Archived News

New research demonstrates third and private sector organisations should share their expertise to build capacity.

The research, published by Capacitybuilders, was conducted by the Third Sector Research Centre at the University of Birmingham and the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research at Middlesex University.
 
Matt Leach, Chief Executive of Capacitybuilders said: “We know that the third sector is having a difficult time in this recession. 78% of service providers have experienced an overall increase in demand for their services, 14% of these believe they are coping ‘not very well’ or ‘not very well at all’ and 29% are considering cutting staff. It is in light of this that Capacitybuilders is helping third sector support providers through the recession with programmes such as the Resilience Fund and the Modernisation Fund Grants programme. However, we want to know what more can be done to help third sector organisations through these tough times.”

The research identified a range of case studies where best practice between the sectors could be shared. For example, Rockstar Group provides invaluable development support services for new and expanding businesses. This enterprise support model is based around the business mentoring service which connects clients to successful high flyers with specific sectoral skills and market segment specialisms. Business mentoring can be an invaluable service, especially as up to 75% of businesses cease trading within the first five years. Rockstar is keen to explore the needs of the third sector and adapt their services for third sector managers and enterprises. Many third sector support providers have developed their own methods for mentoring, and it makes sense to share what works between the sectors.

The Association and Community Based Business Advisors (ACBBA) work in the knowledge that some third sector community and voluntary organisations could benefit from a more ‘entrepreneurial’ approach to finding and generating revenue streams. This project aims to create new business support services at community level which are accessible to disadvantaged groups. This model is also capable of flexibility to address the enterprise and skills requirements of specific localities and market segments.

Read the final report, Alternative Approaches to Capacity Building – Practices in the Public and Private Sector.