The Big Society

The Big Society [PDF] is a Government agenda that seeks to shift power from politicians to people. It formed a key element of the Conservative 2010 election campaign and was the subject of the first major policy announcement of the new coalition government on 18 May 2010.

The main themes are:

Devolving power to communities and local government
A greater role in public services for VCOs and civil society organisations
Supporting the voluntary and community sector

Here at NCVO, we'll be actively contributing to the debate, developing and implementing detailed policy proposals and, of course, building our evidence base. Start watching this page now (via the link at the bottom of the page) to be kept up to date.

We've also set up a discussion thread about the challenges and opportunities the Big Society presents - a space for you to share your hopes (or fears) about what it means for our sector and in particular, your organisation.

Latest News
Information & Briefings
Discussion: What does the Big Society mean for our sector?
Research: Building our evidence base
Comment

A small presentation on The Big Society

The Big Society

On November 3, our Chief Executive, Sir Stuart Etherington, made a speech at CASS Business School, arguing that the Big Society agenda presents key opportunities for the voluntary sector to set its direction and content.

On October 15, the government published two key documents Building a Stronger Civil Society [PDF 175KB] and Supporting a Stronger Civil Society [PDF 255KB] which offer further insight into how they believe the work of our sector fits with their ambitions to create a Big Society. The second paper invites organisations to submit their views on how best the government can support the development of new skills, partnerships and organisational models.

NCVO in the press

Full report on NCVO's Big Society media coverage

Other coverage

Big society will be broken by spending cuts, says New Economic Foundation (NEF)

Windsor and Maidenhead council plans Big Society reward points (Guardian)

David Cameron used his first conference speech as Prime Minister to try and recruit voters to a Big Society programme of civic engagement (Guardian)

A network is as good as a nudge for Big Society (FT.com)

Essential facts to help you get to grip with The Big Society programme from Urban Forum, a national charity supporting community groups to increase influence and have a greater say in decision making.

Information & Briefings

What does the Big Society mean for Sustainable Funding?
Our Sustainable Funding team look at the direct implications of the Big Society on funding for the sector and how it might influence funding schemes' criteria.

Public services and the Big Society: finally putting users in control? (PDF 15KB)
This article explores the benefits and challenges of putting service users at the centre of outcomes measurement.

Infrastructure and the Big Society
Stephen Quashie, Value of Infrastructure Programme Manager, explains why civil society infrastructure has a vital part to play in the government’s vision.

NCVO Briefing on the Big Society [PDF 123KB]
A short background on the Big Society, a summary of the key agenda elements and short discussion of some of the themes emerging in this debate.

Discussion: What does the Big Society mean for our sector?

Our mission is to give voice and support to civil society - our online community offers you a place to converse directly with others working in, or with, the sector.

The Big Society – Challenges and Opportunities
What do you think the Big Society means for our sector? And how will it affect your organisation in particular? Share your thoughts and ideas in our discussion forum to help us make sure the contribution your organisations make to the lives of individuals and communities is properly understood and supported.

Research

The evidence base
Our research team has analysed some of the key evidence on the Big Society, focusing on five key themes - giving communities more powers; encouraging people to take an active role in their communities; transferring power from central to local government; supporting co-ops, mutuals charities and social enterprises; and publishing government data.

You can also read a range of documents from our Big Society Evidence Seminar (held on October 11 together with the Third Sector Research Centre). The seminar explored the evidence base for three of the key areas (participation, service delivery and funding) behind the Big Society agenda and examined the implications for the voluntary and community sector and government. Several delegates also Tweeted from the event - here's a transcript of the Twitter debate.

The numbers behind the Big Society
David Kane, Research Development Officer, looks at some key topics from the Big Society strategy (participation, organisations and data) and the statistics behind them.

Big Society Briefing Paper
Karl Wilding, Head of Research, attended a History & Policy seminar on the Big Society for the Strategy Unit, exploring changes in the relationship between the state and the voluntary sector and in people's engagement with civic society.

Comment

A number of our staff have been blogging about the Big Society - here are a few key posts to give you a taste of what they've been saying so far:

Building the Big Society: Ask. Support. Listen.
Karl Wilding, Head of Research, reports back from a seminar on issues of citizen engagement and the Big Society.

The Big Society Backlash?
Chloe Stables, Parliamentary Officer, takes a look at the background of the Big Society and the challenges it raises for the voluntary and community sector.

Power to the People? The Big Society Agenda
Our Third Sector Foresight team examine the current agenda proposals and opens the discussion on the ease of implementing these in reality.