For many leaders in the third sector, particularly those based within smaller communities providing frontline support and services, competitive commissioning processes can be a complex, uncertain and unequal space.

Smaller charities[1] are disproportionately impacted by inequalities inbuilt in commissioning regimes, further exacerbating and entrenching structural inequalities that impact the communities in which small charities are situated, for example institutional racism.[2] At the same time, there has been much praise directed towards the value of small charities[3] in their ability to meet the needs of the communities in which they are formed and deliver support.

Evidence has also shown that Covid-19 has further exacerbated inequalities across communities, which has had a disproportionate impact on smaller charities. However, Covid-19 has also offered opportunities for small charities to be flexible and responsive in meeting the needs of the communities they serve.

With the reality being both an inequitable struggle for small charities within commissioning structures but also an assertion and recognition of the vital work small charities do, that cannot be done by others, particularly at a time of crisis, it seems vital that a space for dialogue is created to enable the positive work to prevail.

With this in mind, we set out to speak to both small charity leaders and commissioners to answer the question: “What are the barriers to facilitating open conversations between small charities and statutory commissioners, and how might they be overcome?”

To begin with, after considering the existing research in this area, we had conversations with people within both the social sector and with commissioners we knew to explore the issue further. We found there were four impacts on the ability to have open conversations to consider - commissioning structures, Covid-19 and the cliff edge caused by short-term funding cycles, inequalities, and the lack of capacity within smaller charities.

Following on from these findings, we put together two different surveys - one for leaders in smaller charities, and one for commissioners. Although we had a reasonable response to the survey for leaders of smaller charities, we struggled to reach commissioners, only receiving a few responses. However, the responses we did receive gave a good indication of the barriers to be overcome.

The Barriers

1. Commissioners can be hard to engage in discussion

Interestingly, and as mentioned previously, throughout our investigation of this question we have struggled to engage commissioners in even discussing the question, with a few notable exceptions (which we are very grateful to).

This may be due to commissioners wanting to maintain an aspect of independence from charities as we come from charities ourselves, or that the engagement routes utilised by charities are not the same spaces where commissioners can engage. But it seems our experience is symptomatic of the difficulty of creating a dialogue between charities and commissioners. We struggled to identify informal spaces where commissioners engage in discussion, whereas charities were accessible to us via social media.

2. Inflexible systems imposed from above

The perceived inflexibility of procurement regulation and the belief that they implement an unbiased approach left commissioners acting in structures that did not allow for the values of small charities to be seen, or for engagement to happen within the commissioning process that was not strictly controlled.

Stringent and inflexible approaches to commissioning regimes left commissioners distant from the impact small charities have on communities, prioritising cost over value for money. It was recognised that commissioners were themselves restricted by higher level decision making and bureaucracy:

“Most of our commissioners see the need for change but change is blocked further up. Overall systems are inflexible and one size fits all. As a small charity, it feels like we're working in a system designed to get the cheapest deal on bulk buy toilet rolls.”

“In my experience commissioners usually genuinely want to listen and learn, however they often don't have much opportunity to change processes based on what they learn.”

3. Lack of understanding on the part of commissioners as to what small charities do, and often a lack of sympathy in their struggles

In our survey responses, commissioners spoke of the work smaller charities do as being innovative, agile, responsive to individual need, and embedded in the communities they serve.

However, 29% of the small charity leaders that responded to our survey said that they didn’t feel confident that commissioners understand the situation on the ground.

The commissioners recognised that small charities could struggle within the commissioning process, however their responses focused on what small charities could do to ‘fit in’ rather than thinking about how the system may reduce bureaucracy so that small charities may equally participate:

“Bigger organisations are often more laissez faire with the frustrating bureaucracy, for example, late payments or disappearing professionals - maybe because of experience or a bigger financial cushion.”

“[Small charities should] make the commissioner's job easy.”

That being said, across both commissioners and small charities there was a desire to move towards better dialogue and talk about engagement that is meaningful.

So how might these barriers be overcome?

