Microcosm of a macrocosm
‘It really does look and feel different – many of us are sitting next to people we've never sat next to before’, said David Cameron as Parliament opened for business on 18 May.
The first coalition government since the Second World War has promised to be ‘an administration united behind three key principles –freedom, fairness and responsibility.’ So, it was particularly appropriate – almost a microcosm of a macrocosm – to hear Lesley-Anne Alexander’s recent keynote speech at CFDG’s annual conference on her own form of coalition. The energetic RNIB CEO believes that the government has used the sector’s inability to speak as one voice as an excuse to put funding elsewhere.
The new government is unlikely to react any differently; Francis Maude said in this magazine three months ago (issue 28, March, page 37) ‘the sector needs to be more joined up… it is always telling the government to be more joined up!’ The development of the UK Vision Strategy took determination, guts and a refusal to take no for an answer from government departments. And the neat evolution of an ‘association’ of sight loss charities working together rather than a series of mergers appears to have worked well. The words ‘merger’ and ‘acquisition’ were outlawed.
Action for Blind People (part of what is now the RNIB ‘group’) took over around £6m worth of contracts, along with 250 members of staff, to do more of what it does brilliantly – deliver services. But it kept its board of trustees and its CEO, Stephen Remington. Stephen works very closely with Lesley- Anne while remaining tuned to what he describes as ‘eggshell’ moments. The eradication of duplications (economies of scale and scope – see page 5 of this issue), has released valuable new resource to help blind and partially sighted people.
I like to think this government genuinely believes in a ‘smaller state and bigger society’. Maude was passionate about this in his interview. Society is not the same thing as the state, and it is proactive leadership from the charities themselves (which is not discounting all the hard work from the umbrella bodies), embodied in the RNIB/ Action for Blind People arrangement that will be a huge contributing factor in making it all work. Lesley-Anne talked about how she had learned a lot about giving up control in the partnership and the theme of letting go has been noticeable in the forging of the coalition government. It takes practice and trust in one’s partner, which is not always intuitive.
There is bound to be less direct government funding, which will have a positive effect on independence and will force charities to beef up their fundraising skills in the search for new sources of income. So, in a roundabout way, freedom, fairness and responsibility not only summarise the purpose of the new government, but the attitude the sector must adopt to work alongside it.
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
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