Boosting productivity in the charity sector requires improvements to charity financing, better evidence and data, as well as improved support infrastructure, according to a major commission.
New research for the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, carried out by Pro Bono Economics, has identified a raft of changes and initiatives required to drive up productivity in the sector.
These proposals, developed through engagement with experts and charities, are focused on achieving improvements in the key areas affecting productivity – innovation, technical adoption, management practices and improving the skills, wellbeing and diversity of the sector’s workforce.
Analysis for the new report, titled Productivity of purpose: Bringing charities into the UK’s productivity drive, found that while the sector is “highly innovative and creative”, it has “significant gains to make when it comes to technology”. The report points to “persistent skills gaps, leadership issues and under-investment” as obstacles to progress.
Among various findings, the report found that:
The Commission research proposes a wide-ranging set of solutions to tackle the productivity challenges facing the sector. These are proposed around the following three central recommendations:
Jack Larkham, Research and Policy Analyst at Pro Bono Economics, said:
“Charities are at the forefront of tackling the cost of living crisis, vital to delivering public services and fundamental to driving forward social change. But despite the crucial role they play in society and the economy, their ability to achieve these important social benefits is currently being diminished.
“Implementing changes to the way that they are funded, improving the generation and spread of good evidence and data, and rebuilding the sector’s support infrastructure are crucial to providing the resources, ideas and skills that will help the sector to maximise its full potential.”