"Charities must invest in skills" says Dame Mary Marsh

New opportunities presented by the big society agenda will simply pass them by if they fail to do so, says Dame Marsh.

Despite deepening gloom about the impact of funding cuts, it is vital that, individually and collectively, we continue to focus on building for the future. If we don\'t, opportunities will pass us by as the big society agenda develops in England and other community initiatives continue in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Most importantly, that means investing in people\'s capabilities and skills. It is very hard to invest at the same time as cutting costs and stopping activities, but we must do this. Skills - Third Sector has been holding round-table discussions across the country, and these are serving to emphasise the areas of skills development that are needed now - as was evident in the session I joined in London recently.

Skills for business are the part of the jigsaw that is most often considered to be missing when capacity and support for leadership and governance are being discussed. Confidence and the capability to take managed risk are essential in the new world that lies before us.

In England the availability of more start-up capital will come with the Big Society Bank, but those taking it up will need robust business models to demonstrate their longer term sustainability. This is very different from applying for grant funding, or even short-term contracts, and seeking direct outcomes for specific beneficiaries. Social enterprises have learnt a great deal about how to do this - we all need to take advantage of their experiences.

We have learnt about volunteer management over many years, and we know that it is not cost-free. Even so, the true cost of recruiting, supporting and working with volunteers is rarely fully understood - this is further evidence of a deficit in our use of skills for business. We need to get better at sharing good practice in this area, which is also of increasing interest to parts of the public sector that are being managed through foundations and trusts that use volunteers and have new governance arrangements.

We are encouraged by government to foster more active philanthropy by individuals and corporate partnerships. Foundations and trusts are already saying there are limits to the capacity for growth in this area. To make the most of what is available, we need to have the capability to build long-term relationships that deliver positive outcomes on both sides from such investment in communities. Funders also need to be ready to take risks if we really are going to deliver an enterprising, transformed social sector.

Dame Mary Marsh, is director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme.

Source: Third Sector