First audit of effectiveness of Big Society goals is launched 3

Governance | Celina Ribeiro | 18 Nov 2011

The government's ambition to create a ‘Big Society’ is to be put under scrutiny with the launch of an audit into how effective its policies have been.

The first audit of Big Society, and the effectiveness of policies to shift power from government to civil society, has been launched and is expected to be published early in 2012.

Think tank Civil Exchange, research organisation Democratic Audit and DHA, a social policy communications group, will be conducting the audit after consulting with government, academics and others about how exactly to gauge the effectiveness or achievements of what has often been criticised as a woolly social policy.

The research, funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, will attempt to establish a ‘baseline’ against which subsequent shifts in behaviour and power can be monitored. The audit will also consider the effectiveness of initiatives by the last Labour government to bring about similar changes.

While the auditors hope the audit – subject to funding - will become an annual piece of research, only this week minister for civil society Nick Hurd warned that ‘Big Society’ will take ten or 20 years to achieve. Hurd’s comments followed a long period of infrequent use of the phrase ‘Big Society’ by coalition MPs.

Caroline Slocock, director of Civil Exchange, said that if it works, the Big Society idea could deliver very positive change.

“The Big Society’s stated goals, if delivered, could promote a genuine shift of power from government to civil society,” she said. “The aim of the audit is to look beyond the sometimes heated political debate to discover what is happening in practice, capturing wherever possible the impact on different communities and groups.”

Civil Exchange and DHA are also running the secretariat for the Independence Panel that is examining the state of the sector's independence from government and other stakeholders.

Who's Who: Nick Hurd

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Kevin
28 Nov 2011

The Panel might be interested in the outcomes and use of grants provided by HM Government (Area Base Grant) refer http://benefits.tcell.org.uk/forums-keywords/benefits/social-care-rights-responsibilities-entitlements/aids-support-grant-asg (London Borough)

[Reply]

Rob Jackson
Director
Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd
18 Nov 2011

The key words being 'subject to funding' which loosely translates as if the first audit doesn't tell the government what they want to hear there won't be another one!

[Reply]

Hilary Barnard
18 Nov 2011

This audit is to be welcomed but we should ask why hasn't such an evaluation taken place earlier. And what are the guarantees that the Government will take any notice of the results of the audit?

[Reply]

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