1. Why is it important that someone in my organisation completes and returns this questionnaire?
2. What is the 'third sector'?
3. Who is being asked to take part?
4. Who commissioned the survey?
5. Who has been involved in designing the survey and the questionnaire?
6. When and how does it take place?
7. What is being asked?
8. Are the results confidential?
9. Can I opt out of the survey?
10. Where did Ipsos MORI get my contact details from?
11. My organisation is not a third sector organisation and I received an invitation to take part in the survey. Do I need to take part in the survey?
12. I have entered my password but it will not allow me to log in to the survey, why not?
13. When will the results be published?
14. What is National Indicator 7 (N17)?

1. Why is it important that someone in my organisation completes and returns this questionnaire?

The survey will inform policy at local and national level, and as part of the local government performance process, local decision makers will learn from – and be judged against – its findings.  However, the effectiveness of the survey hinges on the third sector’s engagement with it: a strong response from those selected to take part is essential to ensure that the findings are statistically robust and carry real weight at local level.

2. What is the 'third sector'?

The third sector is a diverse, active and passionate sector. Organisations in the sector share common characteristics:

• non-governmental
• value-driven
• principally reinvest any financial surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives.

The term encompasses voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals, housing associations, clubs and societies, trusts both large and small.

3. Who is being asked to take part?

The survey is being sent to the leaders of a wide range of third sector organisations. If you have received a copy we feel it is important to hear your views. The third sector is a diverse sector encompassing voluntary and community organisations, charities, and social enterprises. These organisations go by many names, and many also consider themselves to be community groups, co-operatives or mutuals, a club or society, or a non-profit organisation, housing association, faith group or trust.

The data on third sector organisations has been provided by a consortium of BMG Research and Guidestar Data Services. Ipsos MORI have randomly selected 104,328 Third Sector Organisations from the details suppied by Guidestar, and it is these organisations who will be asked to take part in the survey.

In each case, we are asking that the questionnaire be completed by the leader of your organisation, a member of its senior management, or a member of the trustee board or management committee.

4. Who commissioned the survey?

5. Who has been involved in designing the survey and the questionnaire?

Last year, the Office of the Third Sector commisioned detailed development work to design the current survey from a consortium of BMG Research, Guidestar, Inlogov and NCVO, which included a smaller scale trial wave of the survey. The full report is available on the Office of the Third Sector web site www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/Research_and_statistics/third_sector_research/measuring.aspx

In addition, Ipsos MORI have since tested a revised draft of the questionnaire with a mix of 35 different third sector organisations during August 2008.

We have involved stakeholders from the sector and from government throughout the development of the survey.

6. When and how does the survey take place?

Third Sector Organisations selected to complete the survey will be informed by letter in early September. You may choose to complete the survey on line, and the letter therefore includes a unique link and a password to enable them to do so. Alternatively, a postal questionnaire will be sent to organisations shortly after to enable all organisations to take part in the survey and give their view.

We now are asking for all surveys to be completed as soon as possible and returned by 19th December at the latest.

7. What is being asked?

The survey asks Third Sector Organisations a range of questions relevant to their needs, to enable policy makers to better support the sector. This includes questions about locally available resources, support to help you campaign or influence local decisions, relationships with funders and commissioners, and other aspects of the working environment in your area which affect your success.

8. Are the results confidential?

9. Can I opt out of the survey?

Yes, if for some reason you do not wish to take part, you can opt-out of the survey.

At any stage that Ipsos MORI contacts your organsiation directly you can reply and say you do not wish to take part. You will not then be contacted again. You must actively opt out if you do not wish to be surveyed; not responding to contact does not constitute an opt out.

10. Where did Ipsos MORI get our contact details from?

The Office of the Third Sector commissioned BMG Research and GuideStar Data Services to provide contact details, drawing on available registers of third sector organisations, for example the Charity Commission register and Companies House.

Your organisation has been scientifically selected from a list of organisations in your local authority area in order to try and obtain a representative view of the sector as a whole.

11. My organisation is not a third sector organisation and I received an invitation to take part in the survey. Do I need to take part in the survey?

Not all organisations which count as being part of the third sector use or recognise that title. The third sector is a diverse sector encompassing voluntary and community organisations, charities, and social enterprises. These organisations go by many names, and many also consider themselves to be community groups, co-operatives or mutuals, a club or society, or a non-profit organisation, housing association, faith group or trust. Organisations have been drawn from specialist registers, based on their legal form, to ensure that only those organisations which fall within what is called the third sector receive a questionnaire. However you describe your work, we are keen to know what you think.

If you are quite sure that the questionnaire has been sent in error, please check the address to ensure that it has not been posted to the wrong address. If the invitation was sent to your current address it may be that an organisation used to operate from the premises but recently disbanded. If this is the case could you please inform us either by post or email (or – in any event, if you do not complete the form please contact us so that we can ensure you are not contacted again).

12. I have entered my password but it will not allow me to log in to the survey, why not?

Please ensure that you have entered your password in the correct case and format. Please be aware that passwords contain zeros - '0' – as well as the letter 'O'. If you still cannot log on, please contact the Ipsos MORI project team for assistance either at NSTSO@ipsos-mori.com or free phone (from a landline) 0808 238 5464.

13. When will the results be published?

Headline findings for each local authority area will be published in late January, and further subsequent reports will give further detailed information on the picture of the sector the survey has provided.

There will be a link to the results from the Ipsos MORI website when they are published.

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14.What is National Indicator 7 (NI7)?

The new local government performance framework includes a single set of 198 National Indicators. These indicators cover all the national priority outcomes which local authorities will be responsible for delivering, either on their own or in partnership with others. These indicators will be used to measure performance in all areas over the next three years.
Local area agreements (LAAs) form the heart of the performance framework. They are the agreement between central government, local authorities and their partners to improve services and the quality of life in a place. Although performance will be measured in an area against all 198 indicators, LAAs will be the only vehicles for agreeing shared targets with central government. Each LAA will have up to 35 national priority targets with specific improvement targets set for each.
More information on the new local government performance framework can be found on the Communities and Local Government (CLG) website at: www.communities.gov.uk

What is the overall purpose of NI 7?
NI 7 will measure the contribution that local government and its partners make to the environment in which independent third sector organisations can operate successfully.

Why has this indicator been included in the National Indicator set?
This indicator has been included as a government priority in the National Indicator set in recognition of:

• The importance of the third sector to strong, active and empowered local communities. A vibrant, diverse and independent third sector is a vital part of a fair and enterprising society. It can help communities to be more cohesive and inclusive, and help individuals to have more say over issues that affect them.
  
• The value of the third sector to responsive and effective local government. The third sector can help local statutory agencies to address a wide range of community concerns, from strengthening community cohesion; to increasing environmental sustainability; to tackling many of the causes and consequences of social and economic disadvantage. Third sector organisations can often have links into parts of the community that statutory agencies can struggle to engage with, and may be especially good at providing holistic solutions to complex or deep rooted problems.
  
• The value of local government to the third sector. There are many factors that contribute to a thriving, independent local third sector. Many of these are rightly beyond the influence of local government and its partners. Local statutory agencies can, however, be influential in shaping the environment in which third sector organisations work. This influence might be through, for example, their approaches to partnership working, consultation, funding relationships, or in the ways they commission and procure services. Sometimes this influence is direct and specific. In other circumstances it may be diffuse and broad. Taking account of this range, NI 7 is designed to capture the overall contribution made by local statutory agencies to the environment in which third sector organisations operate.