Voting is now open for the election of new members to the VSSN Board of Trustees. The election runs from 7th to 21st November 2025 and is open to all current members of VSSN. If you are a member, you will receive an email invitation to vote via a SmartSurvey link. There are 5 candidates […]
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VSSN Small Grant Scheme
Announcing the 2025 Funding Call The latest call for VSSN Small Grant applications is now open. The deadline for applications is 21 November 2025. Through this annual call, VSSN funds projects which support and develop an idea or activity that will benefit voluntary sector studies in the UK. For example, the grants can be used […]
VSSN Plenary Sessions from the September 2025 Annual Conference
Recordings of the plenary sessions at the September 2025 Conference at Bayes Business School in London can be found here and here.
Empowering Charities to Campaign: Navigating Legal Challenges in the Third Sector. By Tilly Clough (Queen’s University, Belfast)
In today’s world, charities play a vital role not only in providing services but also in raising their voices to advocate for societal change. However, this essential role is often complicated by legal constraints. For many charities, the fear of crossing legal lines – sometimes unclear or inconsistently enforced – creates a “chilling effect” on […]
Upcoming Workshops on Digital Inclusion for Disabled Volunteers – London (5 June) & Salford (12 June)
From Daiga Kamerāde, Professor in Work and Well-being , School of Health & Society Director of Research Centre for Inclusive Society, University of Salford I’m pleased to invite you to a practical, in-person workshop exploring digital inclusion for disabled volunteers, based on findings from the Digitvol research project. We are running two sessions: London – Wednesday 5 June (12:30–4:00pm, […]
Registration open for Voluntary Action History Society Conference 2-3 July 2025
Voluntary Action History Society’s 8TH International Conference: ‘New Ways of Doing Voluntary Action History?’ University of Liverpool, UK, 2-3 July 2025 Registration now open VAHS is pleased to announce that the registration for its 8th International Conference is now open. This is a ‘boutique’ conference which will take place over two days rather than the […]
A hello from the new Co-Chairs of VSSN
Amy Sanders (Aberystwyth University) and Vita Terry (IVAR) We know right now might be an unsettling time for some voluntary sector researchers with the state of flux currently in the world, and because of this, we believe that spaces to come together are ever more important: to pause, reflect, and connect with one another. We thought […]
Connecting knowledges, linking sectors, closing gaps
Blog by Amy Sanders and Jurgen Grotz On Tuesday, 25th June 2024 the Voluntary Sector Studies Network, Volunteer Now, NICVA, ARK, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University jointly hosted a symposium in Belfast to explore pathways to collaborating on voluntary and community sector research in Northern Ireland. We recognised that research within and […]
Reflections of a trustee by Jon Dean
Being a VSSN Trustee Jon Dean, Sheffield Hallam University If you are interested in becoming a Trustee of VSSN, or joining the Voluntary Sector Review Editorial Board, please click here. Any issues, please email execofficer@vssn.org.uk. When I applied to become a Trustee of the VSSN, and then later volunteered to Chair the organisation, I did […]
6 Insights on Youth Volunteering for International Youth Day
By Stephen Craker – Chief Executive, Communities 1st As the world comes together to observe International Youth Day, the spotlight is cast on the profound significance of engaging young individuals in shaping a brighter future. This day serves as a call to recognise and address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by young people. […]