1. Develop a more flexible relationship

The response to Covid-19 demonstrated an opportunity for things to be different. Smaller charity leaders noted that there was greater recognition that they could respond in a needs-led manner, allowing for flexibility over KPIs and a greater recognition that smaller charities could provide grassroots information and evidence to inform swift funding decisions. There was a recognition that smaller charities needed to lead on the adaptation of their provision at a time of crisis within the resources provided:

“When commissioners have taken on board changes required as a result of Covid-19, they were very open to the changes that were needed to deliver the services, understood the changes needed and that we could deliver for the funds we had.”

It was clear from the survey that smaller charities believe they are more aware of the need and can respond better than larger charities or statutory services to community needs. This became a great advantage during Covid-19 and should be considered as part of the process in building back better.

2. Come and see it

Most of the survey respondents had an open invitation to commissioners to come and see their work and meet the people whose lives were being changed.

One survey respondent highlighted a scheme called Transition Pilots. The scheme saw commissioners working alongside the smaller charity to try a new approach:

“The idea is that the commissioner meets with us every six weeks and begins to implement the learning into their commissioning process - a commitment to commission for people and not for problems.”

The charity noted that this was happening in three spaces at the moment, however was not currently a system-wide approach.

Advice to commissioners is to visit the smaller organisations at their base of operations and allow time to understand them in an informal setting. Ideally, commissioners would then have the autonomy to implement learning from these meetings into their commissioning practices. If this isn’t possible, then at least a dialogue would be opened.

3. Take commissioners on the journey

Maintaining positive relationships with commissioners once they were successful in tenders was key for smaller charities: invite commissioners to review delivery, meet the people involved, and include service user feedback in any reporting. They noted that ensuring commissioners understand the challenges along the way can be key to maintaining a dialogue.

This can be hard when commissioners change roles or who to report to changes frequently. Relationship building takes time, and small charities don’t have the resources to engage regularly. So it is vital that commissioners also recognise smaller charities are exactly that and do not necessarily have lots of resources to attend multiple meetings. They should work in partnership with the organisation on equal terms, and that partnership shouldn’t depend on individuals from either side but be developed across teams so that a key partner leaving or changing role does not derail the relationship.

4. Focus on delivering long-term change

Thinking longer term and recognising the struggles of smaller charities and the need for flexibility was key for smaller charities to feel able to have equitable discussions with commissioners:

“We had a conversation about the long-term nature of change and they adapted by recognising how hard it is/being more flexible with outcomes.”

This will require being open to challenge and new ideas. Commissioners will need to understand that smaller organisations can struggle to be stable on short rounds of funding, and that multi-year contracts will result in more consistent, higher quality delivery.

5. Acknowledge that radical change is possible

The response to Covid-19 has shown that there can be different ways of commissioning work which can include simplified processes and allowances for the ways smaller charities work. Moving forward, it will be important for commissioners to consider wider questions of inequality and who gets to be involved when it comes to commissioning processes, particularly around issues like race where research shows time and time again that Black and Minoritised community organisations are unable to access the processes that larger organisations can:

“We need to take this argument back to the structure. The structure of funds, how they are set up. Who they are accountable to, where their accountabilities lie, what representation do they have of the community, do they look like the community and do they understand the lived experiences of the communities? A lot of those decision making boards can’t tick those boxes.”[4]

[1] Community based, local and/or target group specific, defined financially as under £2m turnover a year for the purposes of our survey

[2] https://www.ubele.org/booska-paper

[3] https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/media/c2aphccs/the-value-of-small.pdf

[4] https://www.ubele.org/booska-paper

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Clore Social Fellow Tony Wright, Founder and Chief Executive of Forward Assist, a multi-award winning Veterans Charity, writes about the profound impact a healthy diet can have on veterans’ wellbeing.

One of the best aspects of taking part in the Clore Social Leadership’s Cobseo Emerging Leader course in 2018 was the chance to step back from front line delivery services and spend time reading a plethora of leadership books and exploring leadership theories. During that process I was able to identify that I both identified with and fitted the profile of a servant leader. Instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people. I enjoy getting ‘stuck in’ and delivering services alongside our multi-disciplinary team and veteran peer mentors. One of the programmes we have initiated over the last few years in our Veterans Health and Wellbeing Hub is the Veterans Cook2Give project.

