I was grateful for an opportunity to speak to ICT professionals from the public sector at the 25th SOCITM conference in Birmingham on 30 November. SOCITM is the Society of IT Managers and represents a network of over 300 local authorities and more than 30 charities and not for profit organisations.
I am a member of the SOCITM Third Sector Groups and shared the stage with Martyn Croft, CIO of The Salvation Army. Between us we represent either end of the third sector spectrum. I have spent the past 15 years working with very small local charities, social enterprises, community groups and other not for profit organisations in Brighton, many of which have no staff and hence have very low level of investment in IT. Martyn is Chief Information Officer for an organisation with a turnover of £210m, putting it in the top ten charities in the UK.
We took the chance to show the many positive opportunities for collaboration and partnership working between public sector and the third sector, focusing on three specific options:
1. Volunteering
2. Intelligent Commissioning
3. Partnerships
Three ways local authorities can help the third sector
1. Three ways local authorities
can help the third sector
Because everybody needs good neighbours
Mark Walker, SCIP
Martyn Ferguson, Salvation Army
SOCITM Third Sector Group
2. Three ways you can help
SOCITM Third Sector Group
1. Volunteering
www.it4communities.org.uk
2. Intelligent commissioning
www.databridge.org.uk
3. Supporting partnerships
www.salvationarmy.org.uk
3. 200,000 Charities in the UK
Income per annum in 2009/10
60% 56%
50%
40%
29%
30%
20%
12%
10%
3%
0%
< £10k £10k - £100k £100k - £1m > £1m
4. It’s not just charities…
Constituted Unconstituted
Registered Charities Community Associations
Community Interest Company Neighbourhoods
Not For Profit Ltd Co. Residents Associations
Cooperatives Friends Of…
Social Enterprise Campaigns
Consortia Alliances/Partnerships
5. Get to know your neighbours
Differences Similarities
Scale Geography
Resources Values
Culture Outcomes
6. The issues they face
Fundraising/Income generation
Service delivery
Efficiency, effectiveness
7. Their ICT needs
Reliable admin systems
Manageable communications
The right solution at
the best price
Trustworthy support
8. 1. Volunteering
Troubleshooting
Websites and databases
Recycling/upgrades
Planning/Procurement
Implementation
Training
9. 1. Volunteering
Personal contacts
Your local Volunteer Centre
www.it4communities.org.uk
20. 3. Supporting Partnerships
More than numbers
• 650,000 cups of tea per year served to homeless people
and emergency services teams ...
• 58,000 meals per week at our community and residential
centres.
• Over 3,350 homeless people are given a bed each night
in our LifeHouses.
• More than 600 older people accommodated every night
in our residential centres.
• A network of over 700 church and community centres
throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
• On average, 208 families are reunited per month by our
Family Tracing Service.
• Just 1 Salvation Army
22. 3. Supporting Partnerships
Good morning Martyn...
I'm not sure if it is you I need to send this to - if not I
would be grateful if you could forward it to the appropriate
person in the SI department.
One of the clients in our centre, Gavin, approached me
with the idea for a 'Residents' Forum' on the internet for
residents of Army hostels. I asked him to elaborate and
his suggestion is outlined below.
Given the number of our clients who now have access to
internet facilities a moderated forum may be of benefit to
the Army in terms of client involvement and
empowerment, and give our clients a louder voice.
I would welcome your views as to the practicality of such
a project.
Many thanks,
George.
Project Manager
The Salvation Army
25. 3. Supporting Partnerships
The challenge
Keep it safe
Make it robust
Ensure it's simple
Easy to manage
And secure
26. Three ways you can help
SOCITM Third Sector Group
1. Volunteering
www.it4communities.org.uk
2. Intelligent commissioning
www.databridge.org.uk
3. Supporting partnerships
www.salvationarmy.org.uk