Big Assist Conference: Sir Stuart Etherington

Welcome to this, the final Big Assist national conference.

I would like to begin the day by saying how valuable I believe the Big

Assist programme has been. Since 2012 it has helped over 700

organisations access advice and support, enabling them to

think more strategically - identifying solutions to the problems they

face and building these in to their future plans;

develop new ways of working, for example by building consortia;

collaboration or merger with others; or

find new ways to generate income or demonstrate their impact.

Important to its success is the fact that it has been demand-led. The

programme has helped organisations to identify the type of support they

need and find the right person for the job. This has put them in the

driving seat, ensuring they get the right support at the right time.

The programme has also created new opportunities for organisations to

learn from each other, both on-line and through visits and events. The

Big Assist Beacon scheme has also showcased some of the new and

innovative ways of working that infrastructure organisations have

developed in recent times. Today is a real opportunity to hear and learn

from these organisations and for all of us to share our ideas about how

we can provided effective support to voluntary organisations and

communities in the current climate.

But it is not job done.

Big Assist has helped those it has helped, but a wider tsunami of change

is sweeping over infrastructure bodies and the front line organisations

they support.

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In hard times, it can be tempting to look inwards; to batten down the

hatches and consider how to conserve what we have. But we need to

resist this temptation. We cannot afford to stay the same when

everything around us is changing.

The world we live in is rapidly transforming on so many fronts, social

economic, political and technological. From austerity to devo max and

the digital revolution, the old ways of working won’t work any more. Few

communities or sectors are immune from this change and, arguably,

those with the least are suffering the most.

Local authorities and CCGs, for example, are having to do more with

less. They too are looking to change and adapt to this new environment.

In the case of local authorities, they will be dependent almost entirely on

whatever money they themselves raise. They know that if they are to

make a difference to local people, they need to change how they relate

to them: giving people a real say in decisions that affect their lives and

the life of their community. Involving them in designing, delivering and

transforming public services.

Good infrastructure organisations know this and are keen to position

themselves as part of the solution. Understanding the challenges and

opportunities that public bodies, voluntary organisations and

communities are facing in this new world, and working with them to find

innovative ways round them. Building new partnerships within and

between sectors. Helping to unleash the potential of individuals and

communities. Building on their strengths, not just sticking plasters on old

wounds.

Local infrastructure’s USP is its ability to act as a two-way street

between the complex and often confusing range of new statutory bodies,

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and the rich range of community and voluntary groups operating at local

level. Forging relationships between communities and government

bodies is not without risks, but get it right and you can achieve big

changes.

In Thurrock, for instance, when faced with significant cuts to the council’s

voluntary sector budget in 2014, the CVS led the development of an

alternative budget that was ultimately endorsed by the council.

Gloucestershire Association for Voluntary and Community Action is

improving the PCC’s approach to community safety. In

Northamptonshire, youth umbrella bodies are talking to the PCC about

changing the way stop and search powers are used. These examples

show that infrastructure is just as important to statutory bodies as it is to

voluntary organisations.

But the best infrastructure organisations are even more ambitious. Like

many commissioners, they are looking to unlock all the assets available

in local communities – whether in the public, private or community

sectors – and ensure they are shared for the common good. The

community choir, the small business and the CCG may share the same

goals of improving the wellbeing of local people, yet it often takes a

creative local infrastructure leader to unlock their shared potential and

realize their shared ambitions. This is the real sharing economy.

Over the last year we have been working with NAVCA to develop a road

map for infrastructure. Looking at what we can learn from the

Commission for Good and the Big Assist Beacons and asking our

members what they think they will need to help them make the biggest

difference in the months and years ahead.

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We are clear that this should focus not on what infrastructure

organisations should get, but what they can give. How they can play a

full role in delivering real social change, as brokers, enablers and

community champions. As platforms for local social action.

With this in mind, we have come up with a single road map for

infrastructure organisations and their stakeholders, identifying how we

can work together to build stronger communities and a stronger

voluntary and community sector.