The Forward Assist Cook2Give project operates from Salute Café and teaches veterans how to cook healthy nutritious meals for themselves, their families and the wider community. Educating veterans about the importance of a healthy diet is in many ways the most powerful intervention we have. We have found that once Veterans understand the link between diet and wellbeing, they see dramatic improvements in the quality of their lives.

“Attending the healthy eating course taught me how to cook better and make healthier meals. I now enjoy cooking and enjoy exploring new recipes. Because of the healthy eating course I now know what not to eat and how to replace unhealthy food for a healthier alternative. The course also gave me a purpose to get out of the house and meet new people.” - Bob Wilson, Veteran

"The course also gave me a purpose to get out of the house and meet new people." Bob Wilson, Veteran

When you think of a military veterans charity, you may not think it would focus on things like diet, cooking and health. However, Forward Assist – a multi-award-winning military veterans charity based in the North East of England – has discovered that helping military veterans maintain a healthy diet and improve their cooking skills have profound effects on their mental, physical and emotional outcomes.

Far too often, media coverage of military veterans tends to focus narrowly on the lack of services for those diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yet for the majority of those transitioning from the military the key issues facing veterans are much wider.

There are numerous benefits of a well-balanced diet - from the energy it provides to keep active throughout the day and nutrients for muscle growth and cell repair to the fact healthy eating helps prevent diet-related illnesses such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Once veterans understand the link between diet and wellbeing, we see dramatic improvements in the quality of their lives.

Fresh seasonal vegetables are also grown in the charity’s allotment and herbs are grown in raised beds just outside Salute Café. These are incorporated into meals when available. Horticulture as an outdoor activity has been shown to help reduce social isolation and loneliness whilst improving physical health. Eating well for less is another central aspect. Forward Assist’s eight-week healthy eating course teaches veterans how to eat healthily on a tight budget, as well as learning how not to be an emotional hostage to food. Far too many veterans, especially when stressed, eat a disproportionate amount of takeaway food and more than one has described the novel culinary experience of eating a ‘Pot Noodle Sandwich’. The charity encourages veterans to avoid readymade meals by teaching them how to cook and prepare fruit, vegetables and pulses and it provides veterans with recipe cards to use at home.

Since 2017, the Veterans ‘Cook2Give’ team has cooked over 10,700 meals. In 2020, the charity was awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, the equivalent of an MBE, in recognition of the volunteers’ dedication and commitment to civic duty after service. At Forward Assist we believe veterans are a community resource and we are proud to give them opportunities to serve their community.

Every year Forward Assist invites Occupational Therapy students to join the team on a work-based placement. One of the initiatives they developed was a ‘how to cook healthy meals on a budget’ and ‘how to be creative with the content of an emergency food parcel’. Asking for a food parcel can be demoralising, but by teaching veterans how to cook we empower them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The course has been a great success and came into its own during the Covid-19 lockdown when isolated veterans were able to put the theory into practice.

When it comes to leadership there are many styles and as a servant leader I think Social Worker, Joseph Mayo sums it up best when he said;

"Leadership is not about making other people poor but making a difference in their lives." Joseph Mayo

Other opportunities to develop the veterans’ health includes their annual Veterans Retreat to France where the charity promotes abstinence from recreational substance misuse and further develops their cooking and healthy food skills with help from a qualified and experienced chef who takes the group shopping every day in local street markets for fresh vegetables and ingredients for the daily meals. Together they learn how to cook and prepare healthy meals.

The simple joy of eating together every day creates a much missed sense of camaraderie as everyone has a role supporting one another during the course of the day. It’s incredible the difference regular meals and abstinence from alcohol can have on the physical and mental wellbeing of participants. However, we know this is a highly controlled environment and it’s not always easy for veterans and their families to maintain this structure and discipline when they are on their own. In light of the Prime Minister’s obesity strategy this charity is calling for more measures to help reduce the bombardment of unhealthy junk food advertising, promotions and availability to help support groups like military veterans maintain a healthy diet away from the cooking course. It is specifically calling for the government to implement all policies in Chapter 2 of the Childhood Obesity Plan published in 2018. The strategy made a number of policy commitments, the vast majority of which are still waiting to be implemented.

When we’re working so hard to make it easier for veterans to maintain a healthy diet, it feels wrong that we put them back into an environment that disproportionately promotes and advertises unhealthy food and drink. We’re doing our bit; the government and food and drinks industry should do theirs too. We welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has recognised that people do actually want the government to help make it easier for us all to eat healthily and be active.

