Section 1: Extraordinary Times - The Voluntary Sector in the Covid-19 Pandemic

This section will take approximately 30 minutes to work through.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on communities around the world and the UK has been no different. Smaller, local voluntary sector organisations in particular have found their work transformed dramatically. Many of these organisations have been forced to change and adapt their approaches and unfortunately some have had to close.

CVSL Research

CVSL was created to focus on the work of smaller organisations and has been part of a wide range of previous research on the voluntary sector. In particular, we contributed to the Lloyds Foundation ‘Value of Small’ report that was produced in 2018 and drew attention to the distinct contribution small and medium-sized charities make in terms of their services, approaches, and networks at a local level.

• Read the 'Value of Small' report

The work of CVSL includes ongoing research by our PhD students into issues in the sector. Many of them are currently undertaking data collection or have had to adapt their approaches during the Covid-19 pandemic. Current research topics include:

• Power Sharing in the Boardroom
• Enabling Collaboration in Conservation
• Leadership practice in New Asylum Seeker and Refugee Charities
• Towards an understanding of informal unstructured collaborative projects
• Voluntary Sector Collaboration with the NHS

You can find out more about the research at our PhD Research page, including videos from our students themselves.

Messages from Practice

The following videos show a discussion between Carol, Clare, and Ian around the voluntary sector experience in Milton Keynes.

Firstly, Ian and Clare discuss how their organisations have responded to Covid-19 before going on to talk about the impact uncertainty has had on their practices.

'Responding to Covid-19: Experiences from the Voluntary Sector' (9:01 minutes)

In this second video, Clare and Ian talk about how they have managed uncertainty in the current situation.

‘Coping with and Addressing Uncertainty in the Voluntary Sector’ (6:43)

Key Issues from Practice

Ian and Clare surface some key issues that they have encountered in responding to Covid-19, including:

• Decision making has become stressed and compressed
• Work has been much busier and there has been pressure to work faster
• Planning has been difficult and there have been new demands on existing practices
• Individuals have found it hard to find time and space to take time away from work
• Information and advice has been rapidly changing creating pressure to get accurate information out to members
• Different bits of their services have come into focus, some of this was unfunded
• They have had to work closely with new and different people and organisations in order to make progress and support communities
• Their work has changed shape because of the crisis and this will dictate what happens in the future.

In addition, uncertainty has meant a need to focus on different things, including:

• The key intention to want to work together to solve issues
• To be tolerant of mistakes in a rapidly changing context
• Trust
• Having tough conversations and listening
• Ambiguity
• Shared principles – focus on the common good
• Going into relationships as equals and learning together
• Creating foundations for the future

Both Community Action MK and MK Community Foundation have lots of information about their response to Covid-19 on their websites.

Many organisations have produced information in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the voluntary sector. There are too many to list fully here but in particular NAVCA and NCVO continue to support and advocate for the sector on a daily basis.

Reflection

If you’re reflecting on these issues in relation to your own practice and would some more information or support, please get in touch.