The Civil Society Economy

What’s New

• Charity Outlook Mixed - a comment piece based on Almanac data for Community Care, looking in detail at organisations working in Social Care.
• The UK Civil Society Almanac 2009 was launched at NCVO's Annual Conference on 18 February 2009. This updated edition includes the latest facts and figures on the voluntary sector and on the rest of civil society. Buy your copy now.
• 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.
• Previous editions of the UK Voluntary Sector Almanac are available for download.

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

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

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.

Originally called the UK Voluntary Sector Almanac, for the last two editions 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.
• Our Charity Forecast Survey shows the confidence that charity leaders have in the future of the sector.
• NCVO Members have exclusive access to downloadable almanac content.

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Publications

The UK Civil Society Almanac 2009

Published: February 2009

The UK Civil Society Almanac 2009 is the latest edition of NCVO Research's annual Almanac publication.

This year the Almanac includes information on civil society organisations alongside a detailed exploration of the state of the voluntary sector economy, building on the first picture of Civil Society shown in the 2009 Almanac.

The figures reveal the thriving civil society of the UK, consisting of 870,000 organisations and a collective income of £116 billion.

General charities, which make up the voluntary sector, have continued to grow, increasing their income to £33 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 Data Services. Other data suppliers include the Office for National Statistics, Co-operatives^UK , National Housing Federation, Higher Education Statistics Agency, SCVO and NICVA.

About the publication

• Order a copy online (£125, £30 for NCVO members - join here)
• Find out the key findings 
• Download the executive summary (PDF - 170KB)
• Read press coverage of the Almanac from around the UK
• Read the press release 
• Find out more about how we produce the facts and figures in the Almanac.
• Look at the Almanac's contents page for a taste of what's inside
• Read comment from an Almanac author looking at organisations working in social care 

Past editions

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.

Events

NCVO Annual Conference 2009

18 February 2009 - The UK Civil Society Almanac 2009 was launched as part of NCVO's Annual Conference.

The keynote speakers were Dr Vincent Cable MP and Dr Benjamin Barber, with workshops and speakers on a wide range of topics related to this year's theme: "Civil Society: Building trust in uncertain times".

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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