Contact: Tony Wright CEO

Forward Assist www.forward-assist.com

Email: tony@forward-assist.com

"Being given permission to be kind to myself has been life changing."

For the first time in my working life I made full use of my holiday entitlement. I was only available during working hours and never at weekends. If I were tired, I would finish early, I am a morning person and my best thinking and productivity is over by 3pm. The last two hours of a 9-5 working day are in my case, quite pointless as I am up at 6am and respond to outstanding emails before the daily commute to work. By late afternoon I am just going through the motions.

The enforced break has for me, been a blessing, as I have had to accept that I was not in control of anything work related. It has proved to be a fantastic opportunity to relax and reflect on professional practice, the direction of my life and what really makes me happy. This can rarely be achieved during working hours or during my annual holiday allocation - I usually get a bad cold and my much-needed break is spent recovering! As they say… the body keeps the score. It takes me at least six days before I stop dreaming about work issues and once I have reached that meditative state, I then start thinking about what I need to do before I return. It is not good!

However, this pandemic was something different, Italy was in big trouble, so I decided to shut up shop on 14th March to protect staff and those accessing our service. A great deal of our work is community based and involves group or one-to-one intervention. The fact we still don’t fully understand how this virus is transmitted tells me that my decision to stop all operations was the right thing to do. In a world where defensive decision-making rules… I was glad that I did!

Within days, members of my family went down with flu-like symptoms which may or may not have been related to the Coronavirus, but we have all struggled with a persistent chest infection for the last few weeks. My household, like many others, has experienced the anxiety, worry and mild paranoia of trying to protect and shield against an invisible threat that even the medical experts are struggling to understand.

"Despite my taking holidays and setting boundaries... the charity that I founded and manage has gone from strength to strength."

Yet, despite the circumstances, family isolation has been a wonderful experience, even the family dog has benefited from numerous walks and constant company. As a family we are concerned for friends and acquaintances and devastated by the tragic loss of life of so many. Yet, we are grateful for everything we have and more appreciative of each other too. Previously I think we may have taken everything and each other for granted. The opportunity to read all the books that never get read, listen to music, wipe the dust off neglected musical instruments, enjoy quality time preparing healthy home cooked meals and the simple joy of eating together has been a truly wonderful experience. We all know what is most important and the reality is, it is not work.

Bizarrely, despite my taking holidays and setting boundaries regarding my availability, the charity that I founded and manage has gone from strength to strength over the last two years winning numerous awards and attracting significant funding for the future. I now know that my employment matters but does not define me. I want it to continue on its current trajectory but if this pandemic has taught me anything, it is that I’m happiest at home with my family and that they come first.

To paraphrase the musician Ray Wylie Hubbard:

"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations … I have really good days."

Kathryn Welch, 2017 Clore Social Fellow, writes about her experience of being on furlough, volunteering, and emerging trends that might impact the sector long term.

Rebecca Solnit's book ‘A Paradise Built in Hell’ explores the ways in which disasters can open up pockets of solidarity and connection. She suggests that earthquakes, hurricanes and terror attacks aren't only times of fear and self-preservation, but can also open up our reserves of ingenuity, purpose and generosity. The author observes these moments as signs of long-term potential, of people ‘catch[ing] glimpses, in the midst of a disaster, of a future they want and need’.

I'm an optimist by nature, and throughout the Coronavirus pandemic have been in the incredibly fortunate position of being furloughed, and therefore able to take on volunteer roles in my community. I’ve been doing practical things such as fetching prescriptions and delivering shopping, as well as walking a retired guide dog for a resident at our local retirement home (gratuitous photo of the beautiful Piper included here), and getting stuck in with practical tasks on a local farm - which is rapidly developing into a kind of community-built veg-growing initiative.

I’ve also been the recipient of some beautiful acts of kindness - jars of jam and freshly-cut rhubarb have appeared on my doorstep, and neighbours have stopped by to offer plants, seeds, pots and advice to our fledgling community garden.

