No time for time-wasters

The clock is ticking, choose wisely what to do with your precious time

There are two great dangers for small third-sector organisations at the moment: the first is lack of money and the second is time-wasting. I don't mean that folk are sitting around playing Fruit Ninja and catching up on their on-line shopping, in fact I have never seen the sector work so hard.

Fab piece in the Guardian today by Jane Dudman on our Transition Institute which launches tomorrow

Transition Institute supports managers spinning out public servicesNew social enterprise body will support innovative public services delivered by former public managers


The Transition Institute is a way to bring together bodies being spun out of the public sector. Photograph: James Worrell/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image
In his Public Manager column in the Guardian on 4 May, Craig Dearden-Phillips investigates what it is like to lead a service out of the public sector.
This is particularly apposite, given the recent admission by the government that it is scaling back its plans to privatise swaths of the public sector for fear of appearing to be in favour of private companies excessively profiting from the taxpayer.
The emphasis is now firmly on services being run by employee-owned, third sector or mutual organisations and Thursday 5 May sees the launch of a new body designed to respond to this agenda and provide support for budding public sector entrepreneurs.
The Transition Institute is a new, independent centre for research jointly run by Social Enterprise London and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta). The aim is to highlight and facilitate innovative new public services.
Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Social Enterprise London, says the new institute is a way to bring together bodies being spun out of the public sector with support organisations, to enable them to collaborate and raise the quality of debate about new ways to deliver public services.
"The UK is ahead of the rest of the world in advancing the discussions around independently-run public services and first in setting up an institute to study these new models and support those who want to get involved," says Ogden-Newton. "It's a brave new era and we are thrilled to be working with Nesta to establish this groundbreaking institute."
She says the aim will be to "help give direction and establish common principles in order to support emerging leaders".
Mark Johnson, managing director of TPP Law, which specialises in advising public sector spin-outs, says there is a need for a central bank of resources, expertise and information for public sector managers if employee-led mutuals are to take off and adds that the new institute will play a "vital role" in collating and disseminating that knowhow.
One example of a social enterprise delivering a service formerly run within the public sector is Living Well, which provides support and guidance for people living with HIV and AIDS. Until recently it was a successful service run by Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Trust (PCT), but the organisation's ability to develop into new service areas was stifled by financial barriers, chiefly by not being able to carry financial surpluses into the following year.
Following a period of research, staff came upon the idea of forming a community interest company and 'spinning out' the service from PCT control. James Miller, who has led the process and will manage the new social enterprise, says he is enormously excited at the potential of what can now be achieved. "We are already looking to deliver contracts beyond our PCT, putting in bids for corporate sponsorship and making links with large national charities," he says. "Running our own organisation really gives us the freedom to innovate, it's enormously exciting." Miller stresses that Living Well has developed in close partnership with the PCT.
Miller's enthusiasm mirrors the finding by Dearden-Phillips that being part of a social business engenders an increase in productivity, innovation and energy among staff.
But Dearden-Philllips also warns that few councils are yet looking seriously at creating spin-outs - there is no sign as yet of the first trickle of spin-outs turning into a flood, he points out. His conclusion is that there needs to be more expertise in local authorities about how to nurture spin-out business. There are also some real financial issues that face potential spin-outs, particularly about how pensions will work, and how to finance spin-outs. "Above all, there is a real need for leaders - hundreds of them," he comments.

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On sticking together to work out which way to go

Adversity can bring out the best in people and having spent today in Birmingham with my fellow directors of England's social enterprise regions, I am glad to say some of the best people are in social enterprise. Having not found a good time to mention this, I was keeping quiet about my growing feeling that social enterprise has started to sing a little off key.

Our Annual General Love-in

I know I shouldn’t be, but I am always amazed by our AGMs, and even though this was the week we moved offices and times have been tough for intermediaries like SEL, last night was no exception.

Brushing up on the 80/20 rule

The great thing about taking time off is finding perspective. I've been in our beloved Cornwall this week, enjoying my family and slowing down. Having time means you can, if you choose, do things properly. Like for instance, learning more about the 80 20 rule, where 20 per cent of effort yields 80 of results. That's certainly true of surfing. We have been blessed with great weather and great surf this week, attracting some serious surfers. It's been quite a show.

Sam watching his heroes surfing

I have also had time to read the FT from cover to cover picking up on a superb article yesterday on sustainable banking. We heard from our own Peter Blom MD at Triodos applauding the rise of some banks thinking in this area but cautioning us that post crisis many are still too busy picking up the pieces to 'think about ethics'. Putting paid to risky business has to be what the next decade is about. When oil companies and banks risk our natural and financial assets in pursuit of their profit we have to be less trusting and ask more questions. Peter feels that the return on investment banks can yield from their products should not exceed the growth of the economies they are operating in. He and others such as Andrew Cave, head of corporate sustainablility at RBS believe this is trully sustainable. It all goes back to the old saying that if it looks too good, it probably is. Hence allowing some derivitives to rerturn 25 or even 30% in economies growing at 3% was blind greed.

So have the scales fallen from our eyes? The problem is that so few humanists, enviromentalists or historians make it as far as the board room. Faced with the ruddy complexion of the money buisness, most opt for the quiet life. The city would call that the survival of the fittest, I'm not so sure. That's why I believe social enterprise and the new social contracts held within our world, have to be the future. We play to win, but not at any cost. That means changing the rules at times, like specialist finance, knowledge and support.

Doing our bit, I hope you are as thrilled with the new sel home page as we are. Its great to get such fab feedback from members. Our aim is to make sure that if you only have time to look at one social enterprise source each day, you will use SEL's because it will round up all the news, information and live chat you need. So for say, with 20 per cent of the effort you get 80 per cent of the info. I have to say, it's also great to see the SEL gang getting on to such effect in my absence. Maybe if I stay on this beach a while longer I won't be missed?