New research demonstrates the impact and value of NAVCA members

Back in November, the Connecting Locally research report by the Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (CRSER) at Sheffield Hallam University was launched, demonstrating the impact and value of local infrastructure organisations. Our members help the local voluntary and community sector thrive by providing effective infrastructure support. Over the next year, we're going to be exploring different parts of the research and how it will be useful for our network.

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The report, Connecting Locally: local voluntary and community sector infrastructure in England, shows that local infrastructure has a key role in local strategic leadership, developing strong relationships with local authorities, the NHS and other statutory bodies and VCSE organisations. We want to use this report to continue advocating on behalf of our members on a national level.

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As our members continue to support their local communities through the cost of living crisis, we want to demonstrate just how important local infrastructure is in the most vulnerable communities. For example, NAVCA members are concentrated in the most deprived fifth of local authority areas: covering 91% of the population of these areas. With the support, advice and guidance of local infrastructure organisations, the local VCSE sector secured £139m in the year to March 2021.

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The report also shows the scale and significance of volunteering within the NAVCA membership. Each week, 11,446 volunteers contribute 16,576 hours to NAVCA members, alongside 3467 FTE staff. This is the equivalent of another 474 full time staff – demonstrating the importance of volunteers in supporting the VCSE sector.

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Dr Rob Macmillan, Principal Research Fellow at CRESR, said, “The research shows the breadth and depth of local infrastructure work across the country, and just how significant it is in forging connections across sectors and services. This report paves the way for strategic conversations with stakeholders on the services needed to support the local voluntary sector and communities.’’  We are looking forward to working further with Rob to explore the research in more depth over the next year.

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A major challenge for LIOs is that they are working in an increasingly constrained financial context, as well as preparing for the impact of future funding cuts to local authority service provision. As the cost of living crisis worsens, NAVCA members are continuing to strengthen the local voluntary and community sector to ensure that communities and individuals have access to the right support and services, but they can only do this through building sustainability. Therefore, local infrastructure organisations are building stronger relationships with health and local authorities, building alliances and collaborations with other VCSE organisations, demonstrating impact and diversifying funding streams.

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Our CEO Maddy said, ‘’Thriving communities are vital to how we all live our lives. A thriving community strengthens all aspects of our lives - from health, to employment and education, in decision making, shaping services, and delivery of support. Strong local VCSE infrastructure is key to supporting communities, and is needed now more than ever as communities are relied on to provide a vital safety net during the cost of living crisis.’’

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Over the coming months, we'll be exploring the research further and helping our members use it to demonstrate their impact and value to stakeholders and local communities. Keep an eye on our social media and blog, and check out the full report in the meantime.

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