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The latest Third Sector Trends in England and Wales 2025 report is out now, focusing on how voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations are working together, engaging with business, and collaborating with the public sector.
The research, which gathered 8,680 responses across England and Wales, is the UK’s only large-scale, fully representative study of the voluntary sector. The project is supported by Community Foundation North East, Lloyds Bank Foundation, Wales Council for Voluntary Action and Millfield House Foundation.
For organisations across the North West, the findings highlight opportunities to strengthen partnerships, influence local policy, and respond strategically to changing funding and commissioning environments.
Understanding these trends is vital for regional funders, policymakers, and VCFSE organisations to ensure the sector can continue to thrive and deliver impact locally.
The findings show while political enthusiasm for involving the sector in public service delivery remains strong, fewer organisations are now bidding for or delivering public service contracts.
Only half of the largest charities are currently involved, down from 64% in 2019. The main reason for this withdrawal is simple; contract values no longer cover the true cost of delivery.
Professor Tony Chapman, who leads the study, said: “Raising the value of contracts to meet the full cost of delivering public services is the only way forward. Tinkering with procurement or capacity building will make only a marginal difference.”
Support from businesses, whether financial, in-kind or through volunteering has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The report shows that the sector’s collaborative spirit remains strong, even if the nature of partnerships is changing:
This suggests organisations are becoming more selective and strategic in their partnerships, focusing on where collaboration makes the biggest difference.
Despite political shifts and concerns over charity campaigning, most organisations continue to speak up for their communities. Around half engage in campaigning or lobbying to make sure the voices of the people and communities they serve are heard.
While most feel valued by local public sector bodies, fewer feel informed or involved in decision making which the report states is perhaps a sign of rising expectations as devolution and local decision making evolve.
Over half (56%) agree that opportunities for collaborative working with the public sector have increased, but most remain sceptical that policy makers are more receptive to their arguments.
You can read Third Sector Trends in England and Wales 2025: Relationships and Collaborative Working on the Community Foundation website.
