Policy&Practice has been commissioned by Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) to produce two new reports on the structure, energy, dynamics and impact of voluntary organisations in Wales using Third Sector Trends data together with new evidence from Third Sector Trends’ register of registers data which was updated in October 2024.

The first will consolidate findings from register data and survey work done in 2022. The report will use comparative evidence from within Wales, aligned with Wales government data on demographic, social and economic factors. The report will also compare the situation in Wales with English regions and in places with similar spatial characteristics across England to assess variations in practice, purpose and impact. This report will be published in February 2025.

WCVA are also backing the continuation of the next round of the survey in the summer and early autumn of 2025 to assess changes in sector activity in the last three years. This work will involve a partnership approach to working between WCVA and Policy&Practice to maximise response rates from voluntary organisations across all areas of Wales.

In February 2026, the second report will update analysis and make an overall assessment of the strengths and dynamics of the sector in the run up to Senedd elections in the late spr