This is worth reading #3

In my vainglorious attempt to prove that Twitter is a useful research tool, here is another round up of blogs and articles that I think are worth reading. It's all collated from information people share with me. If you want to get more of this stuff on a more regular (albeit seemingly random) basis, you can follow me on Twitter. So, recommendations for the first week or so of September 2010:

1. Cutting edge: radical arts funding. Interesting article on funding from the arts editor of The Independent contains the immortal lines: "Britain's creative output is hugely imaginative. But when it comes to funding, the arts world is one of the most conservative industries in the country" Hat tip to Clare Cooper of missionmodelsmoney for the spot.

2. Dr Evil and the Koch fiends. Inclusion of this was a prerequisite just for the title, but the content is just as good. Many of us spend time thinking about the relationship between the state and the voluntary and community sector, usually in terms of the threat to the independence of the latter. This blog from Michaels Green and Bishop is about the influence of philanthropy on politics and therefore ultimately the state: "At times this will irritate the right, at other times the left. Maybe this is the best reassurance we have that by joining the battle of ideas philanthropists can enrich rather than diminish democracy"

3. How Open Data is Used Against the Poor. Putting aside the crucial issue of whether the title of this article is grammatically correct, this is a good reminder for proponents of open data (eg yours truly) that information is power, and that freeing up data might just strengthen existing inequalities. It concludes "if you want all parts of society to benefit from the opening of public data, then simply opening it up and allowing the most ferociously competitive people in society to grab a hold of it may not be a good way to impact the world positively" Hat tip: Lucy B

4. After the cuts, how do we make the most of what's left? The title is pretty self explanatory, but its not a polemic: Julian Dobson's blog makes valid, thoughtful comments about the turn of the public policy wheel, this time the acronym spat out of the machine being Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs). Julian points out they will produce "strategies [that] are apt to gather dust and to be overtaken by events; my experience is that they are seldom read and understood, still less implemented, by those tasked with organisations' day to day work" I thought this was a great article by a great writer.

5. Is diversifying your income really a good strategy? OK, I can already hear the steam coming out of the ears from my colleagues in Sustainable Funding, but to just to make sure, it begins: "Too often...I see people falling for financial myths. Among them: the idea that every nonprofit group needs to diversify its revenue sources, and the more diversified they are, the better" This provocative blog by Clara Miller of New York's Nonprofit Finance Fund is made all the richer by a vibrant discussion underneath. You might want to follow the NFF by the way.

6. Big Society. There are more blogs about the Big Society than you can shake a stick at. Even a big stick. The ever reliable Will Perrin will suffice as one of the best of this week: mutual support and advice in the Big Society. Recommended reading if you provide advice services. If you prefer something longer, the latest from Geoff Mulgan's Young Foundation will inevitably be worth reading. Just as nobody ever got fired for buying IBM, I don't think I will get an earbashing for recommending Investing in Social Growth: Can the Big Society be more than a slogan?, despite the fact that I have only skim-read it.

That's it. Apart from the fact that I have just remembered I am a researcher. So here is a pie chart:

 (Blame BlueFrog's Mark Phillips for this)