What Is a Local Infrastructure Organisation? A Complete Guide

A local infrastructure organisation (LIO) is a body that exists to support, develop, and represent the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in a defined geographic area. Often known as Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS), voluntary action centres, or community sector support organisations, they serve as the backbone of local civil society -- helping smaller charities and community groups access funding, build capacity, recruit volunteers, measure impact, and connect with each other and with statutory services.

TL;DR: Infrastructure organisations are the support system behind your local voluntary sector. They help charities and community groups do their work better by providing practical support (funding, training, governance advice), strategic coordination (partnership building, collective voice), and data intelligence (mapping services, measuring collective impact). There are around 180 NAVCA members across England, though the broader infrastructure ecosystem includes hundreds more specialist and thematic bodies.

What you'll learn: What infrastructure organisations do, how they are structured and funded, the challenges they face, and how technology is changing their role.

Who this is for: Trustees and staff of infrastructure organisations, local authority commissioners, funders, and anyone working in or with the local VCSE sector.

What Infrastructure Organisations Do

The functions of a local infrastructure organisation typically span five areas, though the balance varies depending on local need, funding, and organisational capacity.

1. Supporting Individual Organisations

The core function that most people associate with infrastructure bodies: practical support for local charities and community groups.

Governance and compliance: Helping groups set up constitutions, register with the Charity Commission, comply with reporting requirements, and manage trustee recruitment and development.

Funding advice: Identifying funding opportunities, supporting grant applications, and sometimes distributing grants directly on behalf of funders or local authorities.

Organisational development: Training on topics like safeguarding, data protection, financial management, and digital skills. The Charity Commission's annual report noted that approximately 40% of smaller charities (income under £100,000) reported difficulties with governance and compliance, making this support essential.

HR and employment: Advice on employment law, DBS checks, volunteer management, and pay benchmarking.

2. Connecting the Sector

Infrastructure organisations serve as the connective tissue between organisations that might otherwise operate in isolation.

Networking: Regular forums and events that bring together organisations working on similar issues (mental health, youth services, older people, homelessness) to share learning and reduce duplication.

Partnerships: Brokering partnerships between VCSE organisations and between the VCSE sector and statutory agencies (NHS, local authority, police, schools).

Information sharing: Circulating funding opportunities, policy changes, training events, and sector news through newsletters, websites, and social media.

Research by NCVO found that the UK voluntary sector comprises approximately 166,000 registered organisations in England alone, with tens of thousands more informal community groups. Without infrastructure organisations acting as connectors, this sector would be significantly more fragmented.

3. Representing the Sector

Infrastructure organisations provide a collective voice for the local VCSE sector in strategic discussions with local authorities, health bodies, and other statutory agencies.

Policy influence: Representing VCSE interests on local strategic partnerships, health and wellbeing boards, and council scrutiny committees.

Commissioning engagement: Ensuring VCSE organisations are involved in commissioning processes, both as potential providers and as holders of community intelligence.

Advocacy: Championing the value of the VCSE sector to decision-makers, using data and case studies to demonstrate impact.

4. Volunteering Development

Many infrastructure organisations operate as the local volunteer centre, matching volunteers with opportunities and supporting organisations to manage volunteers effectively.

Volunteer brokerage: Maintaining databases of volunteer opportunities and matching individual volunteers to suitable roles. NCVO Almanac data (2021/22) indicates that approximately 12 million people in England volunteered formally at least once a year, with local volunteer centres playing a key role in channelling this resource.

Good practice: Supporting organisations to recruit, induct, support, and retain volunteers in line with best practice.

Corporate volunteering: Connecting local businesses with volunteering opportunities and managing employer-supported volunteering programmes.

5. Intelligence and Data

Increasingly, infrastructure organisations are expected to provide data about the local VCSE sector -- what exists, what it does, who it serves, and what impact it has.

Service mapping: Maintaining directories of local services and organisations, often used by professionals (social prescribers, housing officers, advice workers) to refer people to appropriate support.

Collective impact measurement: Aggregating outcome and output data across member organisations to demonstrate the combined impact of the local VCSE sector.

Needs analysis: Contributing local intelligence to Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and other planning processes.

This data function is growing rapidly as statutory commissioners increasingly expect evidence of VCSE sector capacity and impact. It is also one of the hardest functions to deliver without appropriate technology.

How Infrastructure Organisations Are Funded

Infrastructure organisations face a well-documented funding challenge. Their work is essential but often invisible -- they support the organisations that deliver frontline services, rather than delivering those services directly.

Local authority funding: Historically the primary source, but subject to significant cuts. Research by NAVCA found that local authority funding for infrastructure organisations fell by approximately 50% in real terms between 2010 and 2020. Some councils have removed infrastructure funding entirely.

Grants and contracts: Project-specific funding from trusts, foundations, central government programmes, and the National Lottery. This creates sustainability challenges, as core infrastructure work is harder to fund through project grants.

Membership fees: Many infrastructure organisations operate as membership bodies, with annual fees from local charities and groups. These fees rarely cover more than 10-15% of operating costs.

Earned income: Consultancy, training, room hire, payroll services, and DBS checking services. Some infrastructure organisations generate 30-40% of income through earned revenue.

Endowments and reserves: A small number of well-established infrastructure organisations hold endowments, but most operate with minimal reserves.

