Member News
2nd June 2011
To date, the Big Society is not an idea that has flourished – but nor is it an idea that is yet consigned to the dustbin, writes Matt Collins, training and communications manager of early-intervention charity Chance UK.
The Big Society has been around for a long time. Call it community involvement, volunteering, or working with your neighbours. Whatever label you put on it, it is a repackaging of a timeless concept.
Not that that's a bad thing. Rebranding has seen many a noble cause take flight. This coalition government has received a lot of flak for its promotion of the Big Society. Many say it is an idea which is not fully formed, one that is too big to really take hold in the hearts and minds of the wider community. As the coalition continues its programme of public sector cuts, some have even seen the Big Society as merely a distraction from the reality of redundancies and other negative impacts of the deficit reduction.
Like most charities, Chance UK has always been and remains very open-minded about the potential that the Big Society has in changing the community-involvement landscape across the country. We have always believed that citizens can make a massive impact in changing their own communities, if they are given the responsibility and tools to do so.
For over 15 years, Chance UK volunteers have been transforming the communities in which they live by becoming mentors to children with behavioural difficulties from the most vulnerable families in London. This life-changing work has empowered them to make a difference to their neighbours, to their families and to those around them. If Chance UK isn't the Big Society in action, then what is?
David Cameron seeks to take power away from central government and put it in the hands of local people by removing red tape and supporting innovative community projects. And if could back up his theories by backing practical, effective initiatives like Chance UK's, he would undoubtedly receive unequivocal backing for the Big Society as a concept.
For many, however, the scale of the initiatives thus far means it remains only an idea, and one which is not a comfortable bedfellow of the harsh reality of the cuts programme. Many charities are reliant on local and national government funding to make the difference in local communities that they exist for, and they have said they cannot make the Big Society a reality when they cannot fund the positions of those who would do so.
To date, the Big Society is not an idea which has flourished, nor is it an idea that is yet consigned to the dustbin. As new initiatives are created, and when the Big Society bank is firmly established, we will undoubtedly hear more. The challenge remains with citizens and government alike; how can we work together best to change the lives of individuals, families, and the communities around us? When programmes like Chance UK are backed by the public, local authorities and national government, the Big Society will become more than just idea, and take root as a daily reality.
Article Comments
When the Big Society bank is given the same legal powers as 'not for big society banks' to lend money into existence for projects then there will always be enough money for the Big society from their own bank and they will never need to go to the government or the existing bank network.
At the moment I think the bankers and the government are having problems diluting the money lending powers that bankers have over all societies and giving it back to productive local society but i am confident that the Big Society will flourish as soon as those banking powers are devolved.
Boyd
2nd Jun 2011 at 11:09 am
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