The Civil Sector Challenges for the SW region

Julie HarrisCEO of COSMIC UK and RISE

Introduction

Cosmic o Devon-based social enterprise o ICT services & digital inclusion across the SWo Turnover £500k (>50% from commercial work)o 13 employeeso Web, Tech Support, Training, Consultancyo Based in Ottery St Mary

• Acting CEO of RISE • ICT Regional Champion for SW• Social Enterprise Ambassador

Cosmic

SW Sector Context

• 70,000 organisations • Charities, voluntary organisations, community groups,

companies ltd guarantee, co-operatives, etc• 80,000 paid staff• 1.4 million volunteers • £2.5 billion per annum in direct income

– Source : South West Forum – www.southwestforum.org.uk

• Over 5,500 social enterprises– Source : RISE– www.rise-sw.co.uk

Civil Sector Strengths

• Lean and focused - agility and flexibility• Locally focused - based in communities for communities• Knowledge of community needs and aspirations• Committed & Diverse• Low Cost but NOT Low Quality• Innovative and creative • Lots of expertise in many areas - e.g. Barnardos, Wildlife

Trusts, Adult Support & Education • Many examples of overlap with council business

Civil Sector Weaknesses

• Lack of priority given to ICT investment and development • ICT support is patchy and inconsistent - rely on 

o sector specific knowledge o 'connected' volunteer input o local good intention

• Inappropriate and localised intelligence on new technology (cloud, infrastructure, support services etc)

• Funding is often project based (and future cuts)

Civil Sector Opportunities

• Increasing involvement in public service delivery• Shared ambition for the exploitation of ICT • Shared service agenda - but across sectors (local hubs)• Third sector can capitalise on public sector infrastructure &

stability - e.g. Devon WAN, PSN, G-cloud etc, public sector can expand customer base, lowering costs

• Opportunities to influence future commissioning i.e link to social objectives and values 

• Big Society?

Big Society Challenge

• A government ambition to support the creation and expansion of social enterprises, mutuals, co-operatives and charities - much greater involvement in the running of public services.

What impact will this have on:• ICT aspirations and engagement• Information and Data security• Shared Services• Partnerships

Big Society - working together

• Cross-sector work IS Big Society

• Grass Roots Consultation• Aligning agendas, resources, engagement• Wider Customer Reach• Add value through ICT - but wider than ICT• Strategic commissioning issues

o Private Sector = a Ferarri for the CEO o oro Civil Sector = social impact in your neighbourhood

Supporting local authorities

•Example -  Channel migration aims (web based services) Increasing transactional services through the internet (including through Race 2012)

•Civil Sector support - Grass roots mentoring - help individuals and businesses by providing face to face, remote and telephone support

Digital Mentors

Supporting local authorities

• Example - Commissioning telephone and data services

•Civil Sector support - suppliers with ethical solutions - such as The Phone Co-op

Non-ICT•Example – supporting individuals into work placements and opportunities e.g. adults with disability or learning support need

•Civil Sector support – suppliers such as Pluss

Working Together

• Joint Challenges and Opportunitieso New structures – LEPs, business support, networkso Less funding and investmento Skills development (public and employees) o Sector development and support – leadership

• Technology Challenges (research and strategy)o Cloud (public and civil sector networks)o Social Media (Comms, engagement, service planning)o Shared Services (infrastructure, Service etc) o Green and Ethical IT (Cost, Carbon, Energy reduction) o Service Redesign (Big Society)

ICT Leadership

What does it take?

• Leadership in digital inclusion – everyone connected 

• Leadership in ICT – testbed projects, case studies, reports

• Leadership in partnerships and local impact

• Leadership in Social Enterprise

Julie Harrisjulie@cosmic.org.uk

01404 81322607590 056838@cosmicjulie