Building Blocks
Posted 19 January 2007
Second-tier organisations face issues of credibility and loss of focus, CPF report reveals
Many second-tier organisations (STOs), including councils for voluntary service (CVSs) face difficult issues of quality, credibility, conflict of interest and overwork, and a number of CVSs seem to have lost their sense of purpose and focus, according to a new report, Building Blocks, published by City Parochial Foundation.
"It is likely to be increasingly difficult for them to raise funds from local authorities, primary care trusts and other statutory funders, given the pressure on those bodies to show that money is achieving improvements in public services," say authors Alison Harker and Steven Burkeman. "The role perhaps most important for CVSs - that of facilitating the voice of voluntary groups - is the one most difficult to fund."
Other findings include:
•There is an imbalance in the amount of infrastructure provision, with small groups clearly benefiting more than medium-sized organisations. The latter often struggle to fund their infrastructure support needs.
•There is a lack of clarity about where appropriate support for different kinds of groups at different stages of development might be found. There are many STOs but who they benefit, how they do it and when their intervention is appropriate is unclear to those who might seek their help. This encourages haphazard working in the sector.
•Small groups in particular feel their voices are not heard and it is funders and outside agencies which decide what they 'need'.
•Frontline groups value one-to-one help, from knowledgeable, experienced, committed, and skilled individuals/bodies which are not in competition with them for funding.
Among their recommendations, the authors state that over time, funding should increasingly be directed to frontline groups. They will then be in a stronger position to purchase the help they need, from whichever source can best provide it.
Funders will need to accompany the move towards putting 'purchaser power' in the hands of frontline groups by supporting a process of education about the significance of the role of STOs - especially CVSs - in promoting the voice of the voluntary sector.
Harker and Burkeman also want greater simplicity for small groups. They say that "the requirements of funders in relation to impact assessment, outcomes and apparently elaborate monitoring and evaluation can force frontline groups to seek STO support. Such requirements are often too sophisticated and burdensome for smaller groups".
Commenting on the report, Maggie Baxter, Chair of City Parochial Foundation said: "The report identifies a number of issues and provides a 'warts and all' view of the sector. The authors have provided a range of constructive recommendations which provide a programme for action - not just by the STOs themselves but by funders, third-tier organisations, the Charity Commission and Capacitybuilders. We do not expect everyone to agree with all of the findings and recommendations, but we do hope it will start a debate and lead to significant improvements in how infrastructure support is provided and funded."
The report is being circulated to a wide range of organisations in the voluntary sector and will be discussed at a conference in London on Thursday 1 March.
Notes for editors:
1. Building blocks - developing second tier support for frontline groups by Alison Harker and Steve Burkeman can be downloaded from the CPF website Publications where a summary is also available. Hard copies of the full report and a summary are available from City Parochial Foundation, 6 Middle Street, London EC1A 7PH. Telephone 020 7606 6145.
2. City Parochial Foundation (CPF) is one of the largest independent charitable foundations in London. Established in 1891 it aims to enable and empower the poor of London to tackle poverty and its root causes, and to ensure that its funds reach those most in need. Each year CPF expects to make funds of about £6 million available to voluntary and community groups meeting its aims. It operates an open grants programme and also undertakes special initiatives where it wants to make a more strategic impact and, where appropriate, influence the work of others. Occasionally it funds research when it increases knowledge on poverty and social justice related issues and has a clear application to policy and practice - visit City Parochial Foundation's Website for more information.
3. Alison Harker worked in social and community development work in London and the north east and later as a grants officer for the City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London, and Atlantic Philanthropies. Since the beginning of 2004, she has worked as a freelance consultant with a number of voluntary organisations and charitable foundations.
4. Steven Burkeman has worked in education, welfare rights, local government and the NHS. From 1982, he was Trust Secretary of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, which he left in 2001 to become a consultant. His clients have included leading foundations and human rights organisations.
5. For further information, and also if you wish to attend the conference on 1 March, please contact Mubin Haq, Principal Grants Officer CPF on 020 7606 6145 or email mubin@cityparochial.org.uk