Our Vision

The GDS vision is to drive a more effective non-profit market-place through the routine use of objective, authoritative and comparable information. We seek to become the definitive source of Third Sector data used by professionals in the public and private sectors.

GDS holds a unique resource – data that was previously only available for very large charities is now available across the entire Third Sector. Our core thesis is that this focus on the high end of the sector distorts understanding of the breadth and variety of civil society in the UK; and that using data which covers the entire sector can facilitate greater understanding and improved relationships whether as a donor, supplier or policy maker.

Further, in the delivery of sector data, GDS is plugging a gap in the understanding of economic activity in the UK. The private sector has for years had multiple channels through which it can locate, analyse, understand, develop informed opinion and take planned action. Similarly the government has long been a supporter of driving greater understanding of public sector spending and transparency. For the first time GDS provides equivalent insight for the Third Sector.