 2008 is the latest edition of NCVO Research's annual Almanac publication. This year, for the first time, the Almanac includes information on civil society organisations alongside a detailed exploration of the state of the voluntary sector economy.

The figures reveal the thriving civil society of the UK, consisting of 865,000 organisations and a collective income of £109 billion. General charities, which make up the voluntary sector, have continued to grow, increasing their income to £31 billion.

The publication reveals vital information about government funding of voluntary organisations, how charities spend their money, workforce and volunteering in the sector and much more, presented in an easy-to-use full-colour publication.

The data on Charities in the Civil Society Almanac was provided by GuideStar UK. Other data suppliers include the Office for National Statistics, Independent Schools Council, Co-operativesUK, National Housing Federation, Higher Education Statistics Agency, SCVO and NICVA.

About the publication

• Order a copy online (£125, £30 for NCVO members - join here)
• Download the executive summary (PDF 319KB)
• Find out more information how we produce the Almanac facts and figures - particularly for social enterprise activity (PDF 537KB)
• Read the press release
• Read press coverage of the Almanac from around the UK
• NCVO members can download a powerpoint presentation of the main findings
• Give us feedback on your experiences of the Almanac using our online consultation 

Past editions

The Almanac is an annual publication, please see below for details of previous years publications:

The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2007

Published: June 2007

The 2007 almanac brings together evidence on the size and scope of the sector. It includes details on: different types and sources of income; how money is spent; the sector’s workforce and volunteers; and who gives to charity.

• Order a copy - £25.00 or £17.50 NCVO members
• NCVO members can download complete Almanac chapters and useful presentations from the Member’s Area

The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2006

A summary of the UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2006 is available to download (PDF 535KB).

The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2004

The complete UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2004 is available to download (PDF 740KB).

The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2002

The complete UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2002 is available to download in three parts:

- Part 1 (pdf, 55.8KB)

- Part 2 (pdf, 1.86MB)

- Part 3 (pdf, 1.24MB)

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Events

The state of civil society in 2008

20 February 2008 - at the NCVO Annual Conference

This session outlined the main findings of the UK Civil
Society Almanac 2008, followed by two leading practitioners presenting their analysis of the implications of these findings. The group then discussed the findings.

Chair: Oliver Reichardt, Civil Society Almanac 2008 author, NCVO

Speakers: Barry Knight, Centris and Clare Thomas, City Bridge Trust and NCVO Trustee

A version of Barry Knight's discussion piece is available on the Guardian's "Joe Public" blog.

Measuring the voluntary sector

September 2007 – at the NCVO Research Conference

This session explored measurements and definitions of the VCS. 

• Download:  Sarah Brennan’s paper: An up to date
  picture of information held on the register of charities
  and insight into charities and public service delivery (54KB PDF)
• Download: Oliver Reichardt’s paper: Question of
  Definition:an attempt to operationalise definitions of
  the sector (PDF 80KB)
• Download: Michal Nowosielski’s paper: Third sector
  in Poland and Germany (PDF 42KB)

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