A feasibility study and preliminary framework for a civil society satellite account
Think tank: Pro Bono Economics
Author(s): Various authors
November 13, 2024
This report from UK think tank Pro Bono Economics investigates the feasibility of creating a satellite account for civil society in the UK.
Civil society organisations and the individuals who work and volunteer for them play a critical role in society, fulfilling many functions from service delivery to community building and campaigning. In doing so, they make a significant contribution to the economy.
Yet when it comes to measuring the economic contribution of different sectors in national accounts, the civil society sector is invisible. Its activity is spread across sectors and industries. This means that the scale and nature of civil society’s contribution to the economy is impossible to identify from current government statistics. Perhaps most crucially, one of civil society’s most valuable inputs – the time and talent of millions of volunteers each year – isn’t counted at all.
A satellite account is a set of data tables linked to, but distinct from, the national accounts. They rearrange concepts and provide supplementary information, bringing out information about sectors that are otherwise not identifiable in national account-level data. In the UK, satellite accounts already exist for tourism, household production and environmental topics. This report was commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to investigate the feasibility of creating a satellite account for civil society in the UK.
Sector stakeholders want to see the UK follow the lead of other countries like New Zealand, Canada and Mexico and introduce a civil society satellite account. A satellite account would provide robust, timely data about the size and contribution of the civil society sector, sitting alongside other national account statistics.
