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The first report of Third Sector Trends 2025 shows partnership working among third sector organisations and relationships with local government are weakening.
Third Sector Trends, the groundbreaking study of the sector facilitated and co-funded by Community Foundation North East, surveys the sector every three years to explore patterns and changes. The research, carried out by Professor Tony Chapman from St Chads College, Durham, engaged over 8,600 organisations across England and Wales, from large charities to small local community groups.
The Relationships, Influencing and Collaborative Working report shows most organisations (72%)] have useful informal relationships with other organisations, but this is substantially lower than before the pandemic (2019 = 82%). Moreover, formal partnership working between respondents is now at its recorded level (2025=27.6%; 2013=35.7%).
The research also finds instances of financial support from businesses has largely ‘bounced back’ since Covid, but other forms of support (in-kind, volunteering and pro-bono advice) has continued falling since 2019, except in the North East where it is growing.
Most respondents said their local public sector values the work they do (87%); however, they feel less informed and less involved than in previous years (2025 = 64%, 42%; 2022 = 72%, 50%).
Critically, there is a substantial downward trend in the proportion of organisations interested in or engaged in bidding for or delivering public sector contracts; this fall is most pronounced among larger organisations (income from £5m-£25m); down from 64% in 2019 to just 50% in 2025.
At a time when government is seeking to court Civil Society and ‘reset’ this relationship, these figures demonstrate that contracts are ‘not working’ for Third Sector Organisations and a more fundamental reset of how to engage the sector in delivering government’s ‘missions’ is needed.
Rob Williamson, CEO of Community Foundation North East, said:
“We see firsthand the positive impact financial, in-kind and pro-bono support makes on local charities tackling the most pressing issues in their communities. We are proud to see businesses in the North East are growing their support for the Third Sector, and of the work we do to enable businesses to contribute in different ways.”
Professor Tony Chapman, said:
“Raising the value of contracts to meet the full cost of delivering public services by charities and social enterprises is the only way forward. Tinkering around the edges by smoothing procurement processes and offering support with capacity building will make only a marginal difference.”
You can read the report here.