Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF): analysis of applications and wards

Analysis of the data on applications to the Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) and the awards made through the fund.


3. Grant Funding by Sector

Applicants were asked to provide details about the sector in which they operate. This data is summarised in Table 1.

Sector No. of Applications No. of Awards Total Awarded % of Funding Awarded Average Award Size % of Applications Approved
Circular Economy 54 29 725,140 3.2 25,005 53.7
Creative Industries (including Digital) 270 151 2,518,605 11.1 16,680 55.9
Employability 116 53 1,807,976 8.0 34,113 45.7
Energy (Including Renewables) 8 3 87,757 0.4 29,252 37.5
Financial & Business Services 59 32 1,067,185 4.7 33,350 54.2
Food & Drink 67 33 416,705 1.8 12,627 49.3
Health & Social Care 659 255 6,198,664 27.4 24,308 38.7
Life Sciences 11 5 218,306 1.0 43,661 45.5
Retail 47 24 625,180 2.8 26,049 51.1
Sport & Physical Activity 504 244 2,922,896 12.9 11,979 48.4
Tourism & Hospitality 158 74 2,225,006 9.8 30,068 46.8
Travel/transport 15 9 57,170 0.3 6,352 60.0
Not Known 93 46 1,112,842 4.9 24,192 49.5
Other 935 391 2,669,392 11.8 6,827 41.8
Total 2,996 1,349 22,652,823 100 16,792 45.0

Table 1: Grant Awards by Sector

A large number of organisations did not specify a sector from the options provided in the application form. As a result, a wide range of organisations come under the "other" category in this analysis. These include, for example, TSOs focusing on children's activities, education, religion/faith, community groups, social clubs, training, and animal welfare. "Other" accounts for the largest number of applications (935), the largest number of awards approved (391), and the third-largest share of the funding (£2,669.392). On average, grants awarded to "other" sectors were for £6,827, significantly smaller than the overall average of £16,792.

Excluding "Other", the sector receiving the largest share of TSRF funding was Health and Social Care, which received 27 per cent of funding awarded, amounting to £6,198,664. This sector also accounts for the largest number of applications (659) and the largest number of awards approved (255) of any single sector. The next-largest share of funding (13 per cent) was awarded to the Sport and Physical Activity sector (£2,992,896). This sector accounted for the second-highest number of applications (504) and awards (244). Applicants in both the Health and Social care and Sport and Physical Activity sectors reported a wide range of causes for the need for financial support. These varied from sudden loss of demand for paid-for services – such as childcare, training courses, sports clubs, activity groups and care provision – to loss of income from fundraising events and trading with the cancellation of events and the need to close premises such as shops, cafes, halls and sports club houses.

The three sectors receiving the smallest shares of funding – Life Sciences, Energy, and Travel/Transport – submitted the fewest applications and had the fewest awards approved.

Grant Funding (£) Awarded by Sector

Bar chart showing how much funding was awarded to each sector

Figure 2: Grants Awarded by Sector

Number of Grant Applications and Approvals by Sector

Bar chart showing how many applications and awards there were for each sector

Figure 3: Number of Grant Applications and Approvals by Sector

As Figure 4 shows, the application approval rate between sectors ranged from 37.5 per cent of applications approved to 60 per cent of applications approved. The sector with the highest application approval rate was Travel/Transport, with 60 per cent of applications approved. It should be noted however that this figure is affected by the small number of applications from this sector (15). Creative Industries had the second-highest approval rate (55.9 per cent), followed by Financial and Business Services (54.2 per cent) and Circular Economy (53.7 per cent).

Despite accounting for the largest share of funding, the Health and Social Care sector had the second-lowest application approval rating (38.7 per cent), with Energy having the lowest (37.5 per cent).

Grant Application Approval Rate by Sector (%)

Bar chart showing the application approval rate for each sector

Figure 4: Application Approval Rate by Sector

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

Back to top