Welcome to the Institute for Voluntary Action Research – IVAR. We are an independent charity that works closely with people and organisations striving for social change. From the very small that directly support the most vulnerable in their local communities, to those that work nationally – across the voluntary, public and funding sectors.
We use research to develop practical responses to the challenges faced and create opportunities for people to learn from our findings. This site is home to our bank of research and resources, providing insights that can help organisations adapt to change and make informed and confident decisions.
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Recently published
Driving continuous learning as a grant maker
Evidence review
A shift is taking place in the UK funding world. Learning is emerging as a key element of contemporary grant-making. In 2019, we were commissioned by Comic Relief to review a range of evidence and engage with funders and infrastructure organisations to explore this.
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Collaborative, credible and catalytic?
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust
The Trust had a short time frame in which to make impact at scale. In their closing months, they commissioned us to review their approach to their Avoidable Blindness Programme. They hope that sharing what they learnt over their five years will prove useful to other funders who are looking to make a decisive contribution and help improve lives.
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Start somewhere
An exploratory study into making technology imaginable
and usable for small voluntary organisations.
Findings include tips and advice from small voluntary organisations on overcoming the barriers to using technology; pointers for support organisations; and things for funders to think about.
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Newsletter
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Principles for grant reporting
We’ve been working with funders and charities to develop a set of principles that make grant reporting a shared, more meaningful and mutually beneficial experience.
Duty to Care?
We believe that foundations could be making adaptations to their grant-making practices in response to the circumstances and needs of small to medium voluntary organisations.
Blogs
03 September 2019
Failing Forward
David Stone | Totally Socially Project Co-ordinator
How Coast and Vale Community Action help communities turn ideas into reality - and see failure not as an end point, but as a starting point that provides crucial learning.
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27 August 2019
Sleepout or sleep in: keeping up with the new funding environment
Streetlife took part in our Duty to Care? research project. We asked them about their recent experience of working with trusts and foundations.
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