The RSS is today celebrating after being awarded £400k* in National Lottery funding to support its Statisticians for Society project.
Statisticians for Society provides a cost-effective and proven way for third sector organisations to secure the expertise of statisticians - RSS members - to collect, analyse and present data, ultimately helping 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. We provide this service at no cost to help organisations meet their charitable aims and objectives, and you can read about some of the completed projects on our website.
The new commitment from The National Lottery Community Fund - the largest funder of community activity in the UK - will support the growth of this project. We now aim to support up to 50 projects a year, focusing on organisations with a turnover of less than £500,000. These charities often lack the internal skills and expertise needed to carry out robust statistical analysis that can help maximise their performance and impact.
‘Data is changing the world, and can help charities to become more effective at meeting the needs of the people they serve,' said RSS executive director Hetan Shah. '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.’
The National Lottery Community Fund awards money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, it has made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people. Its senior head of UK funding, John Knights, said: '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.
*The exact amount awarded is £396,121