Energy

A quietish week in consequence of half–term I guess.

Interesting series of three articles in Third Sector by John Tizard on the “anger, helplessness, and deep frustration” shared with him by top charity chief execs “...it is clear that the attitude and behaviour of public sector policy makers, commissioners and procurers are exacerbating the situation that they find themselves in and creating really serious problems.”  I hear that Surrey CC staff are claiming credit for Surrey Community Action’s successful Transforming Local Infrastructure bid…I am (almost) speechless.

John Tizard’s advice to chief execs is (as ever) to go where the energy is, and seek out opportunities.

SO, with that in mind I had a useful all day meeting of the South East Youth Partnership (SEYP) on Tuesday and heard about how other local authorities in the SE are simply transferring youth centres to be managed by local organisations (Bucks, West Sussex ) and their NEET figures are also going down. I met with our sports organisations on Wednesday evening at the Riverside Centre in Guildford – the base of the Wey Kayak Club that has 4 members of the GB Olympic Team, and over 450 members, and 50 coaches. Very impressive, and the voluntary sector at its best.

Thursday was a training day here with a skilled trainer from NCVO taking us through the Valuing Infrastructure Programme, and although I think it’s quite complex, it does have real application for us, and indeed I’ll be using it for a forthcoming awayday with Trustees. I had seen it before, and have already used it in a modified form to structure our service offer to members, and we now have the highest number of members ever!

Enjoy the week-end.

Mike