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A few years ago you couldn’t move for publications, training and think pieces on full cost recovery. Now, I rarely seem to hear the words uttered and, on reflection, I think that in an age of austerity we have let the government ignore the concept and start to put price right at the heart of all commissioning processes. Read more »
Tag Archives: Charities on the frontline
There is much charities can learn from the way the private sector is run
It’s true to say that mentality and culture in the third sector are very different from those in the corporate sector. It’s more difficult, however, to define exactly what that difference is. Some see the corporate sector as shrewd, canny, and businesslike. The very purpose of a corporate entity is to provide a return for its shareholders. Although there may be some aspects of the corporate sector that we in the voluntary one don’t like, there is much that chief executives of charities can learn from the way the private sector is run. Read more »
Hats off to the unsung many
Six months ago on my allotment I got an insect bite. It made me very ill and I’m only just recovering – slowly. I took the good fortune of my health for granted; it’s been a huge shift to adjust to my new reality.
We good people in the voluntary sector are so great at caring; we’re champions of those we work for. It has been a shock to discover I didn’t know a fraction of what it really is like. I just had no idea until I ‘walked in their shoes’. Read more »
Forced marriages or natural partnerships?
Funders, the government and circumstances are pushing our sector down the road of mergers. I don’t doubt planned mergers or collaborations can cut costs, increase impact, improve services and increase efficiencies in the long term. However, on the other hand, mergers imposed are forced marriages. They can cause a loss of self
esteem, independence, identity, and thus a symbolic sense of failure. For these reasons it’s argued they cannot
possibly work. Read more »
Partnership – the buzz word of the party conference season
The party conference season is always a good opportunity to reflect on the position of the third sector and the issues likely to face us all over the coming months. Speaking to people across the sector on the fringe this year, I have been struck by one common theme – predictions of increased demand for charities’ services and busy times ahead for us all. Read more »
Infrastructure and localism dominate the agenda
When I first joined the sector, August was sold as a quieter time and, except from the occasional slipped-out government consultation, a time for a much needed catch up.
Not so this August. Why? In April a lot of people chose to wait and see, keep their heads down or just come to terms with a radically different environment. However, the autumn is local authority budget setting and with 31 March 2012 D-day for a number of planned initiatives, suddenly things need to be done (or already should have been done). On the community side staycations and weeks off at home seem to have kept activity up. Read more »
Does the government really want to help the voluntary sector?
Most charities exist because someone had a good idea, wanted to do good, wanted to help others, or wanted to alleviate poverty. The people that are actively involved in running or supporting charities are good people, who want their client group to genuinely benefit from the work they do.
The government has made much of its admiration for the voluntary sector, with David Cameron repeatedly pledging to help charities, claiming that “we need a government that helps to create a big society.” Unfortunately, from my experience this doesn’t seem to be happening on the ground. Read more »
Community organisers: a nationally imposed solution to local needs that don’t exist
The big society rhetoric has been about power to local communities. Then, along came community organisers, a government imposed doctrine on how local communities should be developed.
Local development and support organisations have been successfully doing community development for years – the issue has been funding and resourcing this work. Read more »
Is the VCS the agency worker of the future?
The idea that small, even medium to large, local voluntary organisations will be able to hold a contract on the scale they are now being let is becoming impossible to imagine. And this isn’t confined to one area of delivery. In the last week alone, partners have highlighted this issue in regard to the Work Programme (around the size of sub-contracts), tenders relating supporting families with multiple issues and in the changing world of offender management. Read more »
Policy u-turns aren’t always weakness, and we need one on housing benefit
I agree with David Cameron on this: the Government making U-turns on some of their policy proposals does not necessarily indicate weakness and can be a positive indicator that they are prepared to listen to constructive
criticism and admit to making mistakes. In the rush to bring in radical changes it seems clear to many of us that mistakes have been made. I believe he is right to acknowledge that. Read more »
