Royal Statistical Society secures National Lottery funding to help charities with data skills
Melanie May | 10 January 2020 | News
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) will now be able to help more charities with their data skills, after the National Lottery Community Fund awarded it almost £400k of funding to support its Statisticians for Society project.
Statisticians for Society helps third sector organisations to cost-effectively secure the expertise of Royal Statistical Society member statisticians to collect, analyse and present data, to help them make informed decisions.
Originally set up in 2017 as a pilot project supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, Statisticians for Society has so far matched 57 RSS volunteers with 47 charities. The RSS provides the service at no cost to help organisations meet their charitable aims and objectives.
The new commitment from The National Lottery Community Fund will support the growth of this project with the RSS now aiming to support up to 50 projects a year, focusing on organisations with a turnover of less than £500,000.
Hetan Shah, RSS Executive Director, said:
“Data is changing the world, and can help charities to become more effective at meeting the needs of the people they serve. I’m delighted, therefore that with the support of The National Lottery Community Fund, the Royal Statistical Society can help more charities get to grips with their data to improve their services to local communities around the UK.”
John Knights, Senior Head of UK Funding at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
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“There are huge opportunities for charities and community organisations to use data to support their aims. We are delighted that National Lottery funding will help more groups grab these opportunities and to ultimately help more people and communities thrive.”
The scheme will also continue to provide legacy support to organisations through an online knowledge repository and information-sharing webinars.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.