International Small Grants Programme: review

Appendix 2: Profile of the sector in Scotland

Profile of the sector in Scotland

Analysis of OSCR data identifies around 1800 charities in Scotland with a turnover of under £250,000 which identify their area of operation as 'overseas only' or 'UK and overseas' i.e. organisations which fit the income criterion for the Programme. However, the number eligible to apply to the Programme would be significantly less:

• it is not possible to identify from the data which of these charities are carrying out activities that might be classed as international development.
• OSCR data does not provide information on the countries in which these charities work, so the number of charities who work in the 'eligible' countries (the priorities within the IDF) would be substantially smaller.
  • Most small Scottish iNGOs are likely to have a single country footprint connected closely to the purpose and foundation of that iNGO,
  • Small iNGOs are unlikely to be willing or able to change their country footprint to access donor funding.

However, the data does demonstrate the prevalence of micro-organisations within the sector: Over 60% of these organisations have an income of less than £25,000.

We have also considered the data held by the Networking organisations to consider the profile of the sector:

Scottish International Development Alliance

• SIDA membership data shows that of the 165 members, around two-thirds could be eligible (in terms of turnover).
• 29% of SIDA members (48 of 165) are micro organisations with income of less than £20,000.
• Information on geographic focus for these organisations is not available but the number who work in the 'eligible' countries mean that the potential number of applicants is much lower.
• SIDA highlighted that there are very few Scottish charities active in Rwanda – this is backed up by the very small number of applications/awards for work in Rwanda in the current Programme.

Membership of Scotland Malawi Partnership

In 2018, SMP had 1108 members, including individuals, public bodies (local authorities, Universities etc) and many small community groups, faith-based groups, schools etc. A significant number of these organisations are currently ineligible due to income levels or due to being unconstituted groups. Of those likely to meet current eligibility criteria for income levels and legal status:

• 65 organisations had a turnover under £20,000
• 33 organisations had a turnover £20k - £80k
• 84 organisations had a turnover of over £80k.