At the start of 2026, we wanted to share a short ‘year in review’ looking back on 2025, and to say thank you to everyone who contributed to VSSN’s work over the past year, whether you joined an event, presented research, shared opportunities, supported others in the community, or simply stayed connected. VSSN exists to bring together people who care about voluntary sector and volunteering research, across disciplines, methods, and roles. Over the past year, we’ve continued building spaces where researchers, practitioners, policy colleagues and students can connect, exchange ideas, and support one another.
VSVR 2025
A major highlight of the year was the Voluntary Sector and Volunteering Research Conference 2025 (VSVR 2025), hosted at Bayes Business School in London. Under the theme “Creating change together: Civil society working beyond sector and organisational boundaries”, the conference brought together a wide mix of researchers and practitioners, with two days of papers, panels and workshops. We were also delighted to continue the New Researchers pre-conference day, which remains an important and welcoming entry point into the wider VSSN community. It’s always encouraging to see new researchers present ideas, meet others in similar positions, and then transition into the main conference with confidence. If you missed the plenary sessions (or would like to revisit them), recordings are now available via the VSSN website.
Day Events
2025 also included events designed to support collaboration and dialogue across research and practice. In June, we jointly hosted Perspectives on Scotland’s Third Sector Impact at the University of Glasgow, in partnership with a brilliant group of organisations and networks. The event created space for dialogue between academics, practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders. In July, we also co-organised the Voluntary Sector Archives Summer School at UCL, an interdisciplinary two-day programme focused on using organisational records and archives in research on voluntary organisations, civil society, activism and philanthropy.
New Researchers
The New Researchers group continued to develop this year, with a strong programme of online sessions. These sessions are designed to be supportive and practical, a space for informal networking, shared challenges, and focused discussion on topics that help people navigate the early stages of research careers. In 2025, sessions included guest inputs on peer reviewing for Voluntary Sector Review, theory in voluntary sector studies, and a deeper dive into key theoretical lenses. We’ll also be welcoming Voluntary Sector Review editors to a future session to talk about publishing in VSR. Alongside this, we’ve started gathering feedback via a short survey so we can shape future sessions around what new researchers most want and need.
Small Grants
VSSN’s Small Grants remain a key way we support the development of voluntary sector studies in the UK. The scheme funds projects that develop and share ideas, for example through workshops, roundtables, webinars, or creative outputs, and often helps spark longer-term collaboration across research and practice. Thank you to everyone who applied, and to those who help make the programme possible. We look forward to seeing what this year’s funded projects produce and share with the community.
Staying Connected
In 2025 we also launched the VSSN newsletter. Two issues went out this year (May and October), helping us share key updates, deadlines, opportunities, and community news more consistently. We plan to continue distributing our newsletter in 2026. We also expanded our online presence. VSSN joined Bluesky in 2025, and we used it actively during the annual conference to share updates, highlight sessions, and connect with participants in real time. We know our follower base there is still growing, but it’s been a positive step in widening where and how we engage.
Voluntary Sector Review
Voluntary Sector Review (published by Policy Press, in association with VSSN) continues to be a central part of the field’s infrastructure, and we’re pleased to see ongoing engagement with new work coming through the journal. In 2025 we also continued sharing open access articles, new issues, and calls for papers through VSSN channels, helping research travel further across the community. VSR has also announced a Special Issue call for papers on Evaluations for better philanthropy, inviting work on how evaluation can support learning, accountability, and transformational change in philanthropic settings.
Looking Ahead to 2026
We’re heading into 2026 with plenty to look forward to: another Annual Conference, more New Researchers online sessions, further day events, continued Small Grants activity, and more newsletters to keep the community connected. If you’re not yet a member, we’d encourage you to join and be part of VSSN’s growing network. And if you are a member, thank you. Your involvement is what makes this community possible. We look forward to connecting with you again in 2026.
With best wishes,
Petra Buresova
on behalf of the VSSN Trustees
