Evidence for the uneven capacity of communities

A consistent theme in the work of the Third Sector Research Centre is the uneven capacity of communities. Their quantitative research has begun to show how these patterns relate to underlying social and economic conditions. 

With the government’s “big society” policies laying great stress on the capacities and resources of communities, the Third Sector Research Centre is conducting novel analyses and establishing substantial new data resources, to build a picture of how communities might fare under new policies.

A consistent theme in the Centre’s work is the uneven capacity of communities. Their quantitative research has begun to show how these patterns relate to underlying social and economic conditions.

Professor John Mohan, who leads TSRC’s quantitative work at the University of Southampton, says: “Research on registered third sector organisations operating at neighbourhood scale, for example, shows that there are fewer organisations per head in more deprived areas. Those organisations operating in more deprived areas are also more likely to be reliant on public funding. Thus the areas with fewest registered third sector organisations are also likely to be in areas most at risk from funding reductions”. 

Read the press release from Third Sector Research centre.