The future of Jersey’s Charities Sector ....an opinion

I had a really interesting meeting with someone today and was challenged to outline my thinking for the future of the Charities Sector. These are my thoughts. They aren’t necessarily right ( or endorsed by any of the organisations mentions). I am however genuinely interest in challenge and feedback.

So here goes….


ASSOCIATION OF JERSEY CHARITIES

This is going through a lot of change both in terms of the committee and in response to the new Charities Law. If you see the website you’ll see a lot about services (eg training, notices, workshops) and functions (eg grant allocation from Lottery funds). I believe the next 24 months will bring a change in strategy and structure as the AJC seek to serve a broader audience in a period of significant change and I am keen to work with the AJC to help them through that period of change.

I would commend you to look at the AJC website, the Charities Commissioner website and the Charities Law to get a big picture view. I would also encourage you to promote the AJC grant application process to any great initiatives and good causes.

http://www.jerseycharities.org/grants/how-to-apply
https://charitycommissioner.je/

JERSEY POLICY FORUM

I am interested in macro-economic thinking and policy. How can government use funds and policy to serve the community as a whole? This doubtless might consider the relationship between government and the voluntary sector. For example joined-up health care between government, business and the voluntary sector. I believe as government downsizes and outsources there are challenges and opportunities that need to be considered and change that needs to be managed. I am keen to work with the JPF to help them through that period of change.

http://www.jerseypolicyforum.org/


IOD AND CHAMBER

I believe that there are skills, resources, talent and funding that can be used more effectively be collaboration and co-ordination between businesses and the voluntary sector. I think the charity sector is fragmented and there must be benefits that can be realised by working together on common interests. I believe working with IoD and Chamber of Commerce can advantage both businesses and the voluntary sector when looking at how we may make more effective use of people, process and technology.

THINKING NOW AND THINKING FUTURE

Change doesn’t happen quickly and I think the sector is going through evolution rather than revolution. We need however to “keep the show on the road” and continue “business as usual” whilst we also think about the needs, challenges and opportunities 5, 10 maybe 15 years ahead.

If you really want “future” thinking, perhaps think about how Google, Microsoft or AI could benefit the Charities Sector (£80m turn-over, 11,000 people and 535 organisations). What thinking, tasks and conversations are necessary now to prepare for the future?

THINKING SMALL AND THINKING BIG

I think we need to be practical (tasks) as well as theoretical (policies). Take for example grants and grant funding. There are some quick-wins that we can do in the next 3-6 months and some things that take longer.

Example: Grant Funding

There are some quick-wins that we can do in the next 3-6 months to greatly improve the grant application process. But there are also big opportunities to examine how we distribute funding across the voluntary sector and how we measure impact and value for money. This necessarily may take a little longer.


Example: Website

There are some quick-wins that we can do in the next 3-6 months to greatly improve the website look and feel. But there are also big opportunities to examine what charities need and how we can use technologies (not just website) to better serve the whole charity community.

If you really want “big” thinking, perhaps think about how we have a full integrated, compatible, secure interconnected sector working seamlessly together for the benefit of all. What thinking, tasks and conversations are necessary to imagine big and deliver?


JOIN US

If you have an opinion, talent or contribution to make please get in touch.

My vision for Jersey’s Charity Sector: Dystopia or Utopia?

STRUCTURAL CHANGES

I suspect that with the new Charities Law and the ever present challenge of being efficient and effective we will see consolidation in the sector.

I cannot believe in an Island 9 x 5 miles there are 535 charitable organisations and I anticipate mergers and collaborations in an effort to reduce costs and share resources.

If this does happen it will necessitate support for organisational change which may impact people, process, and technology.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS

I suspect that government will reduce and outsource an increasing number of public functions and services and demand increasing assurance and standards of governance and compliance, for example the growing insistence over Cyber Essentials as a prerequisite for doing business.

If this does happen it will necessitate support for better governance and improved mechanisms for reporting on Key Performance Indicators or other metrics relevant to Service Level Agreements, Grant Funding or related to public functions and services.

A NET BENEFICIARY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Interestingly whilst there are predictions that Artificial Intelligence [AI] will benefit a few who will get rich as the designers and suppliers of AI, the majority of office and clerical workers will lose their jobs. We may be looking at 30% of office workers being unemployed or under-employed within 10 years?

Let’s be honest not all these bankers, insurance agents, public sector clerks and the like are going to re-tool as coders for the new economy.

Interestingly Vocational and Care Work is a sector that can benefit from AI through better use of technology to diagnose problems and direct funding and resources. Even more interestingly these are the jobs that are not easily replaced by an algorithm. Maybe with an aging demographic and changes Political, Economic, Social and Technical factors the Charity Eco-System is the best place to be?

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

I think the 535+ Charities and NPO which has a turn-over of £80 million plus, and 11,000 people volunteers is a micro-economy. I believe there is an opportunity to explore how best to direct resources and funding to the areas that most need it, and provide high-quality feedback on the benefits.

There are relatively simple benefits: Like having a standard approach to GDPR and Cyber Essentials that means that it is simple and effective for the whole industry and government, rather than each organisation taking a different and incompatible approach.

There are some extreme “out there” ideas: Like adopting crypto currency that can be used within the Charities, Island and Government which can be only used within Jersey and provide a means and history to account of how funding is used.

There are some narrow improvements: Like improving the email, database, and other systems and technologies for one or two charities.

There are some broad and wide improvements: Like re-thinking the integration and collaboration. What if, for example, all Charities adopted Google Platform (email, docs, database) Or perhaps the Miscrosoft-365 approach for the same. What would be the economies of scale and the benefits of a common and secure platform for all members of the economy?

SO WHAT?

Following my appointment to the Committee of Association of Jersey Charities I will be looking to see what more we can do to help members and the Charity Community as a whole.

In the next week weeks I will be seeking views from all sectors and of all talents to see what we can do to help the Charity eco-system of 500+ organisations which collectively turns-over 80 million.

Feedback welcome.

SOME DATA ABOUT CHARITY ECO-SYSTEM

There are 535+ Charities and NPO
Donations in 2016 were £80 million
Lottery funding adds to this figure
11,000 people volunteer or act as trustees
80% use unpaid volunteers
48 million is raised by just 15 organisations


In the above blog I quote the findings of the KPMG survey extensively.

You can find all this data online here https://youtu.be/gRLdp5x8XkY

The full '2016 Jersey Charity Survey; KPMG and Jersey Community Partnership' Report is available from Jersey Community Partnership website and I highly recommend getting in touch with Jersey Community Partnership if you are interested in finding out more.

I also recommend the Jersey Community Partnership website here http://www.jerseycommunitypartnership.org/

I am delighted to acknowledge and thank Jersey Community Partnership for hosting this really helpful video and emailing me a copy of the '2016 Jersey Charity Survey.

OTHER RELEVANT BLOGS

I have posted a variety of articles about Jersey’s Charity Sector
https://charitymattersjersey.blogspot.com/

The most relevant this this article include
https://charitymattersjersey.blogspot.com/2018/07/what-is-future-like-for-charities-and.html

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-future-like-charities-should-government-helping-tim-hj-rogers/

The views outlined are my own, but I am interested in meeting with like-minded people to see what we can do together to help the Charity Sector and the community that they serve. If you are interested in lending your talent, expertise or experience please get in contact.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is a keen supporter of the Association of Jersey Charities and Jersey Community Partnership. He has provided presentations, workshops, free advice and guidance amounting to £20,000 to various charities and runs a FREE GDPR Question and Answer service to local Jersey Charities Jersey https://gdprjersey.blogspot.com/ You can contact TimHJRogers@gmail.com