The Civil Society Economy

Information on NCVO's research on the size and scope of the sector including publication and events details.

NCVO's Research on the Civil Society Economy

The UK Civil Society Almanac

Each year NCVO produces the UK Civil Society Almanac which provides facts and figures on the the size, scope and characteristics of the voluntary sector. The Almanac is aimed at policy makers and practitioners with an interest in voluntary organisations and civil society.

Other Areas of Research

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 Measuring Outcomes for Public Service Users project, which seeks to more effectively measure public services provided by the voluntary and community sector.
• tracking and reporting on the impact of spending cuts to the voluntary 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.
• Our Charity Forecast Survey shows the confidence that charity leaders have in the future of the sector.

For more information on the civil society economy contact the Almanac team.

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Publications

The UK Civil Society Almanac 2010

Published: December 2010

The Almanac is a unique and indispensible guide to anyone interested in the broad range of groups and organisations that make up the voluntary sector. It provides an essential overview of the size and characteristics of civil society organisations, including their finances, regional and activity distribution and workforce, and how they are changing over time.

Completely revised, this-easy-to-use version is essential for policy makers and practitioners with an interest in voluntary organisations and civil society.

• Order your copy now!
• Access the tables behind the Almanac
• Free poster of key statistics (PDF 268KB)
• Read the press release for the Almanac 2010
• Download Karl Wilding's, Head of Research NCVO, presentation on the Almanac 2010 (PDF 574KB)

The State and the Voluntary Sector

Recent trends in government funding and public service delivery

Published: September 2009

The voluntary sector in modern Britain is a major force for social and economic change. With an expenditure of over £33 billion and a paid workforce of 634,000, the voluntary sector is also a key player in the modernisation and delivery of public services.

At a time when public expenditure is under pressure, policy-makers and voluntary sector leaders need the latest intelligence on the statutory funding relationship. 

The State and the Voluntary Sector, sponsored by Rockpools and supported by The Guardian, provides a unique, easy-to-understand analysis and is an indispensible guide for policy-makers, voluntary sector leaders and anyone interested in the sector.

• Order a copy online (£25, £17.50 for NCVO members - join here)
• Access the tables behind the Almanac
• Download the report (PDF - 3MB)
• Download charts and tables from the report (XLS - 550KB)
• View a presentation of findings from the launch event on 4 Sept 2009
• Follow links to press coverage of the report
• Further reading on the relationship between the state and the voluntary sector 
  
  

Past editions of the Almanac

The Almanac is an annual publication, originally known as the UK Voluntary Sector Almanac, but renamed in 2008 the UK Civil Society Almanac to reflect a wider range of facts and figures included.

While the latest figures on the economy of the voluntary sector and civil society are found in the UK Civil Society Almanac 2009, some previous editions can be downloaded for free. The 2006, 2004 and 2002 editions of the UK Voluntary Sector Almanac are currently available. Summaries of the UK Civil Society Almanac 2008 and the UK Voluntary Sector Almanac are also available.

• Download previous editions of the UK Civil Society Almanac

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 Counting the Cuts

Counting the cuts: The impact of spending cuts on the UK voluntary and community sector (PDF 2.8MB) offers our best estimate of where, how, and how much the cuts from Government in public spending already are and will continue to impact our sector. The report contains key information about the impact public sector spending cuts will have on the voluntary sector from 2011-2016. Here are some key figures:

• The UK voluntary and community sector will lose around £911 million a year in public funding by 2015-16.
• This means voluntary and community sector stands to lose £2.8 billion from Government over the current spending review period running from 2011- 2016.
• These are likely to be conservative estimates based on analysis of the Government’s own figures published by the Office of Budgetary Responsibility. The figures assume that cuts with be made proportionately, they provide us with a solid baseline figure to measure any further cuts against.

Read the full report

Browse our advice sector on how to cope with the cuts.