Our survey was open from 16th March 2023 to 2nd May 2023 and we are extremely grateful to the 504 professionals who took the time to respond this year.
Every year, we work hard to make our survey representative of the huge range of organisations across the UK charity sector and their varied experiences with digital. Our survey also aims to highlight the support and funding the sector needs to progress with digital. In this section of our report, we have set out which groups responded and which didn’t.
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
In last year’s report, we used the DEI Data Standard high level definitions to capture monitoring data and target outreach. This helped us understand that we lacked representation from specific groups.
This year, we felt it would be most useful to the sector if we built on existing hypotheses about groups that needed specific support. These included campaigns such as CharitySoWhite and Charity SoStraight, which highlight the impact of institutional racism, power and inequality in the charity and funding sector. Working closely with our EDI consultant, we focused on identifying and establishing the needs of a small number of specific groups from the survey. Read more about our definitions in this blog post.
We are pleased to have reached over 40 responses for each of the following groups. We have included an analysis of their digital skills, priorities, challenges and funding needs in the report. We also publish data tables for all questions for each group on our website.
- Black communities: 9% (41) are black-led and 14% (67) are supporting this group.
- Other racialised communities: 13% (64) are supporting this group.
- d/Deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent people: 12% (56) are led by this group and 24% (117) are supporting them. Note in the survey itself we used the term ‘neurodiverse’. We have replaced this with ‘neurodivergent’ in the report following further feedback, making it clear that we are referring to specific neurodevelopmental conditions (for example, autism or ADHD).
- Marginalised genders: 8% (38) are led by this group and 11% (52) are supporting them.
- Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants: 14% (67) are supporting this group.
- People experiencing domestic violence and abuse: 11% (56) are supporting this group.
- LGBTQIA+ people: 10% (47) are supporting this group.
We have limited responses from organisations led by other racialised communities, Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants (16), LGBTQIA+ people (29) or people experiencing domestic violence and abuse (9). We need to build on this in future reports.
About our sample
This year, we are pleased to be able to represent a wide range of organisations within our 504 responses. You can see our definitions below.
- Small organisations: 73% (360 organisations) have an income of up to £1 million, compared to 62% in 2022.
- Different digital stages: 52% are early stage (compared to 43% in 2022), whilst 48% are advanced (compared to 56% in 2022).
- Organisations led by lived experience: Over half (56%) say they are led by people with lived experience of the issue they address.
- Infrastructure and support organisations: 7% (34) say they typically describe themselves as an infrastructure/second tier organisation (supporting other organisations). However, a higher proportion of organisations (15%, 73 organisations) also say ‘we provide infrastructure, network, support and services to other organisations’. This distinction will be interrogated in future surveys.
- Different business models: 80% are a registered charity, whilst 85% describe themselves as a charity. 18% are companies limited by guarantee. It is also worth noting that 71 charities (14%) describe themselves as a social enterprise, whilst 35 charities say they are a community business (7%).
- Wales: We have a good representation of those based in Wales for the first time this year (the survey was made available in Welsh), with 42 responses.
- Scotland: This year, 49 respondents are based in Scotland (compared to 30 in 2022).
- England regions: We have good representation across England, with the most significant in London (142), South West (58), North West (48) and South East (46). We have combined some regions to aid the analysis (noting that charities will work across multiple regions)
– London (142)
– Midlands (51): West Midlands (33) and East Midlands (19)
– South (125): East of England (21), South West (58), South East (46)
– North (101): North West (48), Yorkshire and the Humber (25), North East (28).
It is important to note that we have very few responses from those based in Northern Ireland (6). The report is only representative of charities in England, Wales and Scotland.
Behind the scenes — give your feedback
Every year, we review and redesign the Charity Digital Skills Survey. We consult stakeholders who use the findings, review recent research, reflect on our own experiences working with charities and undertake user research and user testing. We’d love to hear what you think too. Please fill in our feedback form at any time (it’s always open) to tell us what you think or any ideas you have.
Dig in to the data yourself
We publish all of our data tables for you to download here or find them on our website under ‘resources’. You’ll find all the responses for each specific group of charities we include in the report.
Our definitions
Digital
We ask about digital in a holistic way. We cover specific digital skills and tools, IT systems, data and digital services. We also include general digital skills at board and CEO level, digital culture and ways of working.
Size
- Small charities: Respondents specifying an annual turnover of up to £1 million.
- Large charities: Respondents specifying an annual turnover of £1 million or more.
Stage
We asked charities to select which stage of digital development was the best fit for them from the following statements. We found a clear relationship between digital stage and digital skills responses, showing that the classification is relevant and meaningful to respondents.
- Curious: We have some digital basics in place, such as social media or remote working, and recognise we could do more.
- Starting out: We’re developing our use of digital across the organisation but we don’t have a strategy in place yet.
- Advancing: Digital is part of our strategy, but we’ve not embedded this yet. We’re investing in technology and developing our skills.
- Advanced: Digital is integral to our organisational strategy and embedded in everything we do.
Charities
We use the term charity in this report as shorthand to refer to the range of nonprofit and social sector organisations completing the survey, rather than to refer solely to registered charities (which make up 80% of respondents).
Led by lived experience
When at least 75% of the board and 50% of senior management identify with a specific group, community or social experience. This is connected to the core purpose of the organisation.
Rounding data
All survey data was rounded up to the nearest whole number. Percentages may not total 100 due to this rounding up.