Being well managed in the voluntary and community sector is more than being efficient in providing services – it is about changing society for the better.
If you’re a manager in a charity, chances are that funding forms, targets, outcomes, monitoring inspections, contracts and tendering are a large part of your working life but clash with your organisation’s values or activities.
So we’re calling on people involved in voluntary or community action to explore more democratic and effective models that nourish our self-determination.
What you can do
- Read our leaflet managing for independence (PDF) for ideas about how to get talking, make power visible, organise and act, and get help when you need it
- Read about our Independence Audit and download the materials to conduct your own audit.
- Come to an assembly meeting to meet others in your situation and get support
- Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular updates about NCIA’s work
What do we want to see?
- Management practices that we can prove lead to good services, a commitment to social justice, and solidarity with local people and communities
- Workers who are trusted to make judgements in their areas of activity, are involved in producing new policies and practices, are able to influence management styles and who are represented by a union or other worker representation
- Relationships with funders that are equal and assertive and contracts that do not compromise benefits for communities or conditions for workers
- Pay rates with an agreed difference between the highest and lowest paid staff, ethical financial management and practices that avoid exploitation and discrimination and support ecological sustainability
More information
- Tyranny or democracy at work? Notes from NCIA speakeasy, Nottingham (February 2010)
- Just wage campaign NCIA supports this campaign to lower the gap between the highest and lowest earners in social justice organisations
This campaign area is linked to our two other campaigns: