Shifting sands: challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable upheaval within the voluntary and community sector (VCS), presenting challenges and risks around funding and sustainability, as well as opportunities for more collaborative ways of working. The sector has worked with public sector partners to play an integral role in delivering fast-acting emergency support to people affected by the pandemic. This increase in cross-sectoral collaboration has led to suggestions of an evolution in local state–civil society organisation relations. The upsurge in informal community groups, such as mutual aid, has also been prominent, and has given rise to debate about the need to ‘rethink’ or ‘reimagine’ volunteering, with a renewed focus on creating space for informal volunteering. This chapter contributes to these debates, by drawing from data collected during the pandemic, including qualitative interviews and focus groups with local authorities, voluntary sector organisations and mutual aid groups across England, Scotland and Wales, as well as survey data. Two central themes are explored: 1) the shifting patterns of supply and demand for volunteers during the pandemic at both national and local levels, and 2) the evolving relationships with the local state in shaping community responses.