Office of the Third Sector Homepage
Last updated: 23 November 2008
The OTS, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and The Barrow Cadbury Trust have announced the call for proposals to establish a new independent, multidisciplinary research centre for the third sector.
Bringing together a critical mass of research expertise, resources and intellectual leadership, the centre will support research of the highest international standing, provide top quality analysis and strengthen the evidence base on the sector and its impact, to underpin policy and practice. Developing partnerships between researchers and research users will be at the heart of the new centre in order to increase knowledge and expertise about, with and for the third sector, to include the voluntary and community sectors as well as social enterprise.
The initiative, which sees a total joint investment of £10.25 million over five years, will establish a single research centre, focused on key third sector issues including the sector’s scale, dynamics, and effectiveness. The centre will address the need for longitudinal and trend analysis data for the sector, will make the evidence base for the sector more accessible, and will assess the impact of third sector policies.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“I am delighted to bring the Government’s support to creating a world class research centre for the third sector. The evidence base it will build will be of enormous value, creating a major improvement in the sector’s ability to assess and demonstrate the value of its work. The new centre will provide an authoritative basis for decisions by the sector, and by those who commission public services or are the targets of its campaigns. I expect the centre to assist, engage, and also to challenge both the sector and government, and I warmly welcome this call for proposals.”
Supporting the centre will be three capacity building clusters designed to meet the current and future research needs of the third sector by creating a new generation of high quality researchers committed to the co-production of knowledge and its application to the sector. Proposals, which are also sought for these clusters, are expected to cover a variety of activities such as studentships, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, third sector placements and a voucher scheme designed to allow third sector organisations to “buy in” academic expertise.
Professor Ian Diamond, Chief Executive of the ESRC, commented:
“This is an exciting new Centre, underlining the ESRC’s commitment to developing robust research with and for the Third Sector as well as building on the our long tradition of strengthening research capacity and providing high quality independent research which meets the needs of a wide range of stakeholders. We are delighted to be working with the Office of the Third Sector and The Barrow Cadbury Trust to establish this important new centre.”
Sukvinder Stubbs, Chief Executive of The Barrow Cadbury Trust, said:
“The Barrow Cadbury Trust is delighted to support the new third sector research centre. We look forward to the significant contribution that the new centre will make to third sector research. We are particularly excited about funding a stream of research within the centre, focusing on the role of the third sector in promoting engagement and participation among disadvantaged groups.”
The closing date for full proposals is 27th March 2008.