Covid-19 and VCSE sector: Barometer Survey – Participant Information
We are inviting you to take part in a research study exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the VCSE sector, in particular, we are interested in the way that COVID-19 has impacted on the way VCSE organisations operate, people management impacts (paid staff and volunteers) and the possibilities for innovation and transformation as a result of COVID-19. The study is being conducted by Nottingham Trent University in collaboration with NCVO and Sheffield Hallam University, funded by the ESRC. You have been approached about this study because you work, volunteer for, or are a beneficiary of an organisation within the VCSE sector and we are interested to hear your views on the impact of COVID-19. Taking part in this research is voluntary. If you would prefer not to take part, you can stop completing the survey at any point. You can also withdraw from the study within 5 working days after completing the survey by contacting [email protected] with a unique identification number that would be given to you when you complete the survey and all the data related to you will be destroyed. Please note that if you request to withdraw within 5 days, we will delete your contact details/identifiers and all your responses to the survey. If you wish to withdraw after five days, your contact details/identifiers will be deleted but we will retain the responses as it would have formed part of our analyses and publishable data.
In a short online survey, that we call a barometer, we will ask you about the impact of COVID-19 on your organisation and on the VCSE sector more broadly. This should only take about ten minutes to complete. We will invite you to complete the survey each month. You will also have the option to be entered into a monthly prize draw where you can win £200 each time you complete a survey. At the end of the project, you will be entered into a one-off prize draw in which you can win £2000. If you win the prize draw, you will be informed by email and you have 2 weeks to accept the voucher. You will not be under any obligation to complete the monthly surveys and can withdraw at any time. We will store your email and organisation profile information securely in order to speed up the process and save you time if you choose to complete the follow up surveys. With your permission, we will follow up on any impact our research may have on your organisation at the conclusion of the project. We will not share this, or information that could identify you or your organisation with anybody beyond the research team. We will delete any identifying information and the data will be anonymised before it is published using an open source (CSV) file format. The anonymised data will be publicly available. This means that it will be hosted on our website and available from the UK Data Service where it will be archived for at least ten years. By participating in this study, it could help your organisation and other organisations understand the impact of COVID-19 on the VCSE sector and inform policy and practice for the future. We will use data from this survey to inform our final reports – which will be publicly available – as well as presentations and academic publications.
Further information: Your data – our ethics, standards and obligations.
Please ensure you have read and understood the below before taking part in the survey
Invitation and Purpose
We are inviting you to take part in a research study exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the VCSE sector, in particular, we are interested in the way that COVID-19 has impacted on the way VCSE organisations operate, people management impacts (paid staff and volunteers) and the possibilities for innovation and transformation as a result of COVID-19.
The study is being conducted by Nottingham Trent University in collaboration with NCVO and Sheffield Hallam University, funded by the ESRC. Please read the following information carefully before you decide whether or not to take part.
Legal Basis for Research Studies
The University undertakes research as part of its function for the community under its legal status. Data protection allows us to use personal data for research with appropriate safeguards in place under the legal basis of public tasks that are in the public interest.
All University research is reviewed to ensure that participants are treated appropriately and their rights respected. The ethical approval for this study has been recommended by Nottingham Trent University’s Schools of Business, Law and Social Sciences’ Research Ethics Committee. The study has received favourable ethical opinion from the committee. Further information can be found at: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/research/research-environment-and-governance/governance-and-integrity
Why have I been asked to participate?
You have been approached about this study because you work or volunteer for an organisation within the VCSE sector and we are interested to hear your views on the impact of COVID-19.
Do I have to take part?
Taking part in this research is voluntary. If you would prefer not to take part, you can stop completing the survey at any point. If you wish to withdraw after completing the survey, you can do so within 5 days by contacting [email protected] and a unique code which you will be given when you complete the survey. Please note that if you request to withdraw within 5 days, we will delete your contact details/identifiers and all your responses to the survey. If you wish to withdraw after five days, your contact details/identifiers will be deleted but we will retain the responses as it would have formed part of our analyses and publishable data.
What will taking part involve?
You will be completing a survey through Qualtrics. We will ask you about the impact of COVID-19 on your organisation and on the VCSE sector more broadly. By completing this survey and providing contact details, we will invite you to complete monthly surveys. However, you can choose whether to participate in the future surveys or not. We will also invite you to enter You will also be entered into a monthly prize draw where you can win £200 each time you complete a survey. This includes a one-off prize draw in which you can win £2000 at the end of the project. You have the option to opt in or opt out of the prize draw. If you choose to participate in the prize draw you will need to submit contact details such as email. This is because we will need to contact you if you win and to create a database to inform you of each new monthly draw. The emails will also be used to send you reports from the research and to follow up on the impact of the research on your organisation. Additionally, we may invite you to participate in interviews and a panel survey which form a part of this research. Your contact details will be destroyed at the end of the project.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
There is minimal risk associated with taking part in this study. You will not be under any obligation to complete the monthly surveys and can withdraw at any time. We will delete any such identifying information and the data will be anonymised before it is published. With any identifying data removed, the file format will be open source (CSV). The anonymised data will be publicly available, which means that it will be hosted on our website and archived in the UK Data Service for at least ten years in accordance with their best practice.
What are the possible benefits of taking part? Your participation will help identify ways that COVID-19 has impacted the VCSE sector. By participating in this study, it could help other organisations understand the impact of COVID-19 on the sector and inform policy and practice for the future.
What will happen to my data?
We will be collecting contact information such as email and organisational profile when you complete the survey. With your permission, we will use these contact details to send you information about the barometer, monthly draws, updates from the research and invite you to participate in future interviews and a panel survey connected to this research. We will also hold your email and organisational profile information in order to speed up the process and save you time in case of future survey submissions. This information will remain confidential and will not form part of the published and publicly available information. The research data will be anonymised and upon completion of the project will be deposited in the UK Data Service, which is an archive of research data. We will endeavour to remove all information that can directly identify you and your organisation prior to the data being deposited in the UK Data Service. Any anonymous data, which could not lead to the identification of either you or your organisation, including analysed data and survey answers, will be publicly available. This will allow anyone else (including researchers, businesses, governments, charities, and the general public) to use the anonymised data for any purpose that they wish, providing they credit the University and research team as the original creators.
At the conclusion of the study we would like to retain your contact email only, for the purposes of potentially following up with you regarding the impact that this research has had on your organisation. This contact email will be held separate from any other information held about you or your organisation or any other response you have given in the barometer.
How will my confidentiality be protected? The data will be fully anonymised, assigned a unique code and stored in a secure data store and only members of the research team will have access to the data during the project. Your completed survey will be used in the outputs from this research, but any identifying information regarding you, your organisation or any other identifiable data will be deleted before it published. Confidentiality will only be broken in circumstances where the researcher is concerned that there is a risk of harm to you or someone else. In this instance the researcher must report this information to the relevant agency that can provide assistance.
How will the data be used? We will use data from this survey to inform our final reports – which will be publicly available – as well as presentations and academic publications.
Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns about the study?
This study is run by Professor Daniel King. You are welcome to contact: [email protected] (0115 8482694) if you have any queries about this project.
Should you wish to discuss the project and/or your participation with anyone other than the research team, please contact: Alistair Bruce, Associate Dean of Research [email protected] (0115 848 6867)
