From 2005 to 2006 every voluntary organisation or community group in Bedfordshire and Luton should have received a Community Mapping Questionnaire to assist infrastructure organisations (like Community & Voluntary Service) develop a better understanding of the diversity and size of the sector. The findings from these questionnaires have now been published in a new report ‘State of the Sector 2006’.

Summary

To summarise, there were 1,700 organisations throughout Bedfordshire and Luton known at the start of the project. This figure is now 3,826 - an increase of 225%, with 853 operating specifically in Mid Bedfordshire & 914 in North Bedfordshire and a further 321 operating countywide. (These figures reflect the numbers at the time of the reports publication - July 2006).

The report analyses the number of organisations and a percentage split for the five areas where these organisations operate (South, Mid and North Bedfordshire, Luton and countywide) for

• 42 different key areas of work
• 35 different types of client groups
• levels and sources of funding
• numbers of paid staff, volunteers, committee members and service users
• number of registered charities
• BME led organisations
• 34 different organisation needs.

Of the 961 organisations that indicated an organisational need, 54% of organisations identified fundraising and funding advice, 37% volunteer recruitment and 26% marketing and promotion.

Participants at the ChangeUp funded conference on 18th July 2006 (also titled State of the Sector) heard about infrastructure organisation's work to sustain and improve the overall provision and support to local voluntary and community sector organisations and were able to contribute ideas for future initiatives.

The Future

The findings of the State of the Sector Report & the Beds & Luton Community Mapping Exercise will:

• Inform the future work of the Voluntary Infrastructure Organisations in Bedfordshire & Luton (i.e. CVS)
• Lead to searchable database of Voluntary & Community Groups in Bedfordshire & Luton (accessible from this website.

Download Full Report

State of the Sector 2006