Can voluntary services survive? And survive as what? Launch of NCIA Inquiry, Friday May 10th, 2013, 11-3pm at Institute for Family Therapy, 24-32 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HX
Come and join our inquiries….
The pressures on local voluntary groups providing services are immense and getting worse. Cuts in their funding… Increasing need from desperate communities….. … Continue reading
Mark Restall, from the world of volunteering, tell us how volunteering has never been higher on the political agenda. Government ministers and voluntary sector Chief Executives love to tell us how important it is. He says, “I know it’s hard to believe, but I get the impression that they don’t actually understand voluntary work at … Continue reading
Here We Stand, the NCIA Inquiry into local activism and dissent has now reported its findings. The Inquiry, carried out with Manchester Metropolitan University, documents how local activists exert an active democratic and egalitarian influence. We found growing resistance to cuts and austerity, with local people organising around what matters to them: safeguarding public … Continue reading
Message from 38 Degrees… please act now! It’s being called backdoor NHS privatisation. And if we want to stop it, what happens in Parliament this week is crucial. Some Labour, Lib Dem and Green MPs have tabled a motion demanding the NHS privatisation plan be immediately withdrawn. [1] As of last Monday, only 72 MPs … Continue reading
Over the summer and early autumn of 2012, Penny Waterhouse from NCIA gathered information about activism springing up locally and about the different models of radical support for this action. Read here. The results are encouraging: Active Dissent is alive and well, and sometimes works!
The Inquiry threw up a number of questions:
Where … Continue reading
NCIA is collecting evidence about the impact of commissioning on voluntary action, particularly at local level. Post your story below, then we can use it to stop the privatisation of public services and co-option of voluntary action.
To start us off, here’s Bob Baker’s story, Director of the Simon Community, who writes in a personal … Continue reading
Penny Waterhouse finds a connection with the struggle for democracy in Burma.
I was listening to Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of Burma, about the struggles in her country to be self-determining. And although Burma’s situation is very different to mine, here’s what she said which rang bells with me:
– being … Continue reading
People are being urged to boycott the 2011 Census, being run by arms dealers and defence contractors CACI and Lockheed Martin. CACI, the Scottish agents, are said to have interrogated prisoners at Abu Graibh – and now they want to ask us a few questions. Check out Ethical Census for the Scottish campaign. On a … Continue reading
Government has no business running civil society. And voluntary agencies have no business running public services. NCIA’s Peter Bird talks with trade unionists
Cameron’s ‘big society’ is a front for cuts, privatisation, the exploitation of labour and good will, and undermining trade unions. Peter explains….. The other morning I heard the Chief Executive of a … Continue reading
Just Wage campaign calls on Unite members. In 2010, the UK’s biggest trades union UNITE will hold elections for the post of General Secretary – their most senior elected officer. Just Wage is asking the candidates in this election to commit to:
1. a just wage within their organisations and
2. support for a campaign … Continue reading