Third Sector Trends 2022 - Sector Structure, Purpose, Energy and Impact

Third Sector Trends was initiated in 2008 in North East England and Cumbria. It is a longitudinal study which explores the structure and dynamics of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in the context of change.

In 2022 the study was supported by Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Power to Change and Millfield House Foundation. The study examines how Third Sector organisations, with a wide range of characteristics and working in different local contexts, fare over time. A link to the overall reports can be found here:

A sub-report drawn from the national reports, focuses on the analysis of data from the West Midlands and covers four main topics:

Sector structure: data are presented on organisational size, legal form and spatial location.
Sector purpose: evidence on the sector’s level of commitment to beneficiary groups is presented together with data on perceptions of social impact.
Sector energy: employees and regular volunteers provide the days worked which constitute sector energy. Estimates are provided on the extent of this energy at local and regional level.
Sector impact: impact is difficult to measure, but Third Sector Trends has devised a technique to measure and assess impact. Regional level assessments of impact for the West Midlands are presented in comparative context.

Read the full report here:

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