Big Society or Civil Society?

Professor Pete AlcockDirector

Labour Government Legacy

PartnershipStrategic investmentPolitical profile

Growth in public support2008 - £13 bn; 36% of charity income(England and Wales, NCVO Almanac, 2010)

General Election Campaign

Consensus – welcome third sector….• Community empowerment• Public services• Compact• Social Investment Bank

Coalition Government

Minister for Civil Society – Nick HurdCabinet Office – Francis MaudHouse of Lords – Nat Wei

May 18 – PM and DPMBig Society at the heart of public sector reform…

Coalition Policy

Building the Big Society – though Big Society dropped during election campaign

• Easier to set-up and run charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations

• Public sector workers – employee-owned co-operatives

Coalition Policy

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

• Big Society Bank – from dormant bank accounts• National Citizens Service for 16 year olds• Big Society Day – workplace volunteering (from civil

service to civic service)

Coalition Policy

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

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

Mending ‘Broken Britain’ or remixing the welfare state?

Big Society

A legacy to match the ‘welfare state’!

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

Big Society or Civil Society

Review of horizontal investment – Futurebuilders, Capacitybuilders, V

End of Third Sector?Office of the Third Sector → Office for Civil

Society

Responding to the Big Society

What is Civil Society? – social relations not organisational structure

“Charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations….”

Problems of inclusion and exclusion – loss of strategic unity

Policy Dilemmas

• Loss of unified policy platform• Community empowerment – vs – public

service restructuring• Reductions in horizontal and infrastructure

support• Competition, restructuring and division within

the sector?

Practical Challenges

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

organisations• Maintaining sector unity