Provision of reserach services - empowering communities in the context of Brexit

Descriptions

Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), in partnership with Welsh Government, has secured funding from the EU Transition Fund. The Fund was established to help businesses, public services and other partner organisations in Wales plan and prepare for the implications of Brexit.WCVA and Welsh Government intend to use a proportion of the funding obtained to appoint a supplier to undertake a research exercise to improve our understanding of the impact and opportunities on community empowerment from the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union – capturing financial sustainability of non-statutory services, workforce and community empowerment.The objective of this research is to help community groups ensure any contingency planning and preparations are proportionate, as well as act to reassure both the sector and the communities that benefit from these services.The research will address three themes:Theme 1 – empowered communities and community services (non-statutory) to peopleThere is little evidence or research that has looked into the effect of EU withdrawal on the non-statutory services that people in communities rely on to be empowered, prosperous, and cohesive (belonging to an area, getting on well together, treating each other with respect). Further, there is a knowledge gap in breaking down the sector to understand which community services are more vulnerable to the Brexit process.Theme 2 – Community organisations delivering non-statutory servicesThe third sector has an estimated value of £3.5bn to the Welsh economy and is made up of over 31,000 organisations (including just under 1 million active volunteers). This theme will help to improve understanding of the impact on the third sector (including financial sustainability) and wider community arising from leaving the EU.Theme 3 – WorkforceThere is a potential risk that third sector organisations will face a skills shortage if they are unable to access workers from the European Unit. At present, there is little evidence on how reliant community services are on EU workers, which makes it difficult to prepare and support any transitional arrangements for communities.