Contract Policy/Research Jobs
Purpose of project
The work should build on the previous State of The Sector report which was produced in 2020 and can be found here. This will be used to inform decision-making and new ways of working between the public sector and the VCFSE (voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise) sector.
Background
In 2020, there were over 2,700 charities registered with the Charity Commission as active in Somerset. While the majority are based within the county with a local remit, many others have a broader sphere of activity spreading beyond the county’s boundary. There are also hundreds of additional formal and informal or unregistered voluntary groups across the county.
Together, these make up the local VCFSE sector, performing an essential role in strengthening their communities and enriching individual lives. It is vitally important for the well-being of Somerset’s communities and residents, that the ‘health’ of the sector is monitored and understood. Throughout the Covid pandemic, and the cost of living crisis, these groups provided a lifeline of support and services to individuals within their communities, and they continue to do so. However, these organisations have been hard hit in recent times due to increasing demand and challenges around sustainability and capacity. It is more important than ever to understand the state of the sector and what it needs to grow, develop and thrive in Somerset.
Scope of work
Spark Somerset is committed to innovative and creative approaches to support our communities. We invite interested researchers to design and deliver a mixed-methods approach to the research which will likely include:
- Scoping: conduct an in-depth review of national and regional research; evaluate findings; compare, contrast & report on findings
- Survey: design, develop and administer an online survey which gathers evidence from a range of organisations across the sector (e.g. size, type, purpose); analyse, collate and report findings
- Interviews: recruit and conduct telephone/video/in-person interviews with a cross-representative sample of stakeholders
- Focus groups: recruit and conduct focus groups with a cross-representative sample of stakeholders
Deliverables
The researcher will be expected to:
- Produce a comprehensive report detailing results of the research, including recommendations (see the previous State of The Sector report, published in 2020)
- Produce an executive summary of the report along with an illustrative infographic
- Present the results of the research to the steering group
For further information about this opportunity and how to apply, please visit our website.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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At Brooke, we celebrate diversity and the creative new ideas it brings. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds, in particular global majority candidates, candidates from a social mobility background, disabled and neuro-diverse candidates, and candidates under 25 as these groups are currently under-represented at Brooke.
We are aware that studies have shown that women and global majority candidates are less likely to apply for a role if they feel they do not meet the full criteria of the job description. If you feel you meet the majority of the criteria, we would love to hear from you.
We offer a variety of flexible working options to best support our staff and to ensure our working practices are as inclusive as possible