The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Charities Evaluation Services are working towards a merger later this year.
Draft approvals have been secured from both organisations’ boards, the charities have announced, and final details of a merger are now being worked through.
In a statement, the two bodies said merger talks started after CES invited a number of organisations to set out proposals for how they could secure a strong future for their work in February 2014. Detailed talks between NCVO and CES began in July.
CES’s work on outcomes and impact measurement and the PQASSO quality standard will be secured for the long term. CES chair Sue Rossiter said the organisation’s work continues to be very important, but they would be “much more sustainable” if they were “part of a bigger whole”.
“NCVO’s position at the heart of the voluntary sector will help us to both reach and support more charities, and to develop new products and services to meet the changing needs of the sector.”
NCVO chair Martyn Lewis said the importance of evaluation and impact is “ever–growing” in the charity sector.
“Bringing CES on board will complement NCVO’s strengths in consultancy, research and governance. We want to be able to help our members by providing tools and expertise to support every aspect of their work.”