And we have identified four areas for action and change:

Firstly, infrastructure organisations need to have the right skills in place

to navigate their way through this new environment. They need to

understand what and how they should modernise and ensure that they

have the right people in place to lead this change. They need

opportunities to share ideas and learn from each other. And they need

the time and space to find new solutions and develop strategies for

change.

That is where I think the Big Assist programme has been so important. It

has helped infrastructure organisations on their journey of change,

enabling them to adapt and develop new approaches and work; new

income and business models; as well as new relationships, partnerships

and in some cases mergers.

As the programme comes to an end, we need to reflect on how we can

learn from this. Infrastructure organisations will still need resources to

help them develop these new skills and strategies. So our call for action

here is for organisations to be open to change; for funders to be willing

to support the change process; and for public bodies and other

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stakeholders to understand this change and work with us to achieve

common aims.

We know what skills are needed for the new world, for infrastructure

organisations to be at the heart of the real sharing economy: people with

the ability to lead their communities, to convene and connect diverse

communities. Digital skills to harness the power of the web. Income

generation skills to move beyond the old world of core grants. And

storytelling and marketing skills to remind people just how much

voluntary action and philanthropy are fundamental to our everyday lives.

Which takes me to the second change required. Infrastructure

organisations need to be able to better demonstrate their impact. I often

hear it said that people don’t understand what infrastructure is or why

they should support it. And there is some truth in that. But it is also our

responsibility to show what difference we make. We need to be able to

make a compelling case to stakeholders and to be able to back this up.

There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the social and

economic impact of infrastructure. We need to bring that body of

evidence together to make a clear case for our organisations. And we

need to draw on that existing work in new ways, to show how our

knowledge and expertise will help stakeholders to achieve their goals.

Focusing not just on what we have done, but what we can do.

But we cannot rest on our laurels, we need to continue to build this

evidence base and we need new tools to help us do this. Particularly

today, when the landscape is changing so much, we need new research

and case studies to tell us about the alternative models of support that

are being pioneered and the difference that they have made. And we

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need to ensure that the results of this research are shared widely, so

that successful projects can themselves become the new normal.

Some of what we achieve will be hard to evidence. Our role in

connecting communities and building social capital. Our role in building

solidarity among communities that need a louder voice. These are

important roles and they should not be forgotten when making the case

for infrastructure.

Nevertheless, all stakeholders have an interest in understanding what

works, which is why we’ve identified this as the second area for joint

action.

Our third call for action is ensuring that infrastructure organisations can

play a central role in community planning and decision-making.

Listening to voluntary and community organisations enables local

authorities, CCGs and others to have a better understanding of local

needs; build relationships with the communities they serve; and engage

those communities in designing and delivering services. I believe they

would really struggle to do that on their own.

Infrastructure organisations can provide a bridge between public bodies

and local groups. They help to amplify and bring forward the voices of

those who might otherwise not be heard. They can help commissioners

reach different parts of the community, helping to ensure that smaller

organisations and marginalised groups can play their part in decision-

making.

But they need to demonstrate that they can deliver and that they have a

legitimate voice. That can’t be taken for granted. Effective infrastructure

organisations provide strategic leadership, they champion local voices

and facilitate conversations within and between sectors. An organisation

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that speaks on behalf of the sector, must have a clear mandate to do so

and its members must be confident that it is representing their interests

effectively. Organisations need to be able to show that they are

operating in the right space and understand the extent and limits of their

role. And in turn, front line organisations need to be solid in their support

for the local infrastructure bodies that represent and support them.

Voluntary Action Leeds, for example, has done this by reinvigorating a

democratic Voluntary Sector Assembly, enabling it to represent the

sector with an informed and authentic voice. As a result there is much

better communication and more collaboration between the sectors in

Leeds. This, in turn, is making a real difference to local communities.

