Reports and publications

In April 2011, the British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres (bassac) and the Development Trusts Association (DTA) merged to form Locality, the leading nationwide network of settlements, development trusts, social action centres and community enterprises.

This report offers a detailed account of the merger, based on re-examination of documents generated during the merger process and on interviews with five of the key participants. We also give our perspective as facilitators of the merger.

TACT Fostering & Adoption (TACT) is the UK’s largest charity and voluntary agency providing fostering and adoption services in England, Scotland and Wales. Between October 2004 and August 2007, TACT merged with four smaller organisations operating variously in the fields of fostering, adoption and campaigning to promote better justice for children.

Making a difference celebrates ten years of IVAR's work. The publication presents ten projects in the words of those we have worked with to illustrate the diversity of our work and the difference that IVAR makes.   

This report presents findings from IVAR-led research, conducted by community researchers in seven English locations, which examined the contribution of Community Matters members to formal and informal political participation. In particular, the research aimed to understand and explain the contribution of community-based multipurpose voluntary organisations to maintaining and building good levels of formal and informal political participation in otherwise deprived areas.

The Commissioning Improvement Programme (CIP) came to an end on 31 March 2011. CIP was delivered by IVAR as one strand of the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning (NPTSC). The programme ran in 16 local authority areas across England between March 2010 and March 2011.

This report provides an overview of: the key conditions required for commissioning improvement; the outcomes of the programme; the future challenges and opportunities facing the public and voluntary sectors in relation to commissioning.

Beyond money: A study of funding plus in the UK is the final report of research funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust, The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Trust for London.

The report examines different approaches to funding plus used by UK charitable foundations. We look at the principal benefits, challenges and risks of these approaches in order to generate practically useful learning about funding plus.

What kinds of community organisations own or manage assets such as land and buildings? What are the benefits they offer and the challenges they face? IVAR research, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, explored these questions.

This is a report of a two year collaboration between researchers at IVAR and New Philanthropy Capital and nine community organisations interested in finding new ways to assess the difference they make. The study had a dual purpose: to generate new insights into the difference that multi-purpose organisations make to the communities where they work; and to develop a shared understanding of what an appropriate, meaningful and proportionate approach to impact assessment might look like.

This research, commissioned by Big Lottery Fund (BIG), looked at collaboration and partnership working in a changing context. The study was carried out by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research between January and March 2011.

The aim of this study was to explore how the BIG can support its voluntary and community sector (VCS) applicants and grant holders to collaborate more effectively and so deliver their agreed project outcomes more successfully in a changing environment.

Our inquiry was guided by the following questions:

Since 2006, IVAR has been working with LGID (Local Government Improvement and Development, formerly IDE&A) to deliver the Partnership Improvement Programme (PIP). The purpose of PIP has been to support public sector and voluntary sector organisations to work more effectively in partnership within specific local authority areas. The programme has generated a wealth of understanding, experience and insight into the practicalities of cross sector partnership working which are summarised in this briefing.