In the Autumn of 2025, SAWN (the Infrastructure Partnership of VIN and SNVB) surveyed the West Northamptonshire VCFSE and has produced a report entitled What’s happening in your World.

The Report can be seen here: Sawn-State-of-the-Sector_Final V4 February 2026

It is clear to SAWN that our VCFSE is fragile and struggling with the triple bottom line of increased demand, extra costs, and reduced funding. It is also clear that many of our VCFSE realise the changing times and landscape we are involved with, and are looking to partner differently, work differently, and organise themselves differently.

SAWN asked a series of questions – What do you want to do more of, what do you want to do less of, and what do you want to do differently.

The answers reveal the complex nature of the sector and the transformation programmes taking place within West Northamptonshire.

What is clear is that more infrastructure support will be required, and that will be difficult on a limited Local Authority budget. Likje most other VCFSE Partnerships, SAWN will have to examine the landscape and supplement its infrastructure offer where it can.