Exeter CVS has been working with commissioners to help them identify

key local needs – and with local voluntary, community and social

enterprise sector to develop innovative responses to meet those needs.

But commissioners must also recognise that this is a legitimate role for

infrastructure organisations. They must value our sector’s contribution to

community planning and decision-making and understand how good

infrastructure can help them extend their reach.

The recent decision by the government to add an anti-advocacy clause

to charities’ grant agreements suggests that they just don’t value or,

worse, understand this.

Charities are not sock puppets. They are every bit as keen to promote

the well-being of local people and improve public services as their public

sector counterparts. To me that sounds like the basis for a positive and

productive conversation. And infrastructure organisations should be

facilitating those conversations. But they need the resources to do that

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effectively. That is why the anti-advocacy clause is so counter-

productive.

At their best, infrastructure organisations can play a key role in sharing

lessons from the grassroots and translating these into an effective

agenda for change. But this role needs to be recognised and respected.

As the lead national infrastructure body, NCVO will always stand up for

the sector and its infrastructure to have a voice.

The fourth and final area for action that we have identified, is

infrastructure’s role in brokering new resources, assets and social action.

Again I think this is an area where infrastructure organisations and other

stakeholders can work together to build stronger and more resilient

communities. To be the platform for the real sharing economy.

Smaller organisations, for example, need a range of support to be able

to survive and thrive in this environment. From backroom services, such

as payroll and employment advice, to enabling frontline groups to win

and manage contracts, complementing their skills instead of competing

for the same work.

Voluntary Action Rotherham, who you will be hearing from shortly, are

the lead partner in an award-winning social prescribing service. Patients

with long term conditions can be referred by their GP to services and

activities provided by voluntary and community organisations and funded

by the CCG.

Others have helped build the capacity of local groups: Voluntary Action

Calderdale, for example, has secured three funding from the CCG to

develop the capacity and capability of front-line groups to deliver health-

related services.

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Like the voluntary organisations that they support, infrastructure bodies

are independent, trusted charities. They are not the state. As such, they

have the ability and reach to leverage resources from people and

businesses in a way that the state cannot. People will give their time and

money to charities. They will share their assets. And we are seeing

renewed efforts to apply this reach and leverage.

In 2012 Community and Voluntary Action Tameside in established

Tameside4Good, making it easier for local businesses and people to

give their time, skills, money and other resources to help local voluntary,

community and faith groups

Chester Voluntary Action has developed Skillshare, matching local

business people who want to volunteer their skills and expertise with

voluntary and community groups that require their services.

This includes new partnerships with business: I’m aware that such

partnerships have come in for some criticism in recent weeks. But I think

charities are right to look for new income streams and they have much to

learn from and offer business. But they must go into this with their eyes

open and be clear how it will benefit our organisation and the people we

serve

So, I now wish to conclude.

To me, the key question looking ahead is not how can infrastructure

survive in this environment, but how can it make the biggest difference –

to funders and policy-makers, as well as to voluntary organisations and

community groups. When there is so much change, good infrastructure

is needed more than ever. It can provide vital support to all stakeholders

as they navigate their way through this new landscape, connecting

individuals, communities, organisations and sectors.

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The challenge for infrastructure organisations is for them to step up to

the mark; to identify the support that their members and stakeholders

need to meet the challenges ahead. New times require new thinking.

But there is also a challenge here, I think, for funders and other

stakeholders to recognise the potential of infrastructure and support it in

ways that will enable this potential to be realised. And this has to include

frontline organisations, for whom the phrase use it or lose it seems

appropriate.

The Big Assist programme has helped many organisations to rethink

their role in the current climate, to develop their appetite and capacity for

change. As a result, I think we are much further forward than we would

otherwise have been.

So before I finish, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Big Lottery

Fund for funding the programme – and we’ll be hearing from Dawn

Austwick, chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund, later this afternoon.

I would also like to thank the Big Assist team here at NCVO for devising

and developing the programme and working so hard to make it a

success.

Thank you.

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