Walking a tightrope? Balancing organisational foresight, enterprise, capability and impact Tony Chapman Social Audit Network Conference Newcastle University Business School 4 th April 2014

Third Sector Trends Study  7 year study in NE and Cumbria to 2015 (also in Yorkshire and Humber ).  Big surveys in 2010, 2012 and  Qualitative work with 50 TSOs 2010, 2012,  Watching, listening, talking, taking part.  Also studies for local authorities and the ILG on public sector/third sector relationships

What we feel we know now  Found out a lot about sector structure and dynamics.  Know much more about what makes TSOs tick.  Getting a much better understanding of how TSOs respond to change  We think we know what a good organisation looks like – but not altogether sure how they get to be that way – or whether it protects them from external forces.

When is an organisations getting it right?  Has the foresight to scan the horizon with its mission clearly in mind.  Sufficiently enterprising to assess the risks associated with opportunities.  Understands what its current and potential level of capability is.  Knows what the organisation is there to do and can recognise the impact of what they do.

How do they get to be good?  Good governance so that they can manage their resources of money, people and ideas  What helps them along the way: serendipity, luck, values, determination.  But each of these four things are no good unless you know what to do with them and know what difference they might make.

We’re getting a reputation for hectoring the third sector  We are advocates for what TSOs can achieve for their beneficiaries, not for organisations as such.  But we’re sympathetic about the impact of turbulence in the system: outsiders often call the tune.  We say that TSOs are independent and are responsible for their own destiny – but that doesn’t mean life is easy.

Turbulence In addition to issues surrounding money...  Other people’s strategic agendas for the third sector  Other people’s ideas about how TSOs should develop and what they should do.  Other people’s ideas on what makes TSOs more efficient.  Other people’s ideas about what impact they want/hope TSOs can make & how to measure it.

So what is good governance? If a TSO is an autonomous entity which is responsible for its own destiny, then... Making good decisions involves striking a balance between the organisation’s altruistic mission to achieve social outcomes and its own needs as an entity to be resilient, capable and have sufficient assets (of people, ideas and money) to do its work.

Knowing yourself: how do TSOs find out what impact they are having?

Being interested in Impact  The best organisations know what they want to achieve.  They can make good judgements on how to assess (but not always ‘measure’) their achievements.  They usually ask people to help them confirm what they believe or hope to be true.  They can take criticism (eventually!) process the challenges and do something about it.

TSOs which put a ‘high priority’ on the following forms of impact measurement Smaller TSOs that don’t employ staff Community driven practice and planning ethos Public- sector driven practice and planning ethos Market driven practice and planning ethos Collect feedback from beneficiaries Collect data on outcomes for funders Collect data on outputs for funders Organise participatory events with beneficiaries Conduct surveys with beneficiaries Conduct an organisational social audit Conduct a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis

TSOs which do take action on the following forms of impact measurement Smaller TSOs that don’t employ staff Community driven practice and planning ethos Public- sector driven practice and planning ethos Market driven practice and planning ethos Collect feedback from beneficiaries Collect data on outcomes for funders Collect data on outputs for funders Organise participatory events with beneficiaries Conduct surveys with beneficiaries Conduct an organisational social audit Conduct a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis

Theory and practice amongst TSOs with a “market driven” practice and planning ethos How many TSOs say this is a high priority But how many TSOs actually do this now? Difference Collect feedback from beneficiaries Collect data on outcomes for funders Collect data on outputs for funders Organise participatory events with beneficiaries Conduct surveys with beneficiaries Conduct an organisational social audit Conduct a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis for particular projects

Who’s not s tanding back to reflect? “We’re too busy for all of this” “We’ll do it when we’re more secure” “We need a quick fix that will impress funders”

Focusing too much on money can be a problem Shifts too much emphasis to organisational needs, not organisational impact (we do understand the pressure to keep staff in place). Tendency to encourage ‘bottom line’ thinking that doesn’t really work in the third sector (success starts to be defined monetarily, not socially – i.e. Ideas surrounding growth).

What can go wrong?  Chase short-term opportunities that skew mission (poor application of Foresight)  Don’t know when not to do things (poor application of Enterprise)  Not fully aware of current or potential capability  Confused about who they serve and don’t know what impact they have

Not everything that glitters is gold Bringing home the bacon is a constant pressure, but what if ‘success’ makes things worse?  What if staff and volunteers don’t believe in it?  What if there isn’t enough money to do it?  What if it means working with people you don’t get on with?  What if you don’t really know how to do this?  WHAT IF THE OBJECTIVE YOU’VE BEEN FUNDED TO ACHIEVE CAN’T BE DONE!!!

Getting it right?

Making good decisions when the future is uncertain...  Resources are finite  Income fluctuation is inevitable  The policy environment wont stay still  Social needs and priorities will change  Competition may intensify...so TSOs need to keep a steady head

Perception of sustainable organisational resource “its natural or equilibrium position in the medium term” which is tied in with mission and organisational planning Measured assessment of impact of resource decline: plans devised to return to equilibrium or restructure within realistic resource base “ Asset base ” New opportunities successfully exploited Think about periods of growth as “ephemeral” and build reserves` “Uncontrollable” periods of decline offset drawing upon reserves STRONGER ORGANISATIONS BEHAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS

Summary of main ideas

The ‘best’ organisations invest in learning about themselves – often with help from the outside (But this is not just about advertising how good you are).

The ‘best’ organisations invest in staff development because they know how important capability is (But it’s not about attending free courses or grabbing capacity building money because “it’s there”).

The ‘best’ organisations know when to say no to an opportunity, and how to say yes (But it has to be a fair balance between organisational needs and social impact).

Other people can help, but can’t do it for you  Need to take several steps on the journey before you ask for help (“stress testing”).  Good organisations do audits because they are good organisations (“self critical but quietly confident too”)  Don’t be fooled by promises of instant fixes – it doesn’t work that way.  Thinking always about impact first, and money second requires real discipline.

Tony Chapman & Fred Robinson Policy&Practice St Chad’s College Durham University 18 North Bailey DURHAM DH1 3RH