Project
COVID-19 and VCSE organisations responses
Overview
This project, from the Centre for People, Work and Organisational Practice at Nottingham Business School in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University and NCVO, examines the impact of COVID-19 on voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. In particular, it focuses on providing real-time data about how the pandemic is impacting voluntary organisations working practices and operations as well as their responses, learning and resilience.
This research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s response to COVID-19.
According to a recent government report (DCMS 06/05/2020) the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector is “fighting for survival”, with increased demand for its services, whilst simultaneously facing funding cuts estimated at £4.3bn (during March-May 2020), resulting in many VCSEs organisations estimated to be insolvent ‘within weeks’. As the report states:
Social distancing is making delivering services harder and more costly. Reserves are running out. Smaller charities, in particular, are at risk of imminent closure.
The outputs from this project are a VCSE vulnerability barometer, providing real-time data of the impact COVID-19 on the sector, lessons-learned reports, enabling innovations to be scaled, a final project report and toolkit for resilience.
Nottingham Business School is committed to excellent research which combines academic rigour with beneficial impact on social, economic and societal welfare, as well as informing the design and delivery of the School’s degree programmes.
Purpose
This exciting and timely research aims to provide insight into the experiences of charities across the UK in real time, particularly looking at how organisations are responding to the pandemic.
Each month we produce a report focusing on a different theme to highlight the myriad activities that make up the sector and how they have been impacted.
Amongst these various themes include how volunteering has changed during the pandemic and some of the lessons learned. From supporting food banks through to being involved in the vaccine rollout, volunteering and community activism have been core to the UK’s pandemic response.
People from all areas of the city have come to help and we have a wider age range. We have had people from range of expertise and racial and cultural backgrounds
Read and use the research
Our reports have already been shared with policy makers and industry leaders. Head to our dedicated project page to read the latest report and discover more. Here you can also access our barometer dashboard for a succinct representation of the data. The dashboard allows organisations to gain further understanding of what is happening within the sector, including learning from those of a similar type and size across the UK. It presents users with an overview of how their experiences compare and are shared throughout the sector. If you have any enquiries about insights from the data, or would like to discuss the project more please email us at cpwop@ntu.ac.uk.
The team
The project team brings a unique alignment of researchers from across institutions and organisations specialising in the VCSE sector, HR and innovation, and provide sector knowledge, guidance and access, through their research and policy team and 15,000 members.
Project lead:
Core Team Members:
Professor Helen Shipton
William Rossiter
Professor Tracey Coule (Sheffield Hallam University)
Research Team:
William Rossiter
Joanna Stuart
Helen Shipton
Nene Ibokessien
Ghazal Vahidi
David Dahill
Sarah Smith
Steven Brown
Tracey Coule (Sheffield Hallam University)
Adeline Coignet
Juliana Mainard-Sardon
Catherine Spellman
NCVO
Alex Farrow (NCVO)
Véronique Jochaum
Lisa Hornung
Keeva Rooney
Oliver Chan
Anya Martin
Sean O’Brian
Radiya Hafiza
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Centre Seminars
Date: Presenter: Professor Gary Powell Topic: Gender and Leadership.
Date: 18th May 14.00-15.30pm, Presenter: Tony Dundon, Topic: The challenges for fair employee voice
Date: 26th May 16.00- 17.00pm, Presenters: Helen Shipton and Daniel King, Topic: Promoting employee voice: insights from the CIPD. This talk is hosted by Engaged for Success.
Date: 18th June 14.00- 15.30pm, Presenter: Nadia Kougiannou, Topic: Self-initiated worker voice as a reaction to managerial driven silence in platform work.
Find out more
Head to our blog to find out more, which will be updated regularly with the latest developments from this project.
Visit our news and events sections to find out more about what's happening at Nottingham Business School and search for upcoming research events and seminars.