Jersey Community Foundation have launched a survey they hope will evidence the value of the third sector in Jersey.
The data will be processed and presented by PWC, with Daniel Chan MBE set to launch its findings and guide stakeholders through its importance and impact this coming Autumn.
The Value of The Third Sector Survey, hopes to combat the poor and limited understanding of the value that the third sector in Jersey provides to Islanders and the Government. This lack of recognition permeates across society and may negatively influence the impact of the sector. To maximise the impact of the third sector, it needs to be better understood. There is a need to understand what services it provides, as well as how large its contribution is to the local economy.
The survey and its consequent analysis seeks to:
- Create a platform for the sector to make more informed strategic decisions.
- To quantify the benefits of the sector to Islanders and the Government.
- To provide a ‘health check’ for the sector.
- To create a basis for future assessments of the third sector to build on.
- To better understand how dependent the sector is on different types of donors, and therefore any challenges to financial resilience.
Anna Terry, CEO of Jersey Community Foundation speak about the importance of the research piece: “We anecdotally understand the reliance Jersey has on the third sector across most aspects of Island life, from health and housing to heritage, arts and culture and everything in between, but we lack dedicated data that confidently demonstrates its economic and social value. For example, we know from our own research that the third sector are particularly integral to the success of the Island’s social safety net and care provision, indeed of the 106 organisations registered with the Jersey Care Commission, a third are charities.
“We also know that Jersey’s charity sector is proportionately large in comparison to elsewhere, which would indicate a high reliance on its services. But, until now, there has not been a concentrated effort to fully understand just how valuable the third sector is to Jersey. We hope that all charitable organisations will see the value in this research piece and take the estimated 15-30 minutes to complete the survey so that their experiences and impact are captured and considered moving forward.”
The results from the survey are fully anonymised, but that findings will be made publicly available.
More information about the survey and those eligible to complete it can be found here.
Pictured: Every Child Our Future (ECOF) Storytellers programme helps Island children with their literacy.
