Measuring Impact - Nicva

Identifying & categorising the sector’s impacts 21
ACTIVITY AREAS †
Health & social care includes organisations concerned with addictions, HIV/AIDS, carers,
counselling, the elderly, health promotion and mental health.
Education & training includes all organisations that undertake education or training of
beneficiaries as part of their work.
Children and families includes pre-school provision, community centres, children’s rights groups,
services for children with disabilities, adoption and fostering services.
Community includes organisations providing community facilities, credit unions, community
newsletters and cafes, and development programmes.
Disability includes groups that provide support for people with disabilities and their families, and
that empower disabled people to live in the community and campaign for change.
Youth includes all groups that involve young people, youth centres, young farmers’ clubs, uniformed
organisations and cultural groups.
Advice & advocacy includes Citizens Advice Bureaux, welfare rights organisations and groups
specialising in other activities but which provide advice.
Arts, culture & heritage includes organisations involved in the production of all forms of art or
cultural activities and the conservation and development of heritage.
Intermediaries are groups that support other voluntary organisations through grants, advice or
representation.
Environment includes groups concerned with natural and built environment, conservation groups,
community transport groups and recycling groups.
Volunteering includes groups that support and develop volunteers, Volunteer Bureaux and
organisations indicating the importance of volunteers in their activities.
Sport & recreation includes groups with an interest in sports and recreation, including local rugby
or bridge clubs, and regional or national sports associations.
Gender includes gender-specific groups of other forums, such as male voice choirs, and women’s
organisations offering support and working for equality of opportunity.
Benevolent organisations give grants to individuals or organisations.
Religion includes all faith-based groups and the social and community activities which they undertake.
International aid & emergency relief includes all groups with an international element, be it
provision of aid or cultural exchange, and local life-saving societies.
Housing includes housing associations, homelessness projects, care and repair schemes, housing
advice services and tenants and residents associations.
Employment includes groups that provide supported or sheltered employment or facilities/advice
to those seeking employment or starting businesses.
Animal welfare includes organisations directly concerned with animal welfare or conservation of
animals or sports organisations where animals are involved.
Ethnic minorities includes groups concerned with racial equality, refugees, and any activities where
the group concerned is from an ethnic minority.
Community justice includes organisations working with offenders, victims, prison-visiting schemes
and neighbourhood watch schemes.
No. of
Orgs*
70
56
42
38
33
32
30
25
25
22
19
18
17
15
15
10
10
8
7
5
3
Table 4.1 – Distribution of case-studies by activity area
†
Activity areas or forums were developed from Kendall & Knapp (1996). They are the same as the networks that
are represented on the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council of the National Assembly for Wales.
* The sum of the number of organisations is greater than the number of case-studies as many organisations are classified
under more than one activity area.