Charities urged to measure up

Finance | 1 Nov 2004

Charities working in similar areas have been called on to measure up against one another in a new study on benchmarking in the voluntary sector.

Measuring Up recommends that organisations working in common fields, such as young people, health or social care, establish benchmarking clubs to compare experiences and share best practice. The study also found that although there are already some useful benchmarking initiatives in the sector, there is little coordination between them.

It recommends that the new performance improvement hub should take the lead role in promoting and developing benchmarking initiatives.

Ben Kernighan, director of services and development at NCVO, said: "Benchmarking has the potential to become one of the key tools in promoting a more collaborative approach right across the sector."

Meanwhile, NCVO has launched a collaborative working unit to provide practical information and advice to help organisations make informed decisions about whether they should work together, and ways in which they can do this. Options range from the joint delivery of projects to sharing human resources and payroll functions.

Speaking at the launch event, Andrew Hind, the Charity Commission's new chief executive, said it was fitting that his first public appearance was to talk about collaboration in the voluntary sector. "Together with Geraldine Peacock, the Commission's new chair, I want this to be one of the hallmarks of the new leadership of the Commission; not only encouraging charities to collaborate more but to emulate this behaviour ourselves by really reaching out to the sector and developing new partnerships with the sector we regulate."

He continued: "It isn't our aim to force charities to merge but to ask instead that they consider whether there are ways in which they could achieve more for their beneficiaries by working more closely."

Directory: Charity Commission | National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Who's Who: Ben Kernighan | Andrew Hind CB

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