The second set of results from Third Sector Trends have now been released.  Third Sector Trends in England and Wales: people, work, ambition and impact.  The report is available here: Third Sector Trends in England and Wales – St Chad’s College Durham

The report includes analysis on the support needs of voluntary organisations, how they prioritise them and who they usually ask to help them if they seek external advice and support.  There’s also a lot of analysis on leadership and how that feels when tackling core organisational issues.  There’s also analysis on the labour market and key challenges there. It’s clear that regular volunteer numbers have not yet recovered.  Trustee recruitment and retention problems fall unevenly – it is in older, smaller organisations where the real problems are.

More reports will follow – titles may change a little, but this provides an idea of what they will cover:

Income, assets, financial wellbeing (to be published early January 2026)

Sector dynamics in the context of place (to be published February 2026)

How voluntary organisations contribute to community vitality (to be published March 2026)

There will also be a special report on The voluntary sector in Wales – which will be published in February 2026. Other localised reports are likely to follow.

Information about the study and all previous publications can be found here: Third Sector Trends in England and Wales – St Chad’s College Durham

Below: Original media release from 31 October 2025 – The first set of results from Third Sector Trends has been published.