NAVCA commissioned the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University to undertake a survey of its members, and to analyse the response and report on the findings. The report, published on Wednesday 9th November 2022, discusses the main findings and conclusions from the research and considers its implications and further research questions.
The research demonstrates that local infrastructure responds to local needs, delivering a community-led approach to enable meaningful engagement, collaboration and capacity building. Areas such as health, employment and education are all strengthened when there is a thriving local voluntary and community sector.
Through working with and advocating for communities, and coordinating support, our members are alleviating the worst impact of the cost of living crisis. However, this comes at the cost of deflecting their capacity away from building thriving communities. According to the research, NAVCA members face key challenges as we move into an uncertain future. Firstly, they are working in an increasingly constrained financial context, which is likely to deteriorate further with funding cuts to local authority service provision. Secondly, they are having to make the case for the value of local VCSE infrastructure and communicate the difference that it makes.
Read the full report to find out more about the impact and value of local infrastructure, the challenges faced by the NAVCA membership, and how our members are working to build sustainability.
On this page, you can access the full report, download infographics, and read our deep dives into the research.
