By Jeremy Kendall
Have you ever felt that the world of organisations between market and state, the scope of research upon it, and the nature of the policy environment to which practitioners and researchers must respond is evolving at break neck speed? Would you think it worthwhile to pause for a little while, step back from the moving goalposts, frantic change and frenetic action to consider whether all this energy is being sensibly directed and constructively expended? Surely it would be of great value to listen to respected colleagues and admired academics and practitioners more or less on their own terms, freed at least momentarily from the short term pressures to self-justify and deliver, and speaking lucidly on their areas of interest and expertise?
There is surely always a case for carving space for broad reflection of this kind: headless chickens do not necessarily think with sufficient coherence, or with long enough time horizons! But here and now, in the brave new English third sector world of 2011- and one year into a new administration seeking to overhaul a good deal of the policies and practices it inherited from the previous government under the puzzling ‘Big Society’ banner – the need was especially clear. Recognising this situation, Cumberland Lodge co-operated with the Third Sector Research Centre between 15 to 17th June 2011 to organise precisely such an event. For those readers who have not been lucky enough to attend an event at Cumberland Lodge – and at the risk of turning people who weren’t there green eyed – it is worth underlining why this place is so conducive to this sort of happening. As a former Royal residence, the venue is rich with historical references, and support for visitors is offered in a wonderful old fashioned but highly efficient, under stated style. Catering is exceptional, and the accommodation comfortable, without being in the least ostentatious. To cap it all, despite being so convenient for London, with its extensive well managed ancient woods, lakes and open space, interspersed with intriguing monuments, the setting provides a welcoming retreat from modern city life. A great place to stroll, ramble, run – or pursue any number of other outdoor pursuits. In my case, I took the chance to practice my newly acquired Border bagpipes. Since we know that several medieval English kings employed bagpipers, where better to play the thirteenth century Berkshire tune ‘Summer is icumen in’ - or ancient tunes like ‘Hunts Up’ and ‘Hunt the squirrel’ - than in a royal hunting chase established many hundreds of years ago?
But I digress! The most important point to emphasise about this occasion is simply the way in which, facilitated by protective ‘Chatham house’ rules, a carefully crafted programme and high quality speakers, the organisers demonstrably achieved their goals of facilitating and indeed stimulating a lively, informed and wide ranging debate. The focus was upon the challenges, opportunities and threats now facing the third sector, and the community of scholars and policy makers who wish to strengthen it. The programme was designed to pose key questions, with authoritative presentations geared to both provide informative, cutting edge answers and commentaries. What is civil society and ‘the sector’, and how can it demonstrate its value? How is collaborative work evolving? How do community activism on one hand, and social enterprise on the other, contribute and where do they ‘fit’ in relation to ‘the sector’? How do we encourage giving and volunteering? How is the policy environment, and especially frameworks for public service delivery, changing in its accommodation of and response to the third sector?
Some of these questions were familiar, but I cannot recall a single presenter who did not provide several fresh insights, intriguing observations, or important research findings. Presentations typically also involved exposing and probing myriad unsolved puzzles, and posing of rafts of stimulating new questions, generated as our knowledge base has expanded. In every single case, a fascinating dialogue then unfolded, as presenters responded to thoughtful interventions from the audience. The existence of this common pattern of discussion and debate is not in any way meant to signify the sessions felt the same: they did not. There was great and welcome variety in the range of personal styles, use – or avoidance of – modern technology options. Moreover, the ways of responding to the posed questions ranged from comprehensive synthetic overviews from some speakers to colourful details of research process, organisational life and policy experience detail from others. All were welcome, creating a rich and deeply informative tapestry of evidence, argument and debate. The only disappointment was the cancellation by the Minister. It’s a shame - he (or a substitute speaker from the Office for Civil Society) would have had much to offer, and could have learnt a great deal from what this gathering of reflectively minded experts were willing and able to share.
I will end this blog without any attempt to distil ‘key messages’, offer ‘killer facts’ or put forward sound bite slogans which somehow encapsulate the entirety of the event. This is partly because the richness of the discussion makes the task beyond my capability. But it is also because to do so would be against the very spirit of the event, which was about quizzical criticism, open ended dialogue and the fostering of constructive conversations across the boundaries of research, policy and practice. However, the interested reader will have a chance to sample some of the material discussed by visiting our conference webpage and reviewing some of the presentations being posted there. Enjoy – and reflect.