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The Organisational, Financial and Human Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Christian Faith-Based Organisation Service Sector in Great Britain

Funder

The British Academy Special Research Awards: COVID-19 Award Number COV19\200323

 

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Team

Professor Paul Weller, Dr. Sanjee Perera (August 2020 - January 2021), Dr. Bianca Slocombe

Duration

August 2020 - July 2022

Contact

Email: fbocovidresearch@coventry.ac.uk 

Survey

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Project Overview

Of the c.15,000 Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) that today provide significant scaffolding for contemporary social welfare needs (National Council for Voluntary Organisations UK Civil Society Almanac, 2019) a substantial number are Christian. Britain has had one of the highest rates globally of COVID-19 infection and excess mortality, and because of the extra demands on non-Governmental welfare support services to buttress this distressed landscape, it is critically important better to understand the organisational health and durability of FBOs. This exploratory pilot study geo-maps Christian FBOs in distress due to COVID-19 to identify any particularly affected sectors in light of a Maslowian Hierarchy of Needs.

The project is investigating and identifying the human, financial and organisational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Christian Faith-Based Organisation service sector.

Impact Statement

By identifying the causal, consequential, contextual and strategic issues experienced by the sector, the project will enable an assessment of initial and projected short to medium-term human, financial and organisational impacts on these FBOs and their services. This will inform both their own future planning as well as wider voluntary sector, public and private sector, and national and local government understanding both of the contributions these organisations have made and of the challenges faced by them while emerging from COVID-19 lockdown.

Outputs

Within the formal project period:

  • An electronically accessible Knowledge Exchange Conference to be in March 2022 for dissemination of, and active engagement with, the results of the project survey.
  • Submission of a co-authored peer-reviewed Open Access journal article from within the project team on some key findings from the project.
  • A body of Open Access quantitative data, and some qualitative data on COVID-19 and its impact on Christian FBOs and their services in Britain.

British Academy Project Summary Document

“The Organisational, Financial and Human Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Christian Faith-Based Organization Service Sector in Great Britain”

2020 SPECIAL RESEARCH AWARDS

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