Third Sector Impact will produce solid and reliable data on the third sector that are important for policy makers across Europe as the sector will come out of the shadows and take its place as a legitimate and important actor on the the political stage. By engaging policy-makers in the project at various points, and by communicating results through policy briefs, social media, and frequent conferences, the project will help to articulate forward-looking third sector policies. Policy-makers will find results to help them:

• evaluate the impact of various policies on the development of the third sector and volunteering;
• identify which welfare roles third sector organizations and volunteers can perform in collaboration with the business and public sector – a highly relevant challenge due to reduced public budgets and high unemployment in many European countries;
• understand the particular difficulties volunteers and third sector organisations experience in some of the accession countries;
• see which changes in governance infrastructure and in legal and regulatory provisions are needed to allow the third sector and volunteering to generate even more desirable socio-economic impacts in Europe.

Reports

Franca Maino and Maurizio Ferrera (eds): First Report on Second Welfare in Italy 2013
The crisis of the traditional public systems of social protection has spurred the search for new ways to respond to citizens’ needs.” This Report refers to initiatives carried out by companies, associations, foundations and other third sector organisations that the authors of the study count under the definition of second welfare. It describes its achievements, promises and pitfalls, offers insight in the status quo of the Italian welfare state in transformation and adds a comparative perspective to Europe.
The full report in Italian is available here.

OECD Policy Brief on Social Impact Measurement for Social Enterprises
This policy brief on social impact measurement for social enterprises was produced by the OECD and the European Commission. It presents the issues and ongoing debates surrounding social impact measurement and provides concrete examples of measurement methods.
Available for download.