"We can aspire to build on the positives we’re glimpsing during this crisis, and embed kindness, connectedness & activism in our communities,"

As help is offered and accepted in all kinds of directions across our community, I’m starting to observe ‘glimpses’ - changes in the nature of our connections and civic participation that feel full of long-term potential. I’m curious about the possibilities for this crisis to engender long-term changes in the nature of our attitude to volunteering, community activism and engagement, and have been wondering about what it would take to sustain these kinds of changes. Here are a few patterns I’m seeing:

The (re)emergence of the hyper-local

One of the great success stories of the current wave of volunteers is the emergence of very local mutual aid neighbourhood networks. A new wave of volunteer activity is being coordinated - with minimal resource, and largely independent of external funding - and a new cohort of neighbourhood-level leaders are emerging and thriving as a result. Communities are banding together to create and deliver the services they need - a proactive approach to place-making that can work just as brilliantly beyond the current crisis (as local initiatives such as the Soup movement illustrate perfectly).

Volunteering becoming 'the norm'

The hundreds of thousands of people signing up to the Red Cross reserves, Trussell Trust and NHS volunteering programmes is unprecedented, and we're also seeing pet foster programmes close their waiting lists, blood donation sessions cancelled as stocks are full and, for the first time in a long time - volunteer programmes being oversubscribed. This is a real step-change in civic responsibility being embraced (willingly, enthusiastically) by individuals. And new kinds of individuals too - younger people, professionals, those with young families - people who for years have been recognised as typically underrepresented in formal volunteering programmes. As the crisis passes and we return to our ‘real lives’ and commitments, there is an imperative to sustain the momentum. This will require both a concerted effort to engage with these new volunteers, and a recognition that volunteer opportunities need to be realistic to the realities of people’s lifestyles and availability.

A desire to connect at the neighbourhood level

Whilst we’re more physically disconnected from one-another than ever, we’re finding ways to demonstrate how much we value everyday, informal kinds of social connection. We’re posting rainbows in windows, chalking cheerful messages on pavements, waving at older people stuck indoors as we pass by. Have we all realised that social connection forms the bedrock to a good life? And if so, might there be an appetite to nurture and deepen those connections post-lockdown? How might we engage and support people to transform these kinds of ‘socially distant’ connections into a lasting kind that is deeper, more personal, more real? Initiatives like The Big Lunch and Fun Palaces have been encouraging us to connect in this way for years - the end of lockdown might just be the moment to grow their scale exponentially.

For now, everything has changed. The question for me is about how we sustain this change, how we encourage not just a 'return to normal', when lockdown ends, but a real transformation in the way we perceive and engage with our communities. Whilst dealing with the immediacy of the crisis is vital, we mustn’t miss this opportunity to look further ahead. With planning and foresight, we can aspire to build on the positives we’re glimpsing during this crisis, and embed kindness, connectedness and activism in our communities for the long-term.

For more information about Kathryn’s work, please visit www.kathrynwelch.co.uk and connect with Kathryn on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Hi, my name is Kate Stanley and when Clore Social put out the call for stories about leading through this period of lockdown, I thought it was an interesting opportunity to reflect on my own experience of transition during this lockdown period.

Last week I was working at the NSPCC as a Board Director, where I was director of strategy policy and evidence. I was at NSPCC for over eight years and I had a team of 65, a substantial budget and a significant span of control. Obviously NSPCC is one of the country's largest children’s charities and has a long history of over 130 years of preventing cruelty to children.

That was last week. This week I have started my new role - I’ve joined the FrameWorks Institute. We have a team of three in the UK and big plans. It would be a really significant change at any time but obviously it's particularly significant during this time of lockdown.

The FrameWorks Institute is a non-profit based in the US and it works to help other non-profits to shift public understanding of important social issues to drive social change. It does this through framing research. Framing is really about what we say and how we say it, so it helps organisations to reframe their issue to drive social change.

That would be, as I said, a big change at any time but especially big now, so I was reflecting on the things that have helped me during this transition. There are three things that really popped to mind straightaway:

1. Don’t neglect rites of passage

The first one was about rites of passage. My background is an anthropologist. In anthropology you learn about rites of passage being important. Ways of marking moments in time. Obviously when we leave organisations there are certain rites of passage that we normally have and at this time of lockdown many of those just aren’t possible; the get-togethers, the drinks and so on. So we had a zoom farewell which was that opportunity for me to say bye to colleagues and to say thank you and good luck, and for them say bye to me. I was very hesitant to do this at first but actually I'm really glad that I did. It was an important opportunity to mark that rite of passage, to mark that moment of transition and I'm really glad I got the chance to to say bye.

