Paper short abstract:

We give new insight into the size, growth and diversity of the UK’s NGO sector from 2010-2014, contextualised against changes in the policy and funding environment over the same period. How are NGOs responding to change and what does this mean for their legitimacy?

Paper long abstract:

We present on-going research into the size, structure and funding patterns of the UK's development NGO sector. We have pulled together data on incomes, expenditures and reserves for over 1,000 NGOs from 2010-2014 to give the most comprehensive database of development organisations based in the UK to date. Our preliminary analysis gives new insight into the magnitude of the sector and into its diversity and general growth. We present data demonstrating the role and significance of smaller NGOs in a sector which is dominated by a small proportion of large NGOs (less than 10 per cent of organisations account for 90% of the sector's expenditure, driving patterns of growth across the whole sector). We will contextualise this analysis against changes in the UK's policy and funding environment over the same period, to see what it may tell us about how NGOs are responding to these changes, and what this may suggest about their role in different aspects of international development.