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
Free resources and support for health, care and VCSE professionals
Transforming Healthcare Together
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Stories of four cross-sector partnerships and what they achieved
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Join a network of professionals working across sector boundaries
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Webinars covering topics such as replication and sustainability
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Request individual coaching or a one-off partnership workshop
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Practical resources
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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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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
Sign up to our newsletter for the latest research headlines, blogs and events.
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
30 January 2020
Closing well: Ending the work of a ‘spend-out’ trust
Matt Little (The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust)
On the final day of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Programme Manager Matt Little gives his perspective on ending the work of a 'spend-out' trust. Having sufficient time and resource dedicated to closing the programmes, and concluding relationships with partners, has enabled the Trust to leave the stage confident in the legacy of work and hopeful for the future of the Commonwealth.
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21 January 2020
5 things that help system leaders ‘have difficult conversations’
Sonakshi Anand
In order to change the culture within a health and care system, health, voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors (VCSE) leaders need to be open-minded, build on the diversity of people around them and have conversations that are engaging and curious, rather than sparking debate. In this blog, Sonakshi Anand (IVAR Senior Researcher) suggests five things that might help when handling tricky conversations taken from the lessons learned from the Building Health Partnerships leadership workshops.
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