2. Pay attention to your work environment

The second thing that's made a difference is something as simple as rearranging the study in which I work. Now obviously, we're all working, or many of us are working, at home at the moment but having a new setup, new things around me to mark that transition from one organisation to another has again been really important and helpful for me in marking that change.

3. Reconnect with your network

The third thing that, I would reflect, has been important is to reconnect with networks. As many of you will recognise that when you're doing a high pressure intensity job, it’s quite difficult to keep up with your networks. But if you're involved with Clore Social, you’ll also know how important that they are. So this has been a really good moment for me to reconnect with networks, reconnect with former colleagues and to strengthen those ties so I feel like I'm part of something much bigger.

So, there are three things that have helped me in this transition during this lockdown phase. I hope you're getting on alright, and I look forward to hearing your story.

"It is important that we are continually looking for the 'How Next' so that we can respond quickly to the needs of local people..." 

As a result of the changes we have implemented, Springhead Park is now producing approximately 100 meals a day, ensuring the elderly and vulnerable can receive a home cooked meal for just £3 and our Coffee Shop social media following has soared to almost 900.

Our virtual community engagement and activity has also grown our already strong Facebook following by over 200% and this is still increasing daily. Our post reach is now regularly over 7,000 and our first Hull Story Time was viewed by over 4,000 families on YouTube.

My team and I are now thinking about the next phase of COVID-19. The way of life and working we knew before will not return for quite a while. Social distancing and other measures may stay with us for many months, perhaps into next year, with a potentially longer lasting impact on the communities we work with.

It is important that we are continually looking for the 'How Next' so that we can respond quickly to the needs of local people and the challenges and opportunities the 'New Normal' present for us as an organisation.

------------------------

Karen Tozer, Clore Social Fellow 2018, is Programme Manager at Groundwork, an organisation that positively changes places and people's lives, in partnership where possible. Visit @GroundworkHull on Twitter & GroundworkHull on Facebook.

Building leaders

The programme was supported by Collectively, who bring together businesses, innovators, activists, facilitators and change makers to explore issues of inequality, and create action plans to address them. As a social sector leader, I wanted to work in the business sector to extend my leadership experience. There was a huge amount of energy and talent in the team - together we grew as leaders as we worked out how change could be achieved.

Multi-generational working

What interested us was the pace of change in the workplace and how it affects people of different ages. People are living and working longer than ever before and today modern offices can house up to four generations.

In the workplace we identified generational differences in digital skills, confidence and legacy. We found a huge opportunity to bring new entry and long career service employees together to exchange life and business skills.

Developing the prototype

We talked to people across the businesses as well as age, youth and volunteering agencies to gain insight on these issues. We spoke to over 200 people through an online survey, face to face interviews and focus groups with long service and new entry employees, learning that 64% of people would be interested in a cross-generation programme.

Our research findings showed that new entry employees would like a safe space to share every day work issues outside of line management discussions. Their workplace challenges include finding information, navigating office politics, and they would like more decision making and presentation skills to help them grow in confidence. They are concerned about the increasing focus on academia to get a job: ‘All that seems to matter is how you do at school - it would be good for people to define success in a different way.’

Long service employees have a desire to share knowledge and benefit others as they felt they could offer support for younger colleagues with self-management. They recognise the pressure of those entering the workforce today to be financially independent. Their workplace challenges include access to technology and worries around financial security and legacy. They would be excited to be part of something new. ‘I'm increasingly concerned with my 'legacy' and whether my work has made a difference’, explained a long service employee.

To pilot the programme, we teamed up employees who had struggled to find work and had already been on a programme to help them enter the workplace, and those who had been in their careers for over 20 years. We found that the digital savvy newer workforce were keen to exchange their skills with experience and a deeper understanding of the business from longer serving colleagues.

