Changing Landscapes for the Third Sector: Enhancing Knowledge and Informing Practice

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The Changing Landscapes for the Third Sector project brings together a new body of dynamic research on the third sector, in order to exchange knowledge and data of relevance to the future development of the sector. Sharing dynamic, narrative forms of knowledge and data across academic and practice organisations provides the foundation for scaling up evidence and creating impact for practitioners, service providers and for wider public policy. The project will: -Set up a network of new and recent research projects on the third sector, in order to bring together academic and practice based organisations for collaboration and knowledge sharing;- Enhance the evidence base on the third sector in times of austerity through a programme of archiving, data sharing and knowledge exchange across the network; - Conduct a review and synthesis of findings across the network, and carry out a secondary analysis of two key datasets, working with key themes of relevance for the sector;- Disseminate the findings of this work via a practitioner conference and a special issue of the academic journal Voluntary Sector Review; - Produce tailored outputs addressed at policy and practice audiences, including a policy report and briefing paper, training materials and web resources for use by those working in the third sector and those co-ordinating or commissioning third sector services. Over recent years a discernible shift has occurred in research on the third sector. Cross sectional studies that create a 'snap shot' of third sector organisations, activities and the individuals involved, have begun to be complemented by dynamic studies that create a moving picture of the sector through prospective or retrospective methods of enquiry. The recent application of qualitative longitudinal (QL) and case history methods in a number of third sector studies is part of this growing trend; distinctive forms of data and knowledge are being generated that can shed new light on how changes in the sector are created, lived and experienced, and that allow current trends to be placed in historical and developmental context (Macmillan et al 2012; Hughes and Emmel 2012; Neale 2012). Viewing the third sector in this way is particularly important in times of austerity and sector transformation. Organisations are grappling with the demands of new and often reduced funding regimes; greater emphasis on social enterprise models; a changing relationship with the state and local government; increased pressure to demonstrate the difference they make; and changes in the nature of participation. Understanding how the organisations and individuals that contribute to the third sector are responding and adapting to this changing landscape is vital; the provision of resources on these processes to enable a sharing of practice and experiences would be of benefit to the sector and to service providers and commissioners of third sector services. The project will be conducted through two interrelated strands of work. The first strand (Networking, Archiving, Knowledge and Data Exchange) will be led by Timescapes, University of Leeds in collaboration with project partners and network members. The second strand (Secondary analysis and synthesis of evidence) will be led by the Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham, in collaboration with project partners and network members. Outputs will be tailored to third sector use and include case materials charting varied pathways through the changing third sector landscape and an interactive web-based knowledge bank on Changing Landscapes for the Third Sector. The impact of these outputs will be assessed through feedback from the sector.