Category Archives: Politics

The perils and delights of public service delivery

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Public service delivery: those three words dominate the third sector’s relationship with government at present. Contracts to deliver education or health services (etc) clearly bring great opportunities for organisations, be they small community groups, or substantial social enterprises. But, in the manner of a swift SWOT analysis (or an OT analysis), contracts also bring threats or challenges.

Third Sector magazine’s supplement this week features "10 Ways to Better Contracts":

1) Make sure partnerships are beneficial to both parties
2) Share project risks fairly
3) Agree a reasonable timescale
4) Insist on full cost recovery
5) Make sure the bureaucracy is manageable
6) Agree only to projects that fit your mission statement
7) Highlight the added value you can provide
8) Maintain autonomy
9) Clarify staff roles
10) Monitor project progress

Later on they lay out a further six principles to help organisations on their way in this area. These are:

a) Know where to look
b) Full cost recovery
c) Use your charitable status to your advantage
d) Don’t feel intimidated
e) Know your limitations
f) Understand employment law

Some of these clearly align (4 and b, 7 and c, 3/5 and e) but I think they give a useful overview. Key ones from our experience both as an organisation, and helping others founding/running their organisations, are 5 and 6. The bureaucracy, particularly for smaller organisations, should not be underestimated, and can prove a significant administrative burden; partnership can ADD to these layers of bureaucracy as well. Avoiding mission drift is key: the temptation is always there to bend to fit contracts, which can skew or twist your core service and the way it is delivered. It can also take an organisation into areas where it has less expertise and experience. Being clear about where your expertise lies, and what parts of a contract (or method of approach) are most relevant to your organisation can lead to fruitful negotiations at the start of the process, rather than down the line.

Partnership is an interesting one as well: it can help form a coalition of parties whose skills and experience mesh well together, and provide smaller organisations with the ability to tender for bigger contracts than they could on their own. Successful partnerships should clearly add value, reduce unnecessary duplication and broaden reach (as we would argue our franchise system does for the SSE Network). But their are also significant risks: unclear governance, muddled purpose, blurred accountability, time-heavy meetings/administration, compatibility issues, dilution of activities and so on.

There’s much else to say here, and I would point people to ACEVO’s Full Cost Recovery site, NCVO’s work on the Compact and public services, and SEC’s pamphlets on public procurement for more useful information.

 

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Immigration and (social) entrepreneurship

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A Nation Built on Immigrant Genes is an article by John Gartner in the Washington Post which argues that (in the case of the US, and beyond)  immigrants are far more than simply a source of cheap, unskilled labour. Rather, they are natural entrepreneurs and, as Gartner puts it, “the original venture capitalists, risking their human
capital — their lives — on a dangerous and arduous voyage into the
unknown.”

He goes on to discuss how immigrants are, as a result of this entrepreneurial spirit, self-employed at a higher rate than native-born people (though the difficulty of breaking into traditional job markets must also play a part here?). And, most interestingly perhaps, says that “the rate of entrepreneurial activity in a nation is correlated with the number of immigrants it absorbs”. He then extrapolates from that (via new business creation as a predictor of GDP) to the mighty claim that “Immigrants equal national wealth”.

It served as a reminder to me of conversations we have had at SSE about the number of refugees/immigrants who have the drive and initiative to set up social enterprises against significant odds. People like Luljeta Nuzi and Rahma Abdalla, whose stories (and journeys) demonstrate their entrepreneurial characteristics (risk-taking, courage, prone to action) from the start, and how these entrepreneurial traits can then be blended effectively with a social conscience, or a commitment to helping others.

[Useful links:

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Cabinet reshuffle

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In reaction to yesterday’s local elections (sadly, the marvellously named Martin Bleach of the Green Party failed to win a seat in my ward), Tony Blair has re-shuffled his pack, and in some style too. Key ones for social entrepreneurs include:

John Reid taking over at the Home Office
Ruth Kelly in charge of Communities/Local Government
Alan Johnson to Education
David Miliband to Environment

See the full breakdown of all the various moves backwards, forwards and sideways…

UPDATE: OK, buried in the detail is more interesting stuff….

– Hilary Armstrong is Cabinet Minister for Social Exclusion (in Cabinet Office) which will have remit over volutnary and community sector + social enterprises….trying to cut across silos in government departments, I guess. Beneath her is rising star Ed Miliband, who is the new voluntary sector minister.

– Also, the Active Communities Directorate (of civic renewal / communities fame) is moved, as long promised, to merge with what was the ODPM, but is now the DCLG (if it keeps the name of Department of Communities and Local Government), so will also, as with all neighbourhood renewal / regeneration stuff, be under the remit of Ruth Kelly….

– Finally, just to note that Alun Michael, the DTI minister with responsibility for social enterprise, has lost his post

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:

– Jonathan Bland puts the Social Enterprise Coalition’s point of view across in the Times about the Social Enterprise brief’s move from DTI to the Cabinet Office. Welcomes the ability of said Cabinet Office to cut across all government departments, whilst emphasising the need to focus on the ‘business’ aspect of social enterprise and (in relation to this), the important role that Regional Development Agencies will play over the next few years….

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