Doing the Ministry’s bidding
“The Ministry of Justice is absolutely desperate to give its TR omnishambles planned for probation some semblance of credibility by making sure that not all the ‘prime’ contracts are awarded to the questionable big boys…” Jim Brown looks at how charities and mutuals are trying to pick up probation contracts.
The Coalition’s pernicious lobbying bill
“Through the injection of such ambiguity the power of the state to enroach upon and manage society is gradually enhanced. That is why constant vigilance is required.” Alex Marsh is concerned about what the Coalition’s Lobbying Bill will mean for campaigning charities.
Transparency of the motives for the Lobbying Bill
“As political parties continue to shrink and atrophy, … [c]lumsy attempts to clamp down on non-party campaigning won’t drive people back into party membership.” Jon Rogers examines the political intentions and implications of the Lobbying Bill.
Why the Government’s lobbying bill is a defence of shadow politics
The Government’s Lobbying Bill has been described as a “dog’s breakfast”. It’s worse that - it’s a defence of the shadow politics that is blighting democracy.
Are organisations hotwired to look towards central government?
“Does the existing policy-making process mean that the public shout from afar at politicians, while wealthy and/or connected interests butter them up out of sight?” Puffles argues for opening-up policymaking to much greater public scrutiny.
Why a statutory register of lobbyists alone won’t solve the problem
Summary Further thoughts following the Sunday Times’ sting on Tim Yeo MP – looking at which lobbyists might not be covered by such a register Another weekend, another lobbying sting about what a politician might or might not do. This post follows on from my previous post about lobbying on how social media can be used to […]
Can business principles, such as impact measurement, help us create the change we need?
An unfortunate trend of applying business principles to giving, described as ‘philanthrocapitalism’, is starting to take a hold. Part of this is a focus on data and measuring the impact (outcomes) of projects. The Measuring and Evaluating Outcomes in Practice annual conference today, organised by New Philanthropy Capital, is focused entirely on how to measure impact to attract […]
Big Issue founder John Bird fires rockets at charities and civil service
Summary A write-up of John Bird’s recent visit to Cambridge A few of you may know that I am a member of JCI Cambridge, the Cambridge branch of Junior Chambers International, an organisation that seeks to develop the professional skills of young professionals through series of self-organised events and community projects. Last month, our branch adopted the […]
Unchaining the wolf
This blog looks at the impact of the austerity measures and in particular, the retraction in public sector spending on charities. I am concentrating on medium sized charities partially because I work for one (and hence have first hand experience) and partially because I believe that the public sector funding cuts have affected these charities […]
Guerilla Voice: Charities need to find ways to speak out
This week, the report of an independent inquiry suggested that charities are increasingly afraid to challenge public policy because of fears of retribution from government, especially if they are reliant on public contracts. At the same time, the Government proclaims its commitment to ‘open policymaking.’ If we are to have better policy, it’s vital that […]
Open policy requires open research - the CBI’s report on outsourcing public services doesn’t meet this standard
Last week the CBI published research that claimed that government could save billions by outsourcing more public services to private business. Ironically for a report titled ‘Open Access’, the main problem with the report is not its argument but its lack of transparency. For such an important issue as the future of public services and […]
The Games Makers versus G4S - what the Olympics means for outsourcing
Olympics over (at least until the Paralympics start), we can get back to where we were - wondering how G4S cocked up so badly providing security for the Games, and what it might mean for outsourcing and social policy. The Olympics have provided a stark contrast between the performance of companies like G4S and the […]
Reflections on New Think Tank - 6. Zoe Vickerman
This is a series of posts in which we’ve invited people to give us their reactions to Guerilla Policy (formerly the New Think Tank project). This post: Zoe Vickerman, Director, Centre for Social Justice Alliance and Awards. Thanks to Zoe for contributing the post, and we welcome your comments. A few weeks ago, I sat conspicuously […]
Ten reasons why we need a new approach to developing social policy - 7. Policy would be more diverse and inclusive, and so better
This is the seventh in a series of posts on why social policy should be developed by and with the people who use and provide public and voluntary services. We’re publishing the rest of the series over the next week, and we welcome your comments. With more voices able to participate in policy research and development, […]
Ten reasons why we need a new approach to developing social policy - 6. Policy would be cheaper to research and develop
This is the sixth in a series of posts on why social policy should be developed by and with the people who use and provide public and voluntary services. We’re publishing the rest of the series over the next week and a half, and we welcome your comments. Innovation means that products and services get faster, […]
Ten reasons why we need a new approach to developing social policy - 3. We would strengthen democracy, trust and participation
This is the third in a series of posts on why social policy should be developed by and with the people who use and provide public and voluntary services. We’re publishing the whole series over the next two weeks, and we welcome your comments. We face a significant and growing public disillusionment and disengagement from […]
Here’s to the crazy ones - what public and voluntary services can really learn from Apple
Considering our branding recently made me think (of course) about Apple, and in particular how one advertising campaign marked the turnaround in the company’s fortunes and the start of its journey to become the biggest company in the world. What can we learn from this ad? Many people think that advertising is superficial, but you […]