Next steps

We want to develop a six-month skills sharing programme with sessions on connection, digital, wellbeing, empowerment, sustainability and community that could be run in every workplace. Our aim is to build solidarity across generations and create platforms for new thinking. Xroads could increase wellbeing at key points across our working lives - it has the potential to initiate a global step change in intergenerational relations. If you are interested in helping develop the programme do get in touch with me via Twitter.

Jane will be talking about perceptions of ageing at an RSA Ideas event on 30 January.

Over the past two years I have been delving deep into practice and theory of networks. They too are wired up to connect, and in today’s global world there is huge potential to find local solutions and tackle global challenges.

I have always believed in the power of grassroots organisations to solve problems. Many years working in international development has compounded my belief that if we can connect and support local organisations, we can power up global change.

The campaign I co-founded almost ten years ago, Age Demands Action, evolved as a network campaign working across 60 countries, and it achieved policy and practical changes at local, national and global levels. Today the networked approach to campaigning is gaining momentum. Books like Harie Hahn’s How organisations develop activists, are inspiring people to find new ways to distribute power across campaigns, and bring together online mobilising techniques with community organising approaches and targeted research.

This made me think; could we adopt a network approach to organisational structures, and what would this involve? What would be the result? If we replace hierarchical structures with more collaborative, flatter networks can we increase innovation and learning? Can we reduce competition between international and local organisations? From my investigation so far I am optimistic.

Here are five thoughts on the process:

1. Concentrate on relationships as much as tasks. Listening, facilitation and co-working processes are critical, invest in face to face meetings when you can.
2. Devolve decision making and resources. Focus network resources on collaborative projects, develop feedback loops, constantly think about how to support growth rather than act on behalf of others.
3. Focus on the cause not the brand. Trust in the creativity of your network.
4. Embrace new technology. Start with simple open technical channels i.e. WhatsApp
5. Modesty and curiosity are leadership qualities.

As part of my Clore Social Leadership Fellowship, I am doing a secondment with The Social Change Agency. They have created a hub packed full of examples, practical ideas and challenging questions to help you explore your journey towards starting, or transforming to a networked organisation.

In terms of leadership I found June Holley’s table from The Network Weavers Handbook helpful in summarising the distinction between organisational and network leadership:

Organisational Leadership

• Position, authority
• Few leaders
• Leader broadcasts
• Leader tells what to do
• Leader controls
• Small group in the know
• Directive
• Top down
• Leader ensures tasks completed
• Individual
• Evaluation
• Planning
• Provides service

Network Leadership

• Role, behaviour
  
• Everyone a leader
• Leader engages
• Many people initiate
• Leader facilitates and supports
• Openness & Transparency
• Emergent
• Bottom-up
• Leader helps identify breakthroughs
• Small group
• Reflection
• Innovation and Experimentation
• Supports self-organisation
  

How do you feel about the distinction between Organisational and Network leadership?

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share your comments below or connect with me on Twitter.

Scale

We still need large scale solutions, and to drop the hang ups about scale and innovation. Some ideas are worth spreading and innovations worth scaling.
Massive urban growth and climate change require city administrations to realise both the legitimacy and potential of local communities and grassroots movements. Small actions build to large movements.

• For social entrepreneurs trialling new technologies and solutions, the impact of BREXIT and loss of European funds for R&D will be a stymie if not replaced.
• Successful ventures are limited by restricted funds which prevent them from doing what they do best, turning money into impact.
• We need to invest in opportunities for collectivism so that social entrepreneurs and stakeholders can work beyond their individual solutions, and in collaboration to resolve social issues.
• We seek answers to community resilience through social entrepreneurship and community participation to build the bridges to the future without destroying what already exists.

To find out more about how we are doing this get in touch, and finally, to share some of my favourite examples of people, and places making things happen;

• Paris, Democracy and Participatory Budgeting
• Impact Hub Brum, Open Project Night and F*** Up Nights.
• Tessy Britton, Participatory City
• Co Lab Dudley
• Building Futures, an UnLtd programme supporting social entrepreneurs building resilience in the built environment

Please share you comments below about this blog, or you can contact Louise on Twitter. Louise is an UnLtd Award Manager, Building Futures Lead and Clore Social and Winston Churchill Fellow.

After spending 2016 as a Clore Social Leadership Fellow, I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, but with the knowledge that I have gained from that intense fellowship year and reflecting on my 15 years of working towards social justice I offer this: leadership should be more about regression than progression.

