Dear colleague,
State of the Sector 2023 is live! The criminal justice voluntary sector has been mapped out, highlighting the changes over the past year and, unfortunately, some of the recurring themes.
Clinks’ role is to support, promote and represent the voluntary sector working in the criminal justice system. Our annual State of the Sector research, produced in partnership with NCVO, is a free resource evidencing what our members and sector are experiencing and the impact on their service users.
State of the Sector 2023 explores the landscape of the criminal justice voluntary sector as it responds to a year of reduction of funding and resources for many.
We have summarised key findings relevant to you:
Challenging Operating Environment
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In our survey, 8% of respondents said their main stated purpose was to support organisations for racially minoritised people, and 36% said they provided a specific service for racially minoritised people as part of a broader remit
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51% of organisations said they supported racially minoritised people in their work
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Continuing the trend seen for many years in this research, organisations face increasing numbers of new service users, with a greater level, complexity, and urgency of need
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While focus group participants felt there was specialist support for specific cohorts, it was not available at the necessary scale
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78% of organisations said their running costs had increased, compared to the previous year, with 47% saying they had increased significantly.
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Whilst many organisations responded to this by working more flexibly with their clients, increasing partnership working, and sourcing more funding, a majority also said staff were taking on larger caseloads.
Contract and Grant Funding
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About two-thirds of survey respondents delivered services under contract or sub-contract
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Respondents were positive about their experiences of grant funding, particularly from charitable trusts and foundations, but slightly less so about government grants.
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Organisations were broadly negative about their experience of contract funding, which are almost always commissioned by the government or statutory bodies.
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More than eight-in-ten survey respondents applied for a grant from a charitable trust or foundation, with just over half applying for a government grant.
Cautious Confidence about Financial Sustainability
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Organisations were broadly confident about their financial sustainability over the next two years, but in focus groups, organisations qualified this optimism
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In focus groups, voluntary organisations said whilst they were confident their organisation would still be delivering services in two years, there was uncertainty as to the scale and capacity of this service delivery.
Clinks’ Race & Justice network
Organisations within the Race and Justice network support those from racially minoritised backgrounds in the criminal justice system. The network allows for organisations to work collaboratively to overcome challenges and provide Clinks with intelligence that we can highlight in the sector. Clinks recognises the complex issues faced by those from racially minoritised backgrounds and the continuous failures the system makes.
Our pledge to you
The sector's resilience is incredible; organisations continue to support people who need it most. As the infrastructure organisation for the criminal justice voluntary sector, we want to continue to support organisations. Over the coming year, we will continue to advocate for the sector. We will share learning and offer opportunities for connection, providing a platform for the sector to come together to highlight issues that matter to organisations and the people they work with.
View the 2023 research on our new State of the Sector webpage here
Download the executive summary here
Share State of the Sector on Twitter and LinkedIn
Best wishes,
Lorraine
Lorraine Maher
Race & Justice Manager
Clinks
020 4502 6774 | 07376654033
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