Impact Report SPREADS 121223 - Flipbook - Page 38
Charity Management Matters Research Project
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Working with hundreds of charities
in detail each year, we have
developed a deep understanding
of their skills, skills gaps and
development needs.
In 2023, we set out to explore the possible
development of a management training programme
especially for small to medium size charities.
We undertook a research project: ‘Charity
Management Matters’, generously funded by the
Masonic Charitable Foundation. Researcher Matilda
Gosling worked with us to explore charities’ views
on their management skills and skills development
needs, and available leadership and management
training.
Key research 昀椀ndings
• Based on availability and demand, the research
identi昀椀ed gaps in management training
essentials, including 昀椀nancial strategy,
evaluation and impact, organisation strategy,
change management, project management
and EDI.
• Many organisations are unable to pay for training,
with just under half of those surveyed not having
a training budget. 40% of courses in our market
map are free, but free courses are often perceived
to be low quality, this perception is something that
training providers need to address.
• Training budgets, where they exist, come from
unrestricted funds, which can be hard to access.
• Very small charities can sometimes bene昀椀t
from subsidies or special offers, while larger
organisations have training budgets. As
a result, medium-sized charities can face a
disadvantage in investing in training.
• For survey respondents, it was more important
that their learning is accredited than it leads
directly or indirectly to a quali昀椀cation, or that it
offers CPD hours. 41% thought accreditation is
important or very important, compared with 27%
who thought that quali昀椀cations are important.
• Managers and leaders do not always prioritise
their own development, which has implications
for the management of their organisations.
Leaders said that they could not justify
spending money on themselves when training
budgets could be used to upskill their teams.
• Charities often 昀椀nd it dif昀椀cult to articulate the
case for training, and the research highlighted
the need to do this to communicate the
importance of skills development amongst
trustees, leaders, managers, and funders, to
develop a culture of learning.
Our next steps
As a result of the wide 昀椀ndings of the research,
we have reviewed the development and training
we offer to charity managers. We will be making
changes to 昀椀ll the gaps and to make our materials
more accessible, as well as exploring greater
collaboration with other training providers.
Three immediate developments will be:
• Improving navigation of Cran昀椀eld
Trust learning materials, information resources
and webinar resources on www.cran昀椀eldtrust.org
to help charity leaders and managers 昀椀nd the
guidance they need, and to understand what
to expect and what they can learn through the
resources.
• Continuing to develop new materials and to
host webinars in Cran昀椀eld Trust’s ‘Essentials to
Excellence’ management learning series, to 昀椀ll
the gaps identi昀椀ed by the research, and to
promote engagement with management
learning and development.
• Seeking to collaborate with other training
providers, identifying training courses outside
the Trust’s own areas of expertise, improving
charities’ navigation and understanding of
learning opportunities, and working together,
raising awareness of the training available free or
at low cost.
The full research report, market map (of available
training) and research appendices are available on
our website.
