The focus of this project is the voluntary sector which is an emerging field of research. The increased interest in the field is a result of the progressively important role that the sector is playing in the provision of public services as well as its contribution to the financial economy. However, the voluntary sector faces a bleak future if it fails to effectively change and adapt to the changing economic landscape. Changes to funding, fears for the sectors independence and fraying public trust are just some of the challenges that the sector must tackle in order to thrive.

The aims of this project are:

• To establish what changes have taken place in the case study charity as a result of austerity and changes in the global political economy
• To investigate how the changes have been managed and to what avail
• To identify any challenges and implications that have occurred as a result of these change initiatives
• To explore how stakeholders have responded to the changes
• To explore whether the findings from this study can offer other organisations within the sector initiatives for overcoming problems with managing change