Charity Commission publishes "Consortia for the delivery of public services: the issues for small and medium-sized charities"

The Charity Commission has published a new study that looks into how being part of a consortium arrangement impacts on small to medium sized charities; also online are new tools to help charities file information online

Charities and Consortia Working
The Charity Commission has published "Consortia for the delivery of public services: the issues for small and medium-sized charities".

Working in consortia helps charities increase their access to funding and build capacity through peer support and sharing resources and experience, new research has found. However, trustees are being reminded to be aware of both the opportunities and the risks associated with working in consortia that bid for and deliver public services.

The messages emerge from a new research report; Consortia for the delivery of public services: the issues for small and medium-sized charities, published by the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities. The research looked at five consortia formed to deliver public services. The consortia featured are diverse in size and focus, and include consortia with both formal and informal structures.

The new research follows earlier work, which looked at charities working collaboratively and identified some types of activities with which smaller charities in particular experienced difficulties. The new research looks at the strategies and approaches charities have used in order to participate successfully in charity consortia and explores issues that arise for consortia that were formed to help members tender for and deliver public services.

The report reveals that consortia working can result in a range of benefits for smaller charities in particular, with some stressing that consortia working helped them gain access to strong peer support networks and helped them cost their services properly and operate in a more business-like way.