The Big Society: Opportunity or Threat

Pete AlcockUniversity of Birmingham

Labour Government Legacy

Third Sector• Partnership• Strategic investment• Political profileGrowth in public support – 2008: £13 bn; 36% of charity income(England and Wales, Charities, NCVO Almanac, 2010)

Grants and Contracts2000/1 – 2007/8

General Election Campaign

Consensus – welcome third sector….• Public service delivery• Community engagement

• Compact• Social Investment Bank

General Election Campaign

Concerns in campaigning by third sector• About impact of recession• About public spending cuts

Ambiguity over Conservative’s Big Society agenda

Coalition Government – Big Society back…

May 18 – PM and DPM‘Big Society at the heart of public sector

reform…’July 19 – PMLiverpool Big Society speech – ‘my great passion’

Office for Civil Society

OCS replaces OTS - retains Cabinet Office role• Minister for Cabinet Office – Francis Maude• Minister for Civil Society – Nick Hurd• House of Lords – Baroness Warsi• Big Society advisor – (Lord)Nat Wei

Office for Civil Society

Dropping of ‘Third Sector’ – “that term has now been abolished”, PM

Cabinet Office priorities –• Making it easier to run voluntary organisations• Making it easier for organisations to work with the

state• Getting more resources into the sector

Building the Big Society

New policy agenda for OCS to deliver Big Society

• Easier to set-up and run charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations – mutuals taskforce, new Compact

• Public sector workers to create employee-owned co-operatives - right to provide, right to challenge

Building the Big Society

• Remove ‘red tape’ – market prices for public sector contracts (‘level playing field’) – OCS/BIS taskforce

• Big Society Bank – from dormant bank accounts (up to £400m)

• National Citizens Service for 16 year olds (pilot schemes in summer 2011)

• Big Society Day – workplace volunteering (from civil service to civic service)

Building the Big Society

• Train new generation of 5000 community organisers, to become self-funding

• Devolve power to local government – and drive down to neighbourhoods and communities

• Four ‘vanguard communities’ – [Liverpool], Windsor and Maidenhead, Sutton, Eden Valley (Cumbria)

Building the Big Society

But other commitments dropped• Futurebuilders• Capacitybuilders• Commission for the Compact

Or cut• OCS Strategic partners

Big Society DiscoursesBig Society websiteResPublica support

Nat Wei – Coral Reef analogy• sea bed – public services• coral growth – social and private enterprises• fish – citizens and communities

Big Society Rhetoric

More than Third Sector reform – a legacy to match the ‘welfare state’!

• Mending ‘Broken Britain’ • Remixing the Welfare State

Mending Broken Britain

Community empowerment• What are communities?• Communities can be exclusive• Engagement requires time and resources• Engagement requires skills and knowledgeBeware the ‘usual suspects’….

Re-mixing the Welfare State

Restructuring public services• Cuts in public expenditure (25%)• Private and third sector delivery• Market contracting and surpluses • Floating off worker co-operativesCan third sector replace public provision?

Re-mixing the Welfare State

Rethinking public services• Co-production• Outcome based commissioning• Total place• PersonalisationWhat does this mean for Commissioners and

TSOs?

Third Sector Challenges

• Change in public contracting• Cuts in public expenditure• Loss of horizontal support• Competition with private sector and third

sector organisations• Collaboration, subcontracting, and

restructuring

Public Sector Challenges

• Cuts in service budgets• Competition in commissioning• Partnership and collaboration• Co-production and shift to front line planning• Outcome focused planning

Service Delivery Challenges

• Market failure• Organisational failure• Loss of third sector unity• Loss of public mandate