The National Audit Office reported that local authority spending on VCSE sector support (including infrastructure funding) fell from approximately £1.7 billion in 2010-11 to £1.1 billion in 2019-20. This has forced many infrastructure organisations to reduce staff, narrow their focus, or merge with neighbouring bodies.

The paradox is that infrastructure organisations are needed most when the sector faces the greatest pressures -- during funding cuts, policy changes, and crises -- yet these are precisely the times when infrastructure funding is most vulnerable.

Types of Infrastructure Organisations

While the term "infrastructure organisation" covers a wide range, several distinct types exist:

NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) is the national membership body for local infrastructure organisations, with around 180 members across England. These members collectively support over 165,000 local charities and community groups.

The Challenges Infrastructure Organisations Face

Demonstrating Value

The fundamental challenge: how do you demonstrate the impact of an organisation whose purpose is to help other organisations have impact? Traditional output metrics (training events delivered, governance reviews completed, volunteers placed) tell only part of the story. Funders and commissioners increasingly want to see collective impact -- the aggregated outcomes of the entire local VCSE sector that the infrastructure organisation supports.

Keeping Up with Demand

As statutory services contract and local charities face growing demand, the need for infrastructure support intensifies. But infrastructure organisations rarely have the staff or resources to respond to every request. NAVCA's annual survey consistently shows that demand for infrastructure support outstrips capacity across the sector.

Digital Transformation

Many infrastructure organisations still rely on spreadsheets, email newsletters, and manual processes for functions that could be significantly more efficient with appropriate technology. Service directories go out of date, member data is poorly maintained, impact measurement is labour-intensive, and volunteer brokerage happens via email rather than through searchable platforms.

Policy Uncertainty

The role of infrastructure organisations in local systems is highly dependent on local authority attitudes and national policy. Changes in council leadership, commissioning priorities, or central government programmes can rapidly alter the landscape.

How Technology Is Changing the Role

Modern platforms are enabling infrastructure organisations to deliver their core functions more effectively and to demonstrate their impact more convincingly.

Service directories: AI-powered service directories like Plinth's allow residents and professionals to search for local services using plain language, replacing static PDF lists with dynamic, searchable databases.

Collective impact measurement: Platforms that aggregate outcome data across member organisations -- attendance figures, beneficiary demographics, outcome indicators -- provide the collective impact evidence that commissioners increasingly require. Plinth enables infrastructure organisations to see real-time data across their entire network.

Grant distribution: Many infrastructure organisations distribute grants on behalf of local authorities or funders. AI-powered grant management automates due diligence, application assessment, and monitoring, reducing the administrative burden on small infrastructure teams.

Volunteer brokerage: Digital volunteer matching platforms connect volunteers with opportunities more efficiently than manual processes, with skills-based matching and availability filtering.

Member engagement: CRM and communications tools designed for the VCSE sector help infrastructure organisations maintain relationships with hundreds of member organisations without drowning in email.

Technology does not replace the relationship-based work that makes infrastructure organisations valuable. But it can automate routine functions, improve data quality, and free staff time for the human interactions that matter most.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many infrastructure organisations are there in England?

NAVCA has around 180 member organisations across England. However, the broader infrastructure ecosystem is larger, including community foundations, specialist bodies, and organisations that perform infrastructure functions without using the label. A reasonable estimate of organisations performing significant local infrastructure functions is 300-400 across England.

Are infrastructure organisations charities?

Most are registered charities, though some are constituted as community interest companies (CICs), social enterprises, or unincorporated associations. The Charity Commission registers them under various headings, most commonly "umbrella body" or "voluntary sector support."

How do I find my local infrastructure organisation?

NAVCA maintains a directory of member organisations searchable by area. Alternatively, search for "[your area] CVS", "[your area] voluntary action", or "[your area] community sector support". Your local authority's community engagement or partnerships team should also be able to direct you.

What is the difference between an infrastructure organisation and a community foundation?

Community foundations are primarily place-based funders -- they hold endowments and distribute grants within a defined area. Infrastructure organisations primarily provide support services (training, advice, networking, representation). Some community foundations also perform infrastructure functions, and some infrastructure organisations also distribute grants, so there is overlap. Approximately 47 community foundations operate across the UK.

Do infrastructure organisations charge for their services?

Practices vary. Many provide core services (governance advice, funding information, networking) free to members or to all local VCSE organisations. Others charge for specific services like training, DBS checks, payroll administration, or consultancy. Membership fees, where charged, typically range from free for very small groups to several hundred pounds per year for larger charities.

How are infrastructure organisations governed?

Typically by a board of trustees drawn from the local VCSE sector, with a mix of skills including governance, finance, HR, and sector knowledge. Many hold annual general meetings open to all member organisations, with members able to elect trustees and influence strategic direction.

Recommended Next Pages

• Best Software for Infrastructure Organisations -- A comparison of platforms designed for LIOs and CVS bodies.

• How Infrastructure Organisations Can Track Collective Impact -- Practical guidance on measuring cross-network outcomes.

• How to Coordinate a Network of Local Charities -- Strategies and tools for effective network coordination.

• Infrastructure Organisations Use Case -- See how Plinth supports infrastructure organisations.

• Plinth for Infrastructure Organisations -- Tailored platform features for LIOs.

Last updated: February 2026

For more information about how Plinth supports infrastructure organisations, contact our team or schedule a demo.