While the government launched its "big society" a year ago, civil society organisations (CSOs – charities, social enterprises and community groups) have been working in their communities and delivering public services in line with this agenda for many years. However, never before has civil society had such public backing from a prime minister and across a whole government, resulting in our work moving to the heart of political and public debate.
Since May's very public commitment to involve CSOs in delivering public services, and despite the real challenges the current economy presents, there have been some positive financial developments for the sector. The £100m Transition Fund was created to dispense to the sector and has supported organisations through a difficult period of cuts in grants and contracts. The Big Society Bank will offer growth in access to loan finance, bring in more external investment from commercial banks and offer a vision for a new way of financing the sector.
But it hasn't all been smooth sailing. As Rodney Schwartz from ClearlySo has said, the introduction of the agenda at the same time as the government's austerity measures has led to many believing, unfairly, that big society is merely a fig leaf for public spending cuts. Our sector's involvement in public service delivery is not and should not be about delivering services on the cheap. We believe that we can deliver contracts more efficiently – often saving money, but also improving quality – putting the needs of the community to the forefront of the solutions we offer.
And those positive initiatives have to be balanced against the tough situation that many CSOs already find themselves in financially. Fewer grants are available due to budget cuts meaning many organisations find it difficult to fund core activities and reforms will mean stiffer competition from the private sector, also interested in delivering public services.
To benefit from any opportunities, the first task is to survive. To give CSOs the best chance of surviving (and thriving) there are some key things that need to happen – in terms of communicating, innovating and organising.
It's vital we help people to have a better understanding of what our sector can do. Plans for bringing in new providers to the public sector have caused widespread concern. It's important that our sector communicates properly our aims and ambitions in this area. In talking about the part CSOs can play in protecting front line services we need to differentiate between CSOs wanting to increase the role many already play in providing patient-centred care under contract to local health commissioners and the bogeyman of private providers supposedly intent on gobbling up the nation's beloved NHS .
We'll need to address those fears and explain that CSOs can win contracts and deliver services just as well and better than many traditional providers can, while delivering extra social value to the local community.
Good relationships with commissioners will also be vital. If CSOs are going to win more public service contracts more needs to be done to support commissioners to work with the sector. Local government and NHS commissioners are under strain, working with reduced budgets, and desperate to protect front-line services. CSOs – with the support of sector umbrella organisations, membership networks and funders like us – need to make sure they are contract ready if they are going to prove to commissioners they can deliver. They must build professional relationships with commissioners and show they are a sustainable and strong organisation who is going to be around for the long term.
Whether it is "good society" or "big society" one thing is clear; the debate needs to move on from what it means to what it can achieve. There's no denying the past year has been extremely tough, and there are hard times ahead but we've seen some significant developments – both in government rhetoric and action – that could pave the way for a positive future for the sector.
Jonathan Lewis is chief executive of The Social Investment Business
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