1. The Voluntary and Community Sector
in Real Time
Pete Alcock and Rob Macmillan
Third Sector Research Centre
University of Birmingham
Below the Radar Research Slam
27th September 2012

2. A great ‘unsettlement’?
1.Third Sector Futures – Dialogues hosted by TSRC
• What is an ‘unsettlement’?
• The ‘worst of times’ or temporary adjustment and transition?
• Share your experiences and views - http://thirdsectorfutures.org.uk/
2.From ‘Real Times’ - TSRC’s in-depth long term study
• anxiety; cuts and restructuring; thwarted ambitions
• but in different ways and not for all
3.An indicative case study - two concepts to work with:
• How much ‘room’ does voluntary and community action have?
• Time and layers of community investment

3. ‘Horticultural Social
Wave ‘Heritage Centre’
Enterprise’
4 Fundraising auction; Successful funding bids secure
Aug-Sept ’12 operating on reduced staff; summer fun day draws
scale in smaller building the crowds
3 In arrears - rent Selling first produce; funding
Aug-Sept ’11 negotiations; moving out bids unsuccessful
and closing down?
2 Unsuccessful funding bids; Severe winter slows progress;
Feb ’11 winter damage volunteers and placements
An example…
1 Struggling with few Lease for land; building ‘Larch’
Apr-Aug ’10 volunteers; awaiting networks
•Brown hair and
funding bids
grey hair
•Dwindling
Pre-Wave 1 • Relatively deprived ex-mining village infrastructure
• Late 1990s Coalfields regeneration programmes – support
housing and community economic development
•Who pays for
• 2010 - What happens when the money runs out and space?
political will diminishes? •Movers and
shakers

4. Thinking about time and community
Beyond the here and now:
“The past we inherit, the future we build”
•Sedimentary layers of (community) investment of:
money, energy, mobilisation, connection…
•and perhaps now disinvestment…?
•‘takes time’ (but how long is needed?)
•leaves legacies (but how strong are these?)
Questions for discussion:
•What would this mean for you in policy terms?
•What does it mean for you in practical terms?