Rules hit bidding process for Third Sector Research Centre

The Times

4 March 2008

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ACADEMICS at leading universities for voluntary sector research have criticised rules that prevent their faculties from bidding to run the £10.2 million Third Sector Research Centre.

The Office of the Third Sector last year announced plans for a research centre in response to fears that little evidence exists on the impact of the voluntary sector’s work, even though it is delivering more public services. But the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), a project co-funder, says that only organisations operating its Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering accreditation scheme can apply to run it.

Adrian Sargeant, professor of nonprofit marketing at Bristol Business School, tells Third Sector (Feb 27) that this prohibits many faculties, including his own, from applying and prevents the application process from focusing on the “best voluntary sector expertise”. Professor Alex Murdock, head of the Centre for Government and Charity Management at London South Bank University, echoes his concerns.

Joe Saxton, co-founder of nfpSynergy, a charity research company, describes the accreditation system as “utterly irrelevant”. “The ESRC’s funding criteria are nothing to do with the people the research is targeted at,” he says

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