Say No to Commissioning
One of the principal ways – perhaps the main way – in which the Government is mounting its assault on the voluntary sector is through the peddling of its latest ‘fad’ for PROCUREMENT AND COMMISSIONING. Statutory services of all sorts have been told – explicitly or implicitly – to develop strategies for this. There has been an unseamly rush to comply, despite the reality that in many places no two people seem to have the same idea of what ‘procurement and commissioning’ means exactly. One council officer asked why the authority was moving to commissioning told us, “because everyone else is doing it”.
Democracy at Work – A True Story
Little Fish is a social justice organisation that supports vulnerable clients with acute needs while also campaigning on equality issues nationally. Earlier this year, Little Fish made a charity of the year-type arrangement with a commercial organisation, let’s call them Loan Sharks Ltd. Little Fish’s management were pleased to announce the sponsorship of Loan Sharks and the charity hoped to benefit from the large and expanding customer base of the company.
Am I a waste of money?
A personal view from Charlotte Pell
Look into your brains and tell me if I am a waste of money.
The money that pays me comes from a national quango called ‘Capacity Builders’. But this isn’t one of those bad quangoes everyone talks about, this one doesn’t take money off you, it gives its money away to charities and community groups. It has given over 70 million pounds away since 2006 to ‘build capacity’.
Newsletter No: 13 - October 2009
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Systems thinking in the public sector
Grass roots message to world leaders?
Perhaps a group of young people CAN change the world for the better? Here’s a story of acting local and thinking global, initiated by a NCIA supporter.
If you have just one minute to spare, you can help them…
Save DLA and AA: have you signed the No 10 petition yet?
DLA and AA are under threat. You are strongly urged to sign the DLA and AA petition on the No 10 website, posted on 7 September by Peter Hand of Mencap.
And to pass this on. The petition is at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/AttendanceA/.
Watch out for internships
I’ve noticed recently that a prominent second tier voluntary sector agency in my borough, Hammersmith & Fulham, have been offering the opportunity to work for 32.5 hours per week without getting paid, for up to one year, as an ‘intern’.