News

Change up in the air

Finance | 1 Sep 2006

It's been a rocky and controversial ride for the hubs, set up by the government under the ChangeUp programme to help develop and support infrastructure in the voluntary sector across six areas of activity. And it looks like the fallout will continue with the publication of a report from an independent consultant reviewing their progress and recommending their future.

When Simon Hebditch, Capacitybuilders' chief executive, took up his role in April, he made it very clear that assessing the role of the hubs in their current format was a priority and he wouldn't be afraid of change if that was what was required. The process has been mercifully quick, and Jo Durning's report, compiled over the summer and now complete, is expected to recommend that at least some of them should be ditched in their present form when funding ends in April 2007.

While one should try and avoid the inevitable 'I told you so' cries that will undoubtedly accompany the news, it will probably be welcomed by a largely sceptical sector. The fact that the government was hearing so much criticism about the hubs and the surrounding negative impression or complete ignorance of them by those they were set up to help meant that even if they were at least partly effective, their sustainability and credibility was always going to remain in question.

Clearly work being done in some areas is worthwhile - the performance hub's dissemination of good practice examples, for one . The review is expected to take that on board by saying that where it has been demonstrated that hubs are providing effective services they will be invited to apply to go on doing so. This makes sense as so much time, money and energy (and newsprint) has been devoted to the hubs that to just throw everything away would be unwise.

Perhaps the most interesting reaction will be that of NCVO. It has invested most in the hubs as accountable body for three of them, and has taken on resources accordingly. However, it has also been subject to criticism over how collaborative it has been in the process of setting up the hubs, particularly in the area of ICT. While it says that it will continue with much of the new work anyway, outside of the hubs' control if it comes to it, to everyone else the outcome of the recommendations might well be viewed as a gag on the 'voice of the voluntary sector'.

Counting crows

Busy finance directors reading Charity Finance will probably need little reminding that the role has developed beyond recognition in the last few years. Our latest look at the people with financial control in the leading charities confirms that the breadth of responsibility covers things as wide ranging as IT, governance, HR, facilities management, and increasingly strategy. Not just a case of counting the beans but deciding where the beans should be sourced, and then replanted once accounted for.

In parallel with the growth of the role has been an increase in the influence of FD umbrella body CFDG. It has changed from primarily providing assistance on technical issues to an organisation with a burgeoning portfolio of policy work, which it is keen to expand on. All of this recognises the FD's contribution to wider sector issues, over and above the ongoing complexities of things such as Sorp and VAT.

Of course all this extra responsibility requires greater skills sets, and while it is encouraging that the leading charities are increasingly appointing from within the sector, rather than looking to the commercial world, there has to be recognition that to retain and recruit the best people for this vital role requires competitive remuneration. And wouldn't it be nice if this increased strategic awareness and involvement was rewarded with more finance directors making the grade as chief executives.

Tweet

Directory: Capacitybuilders | Charity Finance Directors' Group (CFDG) | ICT Hub | National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Who's Who: Simon Hebditch