your blogs
Smell the coffee!
Posted By Bubb’s blog
On 3 February 2012 - 9:34pm

That's the rather strong aromatic cypriot coffee ( not unlike turkish coffee but I mustn't say that here ). Taking a cup whilst sitting by the sea just under the cliffs where the ancient Greek amphitheatre still lies. And an excellent freshly caught sea bream seemed like the perfect lunch. It is sunny here today- though it has been cold. What a contrast to much of Europe and the UK.

But there are others who need to wake up and smell the coffee. Ed Miliband is right to warn business today of the dangers of failing to get the message on top pay.

The lack of leadership from the umbrella bodies representing top business and banking has been lamentable. Angela knight of the British Bankers Association, , as always ready to defend the indefensible , trumpets that Hester's bonus is essential as it is just " the going rate". Exactly Angela, that is why we need legislation so that the going rate can be brought in line with what is decent and proper for rewards for ...more

Failure of the Free Entitlement? No way.
Posted By June's blog - A better future for London's children
On 3 February 2012 - 6:58pm

The National Audit Office report  Delivering the free entitlement to education for three- and four-year-olds has sent the press into pessimism overdrive, telling us the £1.9bn spending on provision of the free entitlement by local authorities in 2011-12 (providing  places for  831,800 in 28,630 settings) was a waste of  money, with apparently no measurable benefits to children.

Absolute poppycock! The report actually said that it was probably too soon to tell, adding how there has been improvement in the Foundation Stage but this has not carried on into Primary School. Dare I say it’s maybe the hallowed Primary Schools that need addressing; or perhaps we need a serious conversation about what we as a country want for our ...more

The Pamela Positive: Don’t Just Stop and Smell the Flowers
Posted By Living and Giving - Pamela Hawley's blog
On 3 February 2012 - 5:05pm

“Stop and smell the flowers” is a good starting point.  But why not stay with the flower?

Have you ever really looked at what makes up the flower? Its petals, the stamen, the actual layout and folding over of different petals… it’s quite remarkable.  Appreciate the wisdom behinds its creation… its unfolding process as it blooms… and its journey of growth.   It’s simple and complex in its beauty and expression.  It also endures so much with changing seasons, from brilliant sunlight to wind gusty rain.

And so are you. Appreciate the beautiful simplicity and complexity of you and each of our fellow men,  women and children. Be open and beautiful; endure.

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Ben & Jerry’s Scoops Up New Ideas on Changemakers.com
Posted By Changemakers blogs
On 3 February 2012 - 4:16pm

What happens when you blend Ben & Jerry’s environmentally-friendly business model with Ashoka Changemakers’ dynamic platform for innovation? You get an international competition sure to delight young entrepreneurs throughout Europe.

read more

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Size of worker co-op sector
Posted By UK Worker Co-operative
On 3 February 2012 - 2:23pm

I collated some info for the last worker co-operative council meeting (Co-operatives UK's representative body for worker co-ops). I thought you might be interested in some of the figures.

This does come with a warning however: These are my own own calculations and not that of our specialists. These may not be the same as our official figures in the more rigorous annual report on the co-operative economy and don't include large employee trust co-operatives like John Lewis (they just massively scew the figures by a few £bn).

This table does however give an indication of the split of worker co-ops by different industry sectors, which may be of interest.

Industry Sector
Numbers
Turnover

Food Retail & Wholesale
41
£74,398,944

Non-food retail
23
£51,047,281

Engineering and Technology
8
£30,947,437

Media and ...more

Civil service pensions admin company becomes “joint venture mutual”
Posted By The BSSEC blog
On 3 February 2012 - 12:55pm

An announcement by the Cabinet office — dating back to last April — has just been brought to my attention (thanks to Chris Newis at BDRC).

Apparently, My Civil Service Pension (MyCSP) is the first central government department to be spun-out as a mutual joint venture.

The new business is owned jointly (according to ComputerWeekly!) by its 475 staff, a private sector company, and the government. Logging on to the MyCSP website I see that it now announces “working in association with Capita Hartshead”, so I suppose we can assume that Capita won the tender to be the private sector partner in the joint venture.

Pinsent Masons’ Out-Law.com site ...more

Facebook in ‘social enterprise Facebook’ shock
Posted By Beanbags and Bullshit
On 3 February 2012 - 10:36am

“Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission – to make the world more open and connected. We think it’s important that everyone who invests in Facebook understands what this mission means to us, how we make decisions and why we do the things we do.“

So says Mark Zuckerberg, founder of popular social networking website, Facebook, in a letter that forms part of the company’s registration  to float on the stock market (valued at between $80 Billion and $100 Billion). It’s becoming increasingly difficult to remember what life was like before the creation of Facebook. It’s certainly made an impact on the world of social enterprise. I did attend a few meetings with enthusiastic up-and-coming ...more

Talk I gave at yesterday's Guardian Public Services Summit
Posted By Craig Dearden-Phillips
On 3 February 2012 - 7:47am

"I think my value here today is that I have a few different lines of sight on the issues in hand. I am probably best known as a social entrepreneur and my work in the public sector developing spin-out ventures. I am also a chair of a large national charity and, on top of this a county councilor in Suffolk. This all gives me a distinct vantage point on our sector.

Today I am going to talk about what’s good, what’s bad and what’s ahead.

THE BAD

Let’s get the bad out of the way first. This is a very tough year for the charity and SE sector. If the public sector thinks its had a hard time, come to see us. Third Sector magazine told last week of 70,000 job losses in 2011 on a workforce of less than a million. Both grants and contracts are under pressure. Grants from Councils are being hit hard – 40% in Liverpool last year and 35% in Notts this year, pending a review by CLG.

This means that the sector is caught in the headlights, preoccupied ...more

The Politics of Spinning Out - my piece from the Guardian this week
Posted By Craig Dearden-Phillips
On 2 February 2012 - 11:27pm

Much of the talk about public service mutuals tends to imply it is all about happy groups of professionals unhooking themselves from the chains of NHS or council bureaucracy and running happily into the cornfields.

Of course, it's not like that. Stepping out of the public sector is political with a capital P. So far, I have never seen a spinout that hasn't required heavyweight backing either from the top pinnacle of the local bureaucracy or senior elected members.

Put simply, if you, as a public manager, want to "step out", you've not only got to do the numbers, you've also got to do the politics.

So where do you start? In short, politicians, or very senior executives, need three things. Firstly, they need to know if this fits in with the general tenor of where they see things going more widely in the organisation. "Does this fit with our larger strategy?" will be question number one. Politically, it may, in which case, you could be fast-tracked. Or, it may not ...more

The Pamela Positive: Money Increases Happiness
Posted By Living and Giving - Pamela Hawley's blog
On 2 February 2012 - 5:15pm

Money increases happiness, according to Harvard University.  But only when it is lifting people out of extreme poverty.  It essentially comes down to Mazlow’s basic needs.  If money can help you attain shelter, food and clothing — which eventually lifts you into the middle class –  then it does bring you happiness.

But little after that.  Once those basic needs are taken care of, we must go to higher needs for happiness.  Caring for people.  Caring for ourselves.  Doing the right thing. Living a simpler life. According to Stephen G. Post, Director of Compassionate Care at Stony Brook University in New York, happiness was on a higher level during the Great Depression than it was at the turn of this century.  He attributes much of this to a simpler lifestyle.

Live simply; be happy.

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