2025-Vidya Sukumara Panicker

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Closing the Skills Gap: Strengthening Governance in Local Charities in the UKs

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Dr Vidya Sukumara Panicker (PI), Loughborough University – Closing the Skills Gap: Strengthening Governance in Local Charities in the UKs

Grant Ref: 2023-T2-555

Grant Amount: £5,200.00

Project Summary: Anchored in management theories, this study proposes to examine the nature and consequences of skills gaps in local charities in the UK, which are non-profit organizations serving specific communities (Glenna, Hannibal & Meehan, 2017). Skills gaps refer to the lack of essential expertise in areas such as finance, governance, marketing, and technology on charity boards (NCVO, 2024). These gaps pose significant challenges for local charities, which often lack specialized staff or departments and rely on trustees to handle key functions.

Drawing on the Resource-Based View (Wernerfelt, 1984), this study will first explore how and why skills gaps emerge in local charities and to what extent these affect charity governance. Furthermore, building on Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964), it will investigate the extent to which recruitment strategies and internal and external trustee training and development opportunities mitigate these issues. An exploratory qualitative study, involving in-depth interviews with current and former trustees, heads and executives of local charities, and sector experts across the UK, is proposed.

The project will have implications for research on nonprofit governance and will generate practical recommendations for improving the recruitment, training, development, and retention of skilled trustees in local charities in the UK.