Over here at NCIA we often rail on about the apparent shortage of radical voluntary organisations. But maybe we wouldn’t be so surprised if we took the trouble to find out who is running these groups. This is what Mike Barker does in an incisive article called the ‘The Austerity of Charity’. Mike charts the … Continue reading
Inequality and poverty is increasing in the UK. Policies that cut rights and entitlements, and dismantle and privatise public services, make this worse. Voluntary and community agencies cannot be silent on this. They must speak out and act alongside those campaigning to stop this damage. It is the job of charities to fight poverty and … Continue reading
CVSs are “adrift from the grassroots and they tend to be silent around issues such as welfare reform”. So says the Chief Executive of Community Action Southwark. “There isn’t that voice. We have been seduced. The more fundamental questions aren’t being asked. That seduction is diminishing voluntary and community action.” And he’s not the … Continue reading
‘What are charities for?’ was the theme of last Monday’s Radio 4 ‘Analysis’ programme. 25 minutes of powerful evidence, including from interviews with us, set out the stall of how state co-option and contracting has sapped the independence of charities and all but extinguished the fire in their belly to fight for social justice. But … Continue reading
Another excellent contribution to our debate about the future of voluntary services comes from Linda Milbourne and Mike Cushman. ‘Complying, transforming or resisting in the new austerity?’ powerfully unpacks “… changes that appear to be modifying and restricting the voluntary sector’s previous role in social welfare, limiting its influence and its ability to act simultaneously … Continue reading
Another new briefing paper for work on our Inquiry into the Future of Voluntary Services – this one deals with the role that small community groups play in providing local services, ”….some argue that this form of voluntary action is the key to building a more holistic and successful network of social support and protection, … Continue reading
Another new briefing paper for work on our Inquiry into the Future of Voluntary Services – this one deals with commissioning and procurement, “….the single most important factor in the progressive co-option of voluntary groups as servants of state plans and policy and, increasingly, as subservient to the profit-making activities of private companies.” You can … Continue reading
The next briefing paper for our work on the Inquiry into the Future of Voluntary Services is now up on the website. This deals with the role of national charities involved in delivering local sevices and of national federations of charities like Citizens Advice and AgeUK. How is the work and the perspectives of groups … Continue reading
English second tier bodies have largely given up on retaining grant funding for voluntary groups but vigorous support for the virtues of grants over contracts persists in Wales. A recent BBC Wales report quoted Graham Benfield, Chief Executive of Wales Council for Voluntary Action, as saying the procurement process of offering and awarding contracts for … Continue reading
In an important new paper, Ursula Murray, from Birkbeck University of London, addresses many of the key issues of our ‘Inquiry into the Future of Voluntary Services’. Entitled ‘To what extent is the voluntary sector colonised by neo-liberal thinking?’, the paper examines the involvement of the voluntary sector in the dismantling of the welfare state, … Continue reading