Civil Exchange and the Baring Foundation have joined forces to produce a series of thought-leading essays from charity sector leaders about the future of the voluntary sector, which will be serialised by Civil Society News over the next month.
Abridged versions of all the essays, written by sector luminaries such as Nicholas Deakin, Julia Unwin, David Robinson and Sir Bert Massie, will be published on this website over the coming weeks, before Civil Exchange publishes the full versions in a book called Making Good: The Future of the Voluntary Sector.
Publication of the essays kicks off today with an article by Sir Nicholas Deakin, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at Birmingham University and the Chair of the Commission on the Future of the Voluntary Sector which reported in 1996.
The aim of the project is to generate wider discussion within the sector and beyond in the run-up to the general election. Authors have been asked to consider questions such as:
- How can the sector avoid getting sucked into simply picking up the pieces, as the state cuts back its spending, or avoid simply becoming a delivery agent of public services that no longer work?
- How can the sector retain its authentic voice and vital connection to local and disadvantaged communities, in a contract culture that can sometimes pull it away?
- Is the familiar model of charity becoming outdated in the context of social and political change?
- Are we measuring the right things?
- Who is standing up for charities when times get tough?
The idea for the project came from the Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector, which is keen to improve understanding of what is meant by an “independent” voluntary sector.
