29/10/09

By Andrew Holt

London Advice Services Alliance, a charity which provides ICT and advice services for the third sector, reveals the results of its latest research looking at current challenges and possible solutions for the third sector.

The research revealed that two-thirds (63%) of third sector workers think that sharing is key to collaborative working within the sector, with sharing of ideas and expertise (20%) being the most important.

Although collaboration is regarded as important to the sector, there are a number of obstacles which hinder charity organisations from taking things forward.

Nearly three in ten (29%) think that lack of leadership is the key obstacle faced by the sector, whilst more than a quarter (26%) consider lack of communication among organisations to be the main hurdle.

The results also highlighted that more than half (54%) of charity workers currently depend on the support services of second and third tier organisations on a weekly basis, and only three per cent of the respondents had never benefited from such assistance.

Andy Gregg, chief executive of Lasa, commented: "In conjunction with our twenty-fifth anniversary, we would like to take this opportunity to encourage third sector organisations to cooperate more.

"At challenging times such as this, we will need to have serious discussions about how to tackle the problem of lack of resources, and only by working together closely will we be able to survive and thrive throughout the current economic recession."

The research was based on 175 respondents from charity organisations and aimed at finding out the best ways to help improve third sector services and for them to survive the economic recession.

Home     More News


Other stories you may find of interest:

Sector verdict on the Open Public Services White Paper
The Government's modernisation of public services and promise to give people choice and control over the services they use, and end the ‘get what you’re given’ culture, has been met with sector responses that range from the lukewarm to ice cold. ACEVO warned about facing down vested interests, NCVO complemented the paper on a useful start but also the need for a level playing field, a message reiterated by the Social Enterprise Coalition in more forceful terms, and CAF noted that commissioners at all levels need to be truly empowered to value social impact...

Sector wide coalition calls for clarity on EU procurement
NCVO, ACEVO and 21 other key sector umbrella bodies have jointly released a statement on proposals of the new European Directives, which would significantly improve civil society organisation’s ability to bid for public sector contracts. In particular, the umbrella bodies would like to see implementation of the proposals for:Reduced regulation for social services; Encouraging smaller contracts and obligations to explain large contracts; An independent advice and oversight body; The grouping are seeking a meeting with Cabinet office minister, Francis Maude to discuss civil society priorities in the UK’s current negotiations with the EU, and ensure open dialogue is maintained between the government and the sector during the progress of the Directives review.

Reward for charities bridging gaps in health care provision
Ten UK charities have each won £25,000 in recognition of their outstanding contribution to improving health care. The charities beat more than 400 entrants to become winners of this year’s GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with The King’s Fund. The awards – GSK’s flagship UK corporate social responsibility programme – highlight the crucial role played by the voluntary sector in meeting health needs among deprived and vulnerable communities, often bridging gaps other services are unable to fill.