Methods

A key aim of the Third Sector Trends Study is to build on the well-established research methods for studying national sector trends through the development of innovative approaches to studying the sector at regional and local levels. It also aims to share new methodologies with other researchers. There are two parts to the study, a quantitative mapping of its scale, and a more qualitative survey-based study of the local dynamics.

Measurement of the scale and scope of the sector in the N East and Cumbria
One element of the study is highly quantitative, developing reliable estimates of the numbers, scale and scope of all types of third sector organisations in the region, whether registered charities or not. This involves combining existing sources of information in innovative ways to produce reliable estimates, based on:

  • integrating local data from the principal registers and regulators of the sector;
  • using directories or databases from local infrastructure bodies;
  • integrating data from these sources with statistics on the wider third sector, through GuideStar UK’s databases and others.

Published and other documentary sources of data have been supplemented with a survey designed to provide a basic profile of the features of the ‘unincorporated’ organisations, namely those which do not feature on national register).

The mapping of third sector resources is being fleshed out further through:

  • analyses of large-scale datasets on volunteers;
  • the paid workforce (using, for example, the Citizenship Survey, the Labour Force Surveys;
  • further registered charity data, taken from the Guidestar database.

Using these data, the researchers are building a reliable picture of the total scale and geographical distribution of organisations and their resources in the region. This part of the study is being carried out by the consortium led by Professor John Mohan. Reports from the mapping work are now available on the web site from the reports page.

Study of local third sector dynamics and change over time
The other key element of the study mixes quantitative and qualitative methods to study the local sector’s dynamics, interaction and change over time. This is being approached in a number of ways, including:

  • a survey of infrastructure bodies in the region (which has been published);
  • an in-depth long-term study of the comparative performance of 50 third sector organisations in different fields of operation, the ‘TSO50’ study; (first wave already completed and will report on the website in February 2010.)
  • the construction of a large representative panel survey of organisations across the region, to be launched in April 2010.

The panel survey will gather evidence on the dynamics of third sector organisations in response to external factors, such as trends in the economic and political environment. Other qualitative components for assessing sector dynamics include a study of stakeholder perceptions of trends in third sector development, and an exploration of the formation, strength, influence and benefit of third sector networks. This part of the study will be led by Professor Tony Chapman of the University of Teesside.

The Foundation and the research team aim to engage key stakeholders and ensure knowledge transfer to a wide range of users through inclusion in the study, events, publications and web resources. A number of outputs from the study have already been disseminated and published.