The Third Sector and Place
Scotland's Third Sector
Scotland has an active third sector with around 45,000 voluntary organisations supporting action and activity across the country.
They include charities, social enterprises, voluntary organisations, and public social partnerships.
These organisations are diverse in how they operate, in how they are structured and in the types of activity that they might be involved in. However, they share common aims in helping to release the potential within communities and take forward action and address needs.
Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs)
Third sector interfaces (TSIs) provide a single point of access for support and advice for the third sector within local areas. There is a TSI in each local authority area in Scotland.
Some are partnerships working across large areas, some combine all the functions of the TSIs’ work under one roof.
The TSI Scotland Network is a body of charities that support the third sector across Scotland. The TSI Scotland Network website contains information on TSIs across Scotland, including a directory to allow people to find their local third sector interface.
Useful links
Valuing the Third Sector- Parliamentary Debate
In December 2020, the Scottish parliament held a debate on Valuing the Third Sector. You can watch a video of the debate at the Scottish Parliament website here.