Bus Loads of North West Thinking
Bus Loads of North West Thinking: Third Event Summary
The third event of VSNW’s Festival of North West Thinking took place on 12th November. It incorporated the Annual General Meeting which, whilst not intense in thinking, was certainly thought provoking – VSNW is bucking the trend and starts the new governance year with more trustees that it either started, or finished, the outgoing governance year with. Trustees were recruited by a combination of direct approach and increased awareness of the need. A forward vision was laid out and responses ensued. VSNW is not complacent – the constitution of the organisation does allow for more trustees than we have – even with our enhanced numbers.
Warren Escadale, Chief Executive VSNW, set the scene for the rest of the evening with his AGM talk. In his presentation he explored four key points.
Increased connectivity within sector
Enable influence for the VCSE Sector
Demonstrate value of VSNW and the sector as a whole
Building an effective NW leadership organisation
For organisations other than VSNW these can translate into
Be effective in your market area
Set out your USP when delivering work and activity
Demonstrate your added value in contracts/commission
Strive for excellence in what you do and learn from needed improvement.
He concluded by saying that there is no going back. We might not have arrived at the nirvana of the “new normal” (and it may not be the land of milk and honey when we get there) but the old normal is gone; never to return.
If you were not at the AGM you missed some gems of thought. For those with long memories there was a network of minibuses, in Manchester, branded “Little GEMS”. The main event moved us into full sized double deck bus loads of thinking. There was standing room only on some sections of the route – such was the quantity of thought stimulated by many speakers.
At the beginning of the route was Elly de Decker – the England Director for the National Lottery Community Fund. She steered the thinkers on a carefully plotted route through past occurrences, but began the journey with a look forward. The next stop indicator included the announcement that emergency funding is coming to an end, and with longer term programmes to recommence; they will be looking for partnership working. They want to provide funding for both activity delivery and for organisations aligning themselves to the new normal.
After this presentation there was a slight pause for a driver change. Paul Streets - CEO, Lloyds Bank Foundation, took over the conference wheel and a change in driving style was noted. Excellent visuals aided the journey which took us on an alternative view of the pandemic; passed via specific landmarks of:
Meeting the moment – switching to digital where possible
Concerns now – concern that some funders will think digital is the cheap way forward whereas face to face will be more effective in many cases
Opportunities – flex in operation and the recognition of the “sector small”
Concerns about Future – the well-being of leaders and staff/volunteer teams
Funding – short term fine but longer term is needed.
This section of the journey ended at the destination of “Gloom and Bloom or merely Doom?”. This is an interesting philosophical question and one prompted by questions to both drivers who had piloted the bus, in a smooth yet challenging manner, to this point.
To allow recharging (this was an electric bus – powered by zoom, powerpoint, keyboards and participation) questions were taken – which related, in the main to definitions and points of clarification.
Sarah Longlands, Director of IPPR North then took the wheel and piloted the bus around the scenic peaks and valleys of the voluntary sector. She highlighted the need to look back to look forward – the resultant panoramic view enhances the journey experience. IPPR have just the view finder to enable this as they have produced a Third Sector Trends Survey every year since 2008. She then used a side panel of the bus to post an advert for a long term barometer.
Sarah’s input encouraged those on board to think critically and, in particular
Avoid false optimism that oversimplifies the complexity.
Note that policy rhetoric overlooks the history of austerity
The implicit reliance on philanthropy and good will. The government is not just an enabler; it is also a government who is a direct financial contributor – in terms of grants but also in terms of commissioning landscape.
React to the emphasis on big ideas driven by a central state eg. Kruger report – focus on big society – we are searching for central idea.
Question the economic model. Northern powerhouse has productivity in its heart. The discussion is always ‘if we could just increase productivity we then will have the excess funds and headroom to fund the things we think are important like education and health.’ This is the wrong way round. We need to invest in people and the communities where they live. Invest so people can have better lives – so they can live in decent houses, decent education which will lead to increased productivity. With this statement she steered the bus into a virtual circle.
Evening was approaching and traffic on the road was beginning to build up. A different style of driver took over. Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of CLES took us through the clutter of traffic in a determined driving style that left little to chance. Had there been an audio link into other vehicles, the drivers of those would have heard a determination to reach the destination, on time, intact, and with those on board fizzed up and ready to go.
He retook the fares (or passes) with the comment
This is a deep moment of societal change. We need to wake up and break out of the rollercoaster – and off we went. We travelled the length of the A6 as it runs through the North West – with important recognition of areas to the west who are more impacted by the A51 and the A57 – all roads with ascending and descending hills
We were treated to a treatise setting out the depth of the crisis; we were treated to an explanation of The Good The Bad and The Ugly. And, when one thought that ammunition was spent, we were told that the future is not about the sector filling in the gaps of failing public service, or an economy gone wrong. Our task is to build what we do. To deliver more care. To start getting involved in retail and manufacturing and create community wealth. We need to get off the idea that we fit in-between the public and private sectors.
Those on board then were made aware by Dr Sanjiv Lingayah – Lead Author on Home Truths Report – that there were still seats on the bus and efforts had to be made to increase the range of those on the journey. He presented the challenging questions of how can we support and empower the BAME led voluntary sector? And why has this part of the sector been excluded to date?
He brought us up short with an anecdote clearly setting out inequality and lack of listening. Bluntly, if a bus is going to run efficiently it has to be full – regardless of background; ethnicity or anything, (switching out of the bus travel analogy there are no private sector bus services who would refuse travel based on race; ethnicity; sexuality; disability or age – so why is this happening in the VCFSE sector)?
Dr Sanjiv positioned the bus at the terminus of the journey by setting out where to walk when leaving the vehicle for today. He charged all passengers to sit with our failure and uncomfortable ideas whilst recognising we all make mistakes. Then ask why are we here as a sector? The sector should be about restoring wholeness to society, focusing on social justice. This means serious corrective action but laced with HOPE - even in the carnage of this year and black and brown bodies suffering – it’s really important to recognise the power and agency of people discriminated against, this is one aspect of hope.
The journey concluded with an exhortation, from the Chair of VSNW to take practical actions away and make a difference.
Meanwhile, the VSNW bus was metaphorically driven to the depot and got ready for the next journey – Metro Mayors on 9th December – departing from a zoom lounge near you at 16.15 for an hour.
Andrew Rainsford Research & Policy Officer VSNW