The chances are we probably once had many of the qualities that would make us a strong leader, but we have lost or forgotten them. Perhaps more concerning, we might have learned not to value them as we should. We need to tap into our inner-child and re-learn the qualities that childhood gifted us, and value them as leadership traits.

Key to this is our curiosity. I’m sure none of our parents expected to give birth to pint-sized Paxman’s but this is what many of them got. 'Do the trees make the wind?', 'Do they close the roads to switch on all the cats eyes?', 'Where is my soul?', and of course, 'Where do babies come from?'. As children we’re naturally curious about the world around us, and less willing to accept things at face value.

The circle of why is a phenomenon that delights curious young minds and frustrates parents in equal measure. Yet at some point we learned to be less curious. 'Why?' Because the very question becomes annoying and it stopped eliciting the responses that we liked.

Research shows that our questioning drops off dramatically after the age of five, suggesting that schools have a role to play here too. I remember from my own experience that school rewarded the children who knew the answer, not asked the best questions, and this pattern of rewarding answers over questions continues into our professional life.

So, what’s stopping us being more curious as adults? Potentially lots of things! Have you ever heard it quipped that there’s 'no such thing as stupid questions, just stupid people'? Asking questions can cause us to be perceived as naive or ill-informed. Asking a question might feed our imposter syndrome, or we could risk letting our demigod masks slip in front of those who we want to see us as strong and all knowing – so they can trust us to lead them.

But without leaders asking why, what if, and how, we stifle our creativity and, at best, are doomed to tweak existing behaviours, programmes and ideas, and at worst repeat the mistakes of the past. If we’re to lead the change that we seek, then it’s critical that we think differently, and maintain a curious approach to everything we do, and everyone we do it with.

I started doing this a few years ago, particularly in relation to who I work with. It’s now habitual for me to be more curious soon after appointment to get to know my new colleagues more closely. I start with two questions. First I ask 'what matters to you?'.

Beyond an interview environment and trying to impress the new boss, I aim to get to know my new colleagues more personally. I talk about what matters to me, and give the example of walking my dogs at lunch times, hoping to give them permission to share what matters to them and how we can fit work in to their life.

I also ask them to tell me about their favourite line-manager (or sometimes their lest favourite – depending how mischievous I'm feeling). This gives me an idea of how they do/don’t like to be managed and supported. This curiosity is simple, but it has had a big impact on my relationships with colleagues and helps me to create an environment in which we can all thrive.

I'm also more curious in circumstances and conversations where I disagree. In the spirit of curiosity, I have become better at listening to understand, rather than listening ready to challenge with my own view.

This blog was developed as part of Mark's 2016 Clore Social Fellowship prgramme and was originally published on Third Force News.

Mark Kelvin is programme director at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland and a 2016 Clore Social Fellow.

1. We need to get talking about our mental health to one another and to our families;
2. We need to educate ourselves on how to look after our own mental health, how to spot signs and symptoms of mental ill health and know what services are available that can support us;
3. We need to challenge the weakness culture. We cannot continue to uphold the notion that seeking help is akin to failure. True courage is found in honesty, in facing up to problems, taking action to help ourselves and being strong through support found in others.
   
   

• That diversity is still absent in some of our workplaces.
• Efforts to promote equality and diversity should aim to nurture inclusive workplaces.
• Attempts to nurture inclusion will falter without measurable targets to evidence tangible progress.
• Inclusive workplaces are critical to social integration.
  
  

1. Restoring trust in the voluntary sector.
2. Sharing foresight information and preparing the sector for the future.
3. Improving the standard of governance by informing and skilling trustees.
4. Developing a new leadership style for our sector.
   

• Strong ethical principles guiding an experimental daily practice is key to the transformation of social relations.
• The importance of negating what exists as much as creating the new. Negation is a necessary but insufficient condition for the creation of the new. Trying to build participatory communities without first rejecting the current social order will sooner or later bring it against the existing order, whether that is in the form of eviction or recuperation.
• Dispersing power has to be a key feature of the new so that autonomous communities remain non-hierarchical. One consequence of this may be that mass movements are not desirable to build, unless they are the result of individual actions.