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adamspence

Big Society relaunch: the risks, by John Tizard - Public Finance Opinion - 0 views

  • As the prime minister re-launches his big idea – the Big Society – it seems an appropriate time to ask ‘what is the Big Society and what it could it be?’ To the government it would seem to have several key elements ranging from individuals and families taking more responsibility for their lives to opening the public service provision up to social enterprise and the community and voluntary sector.  To some ministers and others the term ‘Big Society’ seems to be a useful badge for a new policy or initiative.  For some it does appear to be a camouflage for a deliberate pursuit of a ‘smaller state’, less regulation, fewer public sector employees and public expenditure cuts.
adamspence

Growth: an unalloyed good - Public Service - 0 views

  • The Big Society agenda can and must be one of growth, says Asheem SinghWhen scores of activists converged on Parliament Square to protest against tuition fees, organised through social networks and through parent groups like UK Uncut and the NUS, we were given a glimpse of what the Big Society's vision of autonomous, self-organising communities might look like. It was not a particularly edifying sight, what with the criminal damage and the violence, yet for David Cameron the Big Society remains his mission in politics.
adamspence

UK example a warning sign on privatisation - The West Australian - 0 views

  • The Barnett Government's Budget announcement of a big injection of funds for the non-profit sector in WA sounds like a great idea - we all know organisations such as the Salvos are run by nice people who do a great job and who could use some extra money.Before we get too excited, however, there are a few lessons to be learnt from looking at the effects of similar policies elsewhere.
Peter Deitz

Social Entrepreneurs 2011: How a Business Can Change the World - 0 views

  • A special report on the innovative business models social entrepreneurs are inventing
  • special
  • In the pages that follow, we shine a light on this new universe of social entrepreneurship. First, we meet Fred Keller, the founder of Cascade Engineering, a $250 million Michigan plastics manufacturer, who recently turned his business into a B Corporation, the highest standard for socially responsible businesses. Then we investigate five more business models—and meet the entrepreneurs who have adopted them.
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  • An Eye Bank Bets on Best Practices SightLife, a Seattle-based nonprofit eye bank that extracts corneas from organ donors and distributes them to transplant centers around the world, is one of the largest such facilities in the U.S., with 96 employees and more than $14 million in annual revenue. It supplies nearly 5,000 corneas for transplant a year. But it wasn't always that way.
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    Inc Magazine covers social business. Have a look at the six articles the've just published.
Tim Draimin

Social Innovation Europe Initiative Launched in Brussels :: wbc-inco.net - 0 views

  • On March 16 and 17, 2011, Social Innovation Europe was launched in Brussels. Funded by the European Commission, Social Innovation Europe will create a dynamic, entrepreneurial and innovative new Europe. The time has come for Europe to embrace the broad concept of innovation and set an example globally. By 2014, Social Innovation Europe will have become the meeting place - virtual and real - for social innovators, entrepreneurs, non-profit organisations, policy makers and anyone else who is inspired by social innovation in Europe. Through a series of gatherings, and a new online resource, Social Innovation Europe will: connect projects and people who can share experiences and learn from each other; develop an easily accessible resource bank - so you can find about other projects, organisations and ways of working; develop a resource bank of up to date policies at local and national levels and provide information on funding opportunities; facilitate new relationships between civil society, governments, public sector institutions and relevant private sector bodies develop concrete recommendations in financing and in upscaling/mainstreaming of social innovation in Europe Download the conference report.
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    Social Innovation goes mainstream in Europe as European Union launches SI Europe March 2011 conference with presentations by Geoff Mulgan, Vickie Cammack of Tyze, many others including José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission. His speech included: SPEECH/11/190 José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission Europe leading social innovation Social Innovation Europe initiative Brussels, 17 March 2011 Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be here and see all of you around this very important issue - how to pursue our dialogue on social innovation. I would like to thank Geoff Mulgan and Diogo Vasconcelos for their kind invitation and also to congratulate them together with Louise Pulford for having won the call to set up the pilot initiative "Social innovation Europe". I also would like to thank DG enterprise for having organised this launch event today. As you know the Commission is fully involved. Lázsló Andor was with you yesterday. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn will be with you today, so this idea of innovation is indeed a major issue for the Commission I am proud to lead. Europe has a long and strong tradition of social innovation: from the workplace to hospices, and from the cooperative movement to microfinance. We have always been a continent of creative social entrepreneurs who have designed systems to enhance education, health, social inclusion and the well-being of citizens. By nature social innovation is an ever-evolving field to keep pace with fast-changing challenges in society. But what concretely do we mean by social innovation? I think it is important to recognise that this concept is not yet fully accepted in the political debate. I think social innovation is about meeting the unmet social needs and improving social outcomes. It is about tapping into the creativity of charities, associations and social entrepreneurs to find new ways of meeting pressing social needs, which are not adequately met
Tim Draimin

FT.com / UK / Politics & policy - Plan on staff mutuals found lacking - 0 views

  • The UK is not equipped for the revolution in public service mutuals that the government seeks, according to a report from an organisation enthusiastic about making the idea a reality.Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, has been vigorously promoting the idea that staff can leave public service employment to sell their services back through various forms of mutual and social enterprise, sometimes through joint ventures with the private sector.
  • A “right to request” to form a mutual has been set up, and a national taskforce along with a string of pilot projects have been created, in the hope of getting perhaps 1m public service employees in to mutuals by 2015.
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    Important Financial Times update on UK's deficient mutualisation process, ie spinning government services out into mutual and social enterprise.
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