If you’re an organisation in the community and volunteer sector, make sure you have your say in the ComVoices 2022 State of the Sector Survey. The survey is open until 31 December 2022.

Released every two years, the State of the Sector Survey aims to provide a snapshot of the financial and operational health of the sector.

This latest survey is the fifth undertaken by ComVoices. ComVoices Chair and NZCCSS Council member Dr Prudence Stone says that this iteration will provide more than a current snapshot as this year’s results are on the back of ten years’ worth of longitudinal data. “We believe our Snapshots have started to reveal increasingly clear trends about our sector’s wellbeing, some despite – some because of – the impact of Covid 19.”

In the first Survey, in 2014, over 300 organisations participated, and results showed many were under severe pressure. Eighty percent reported doing more than that specified in their government contracts and two-fifths were unable to increase wages, with groups struggling to retain qualified staff.

In 2020, many of the challenges facing the sector were compounded by the Coronavirus pandemic. Along with the ongoing challenge of doing more for less, participants were recording fewer volunteers. On the plus side, Dr Stone says the conditions had produced unprecedented innovation in the sector. “Eighty-eight percent saw a rapid uptake of new technologies and 75% reported innovations in their programme delivery. More community organisations also reported more confidence in their partnerships with Government.”

With 2023 being an election year, Dr Stone believes it is important that the voice of the Community and Voluntary Sector is heard.

All organisations in the Community and Voluntary Sector are invited to respond to ComVoices 2022 State of the Sector Survey, which should take no more than 20 minutes to complete.