If you are unable to read this National Update, click here for the website version. Consumer Family and Citizen Empowerment     NATIONAL UPDATE  Public policy and social innovation for empowerment
November 2011 Issue:   Afif Tabsh Arab Spring, the Economy and Social Entrepreneurship   Filippo Addarii The European Social Business Initiative   Jude Foster Health consumers and social innovation   Rachel Botsman Collaborative Consumption - Trust Between Strangers   Luke Bretherton Hospitality not Tolerance, Civil Society not Social Cohesion   Voluntary Activity Only 31% of Australians do voluntary activity? Why?   Ageing Australia A ten point program for self-directed, connected ageing   Elisabeth Wynhausen Unemployed and wrapped in red tape   Summit 2012 Reforming Public Services Towards citizen-centred social   policy and empowered users of public services   Public Services Inside Out Putting co-production into practice   TACSI Working with Citizens - Without Any Citizens!   Social Enterprise Australia Leadership in social entrepreneurship   National Conference Social Innovation, Social Enterprise, Social Change:   Can Citizens, Entrepreneurs, Institutions and Governments Work Together   in Transforming Australia? 18-19 June 2012   Kate Lawrence  Call to Action: National community-led disaster organisation   Street by Street  Recovering the art of neighbourliness   Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets Expressions of Interest   Volunteer  Three roles available with the Centre for Civil Society   Organising by Federal Electorate  Become involved in your area   Events   Afif Tabsh Arab Spring, the Economy and Social Entrepreneurship "The so called “Arab Spring” started from Tunisia, where Boazizi put himself on fire to revolt in the face of injustice, lack of work opportunities and his sense of hopelessness… he just gave up on his life and on going anywhere but downhill. His story isn’t an “island” but rather a story shared by so many across the Arab world, from illiterates to PhD holders, who are facing difficulties in finding a job…and the unemployment rates are soaring higher than ever. With the youth bulge in the region, which the World Bank estimated in 2010 that 60% of the Arab world are people under 30 years old, the market is becoming a highly competitive place for job seekers. Millions of Arab youth are working hard on getting their education, graduating and then…the rest is unknown. The funny/sad matter is that the higher the degrees the youth are getting, the harder it is to find a job in their hometown... Now if we take a bird’s eye view on this whole matter, and with some research into past revolutions across the centuries from the French revolution until today, one can simply realize that after every revolution there comes some chaos before order is restored, things will look better hereafter, much better. Moreover, how things will look in the future is not much of a mystery either, history repeats itself, with minor modifications. The issue in the Arab world is not the lack of money or resources, there are billions of it in cash yet it’s how we’re making use it (or the lack of). In this context, the future of the Arab World in the coming 10 years will include the following: Educated youth will start seeking to create jobs for themselves, rather than seeking jobs. They will starting making some start-ups, capitalize on the entrepreneurial/innovative skills and become more willing to take risks rather than seeking stable governmental/corporate jobs. Numerous capital ventures, angel investors and impact investors will start popping up to support Social and Impact Entrepreneurs who not only seek making profit but also leaving a positive impact on the society along the way. Arab nations will realize that each country will not be able to sustain and grow on its own. Thus cross border/pan-Arab economic and infrastructure projects will be launched. From unifying electric grids, to opening borders for trade and travel, to creating joint ventures, to mega infrastructure improvements to lure more investments and build a ripe ground for further corporate growth. This will look something similar to the Marshall Plan set by the US to aid Europe rebuild itself and prosper post World War II, yet its Arab based for Arab’s benefit. Family based businesses will nourish and especially those that are gulf based, state supported, and/or “royal”. With the rich getting richer, we can expect some major growth in family based conglomerates. Educational systems will start shifting into more specialized degrees, informal learning, on-the-job learning, and major involvement of technology in the whole learning process. Real-estate business will no longer be the major industry in many countries, to be replaced with other industries like ICT, manufacturing , agriculture, telecom, consultancy, tourism, research/think-tanks amongst others as well. Thus requiring a more diverse workforce. The above will start taking place naturally, one step at a time, to accommodate for the political/governmental changes as well as the expected chaos in some of the countries. These new opportunities and systems will encompass creating jobs for almost 100 million youth that will be joining the Arab workforce by 2020. If jobs are not created in the thousands every month across the Arab world…the economies will not grow nor sustain, governments/dictators/leaders will tumble one after the other until the wealth is more evenly distributed, dignity and financial-independence is secured for the millions who are graduating annually. Until then…the Arab Spring will continue, chaos and instability in many countries will prevail until the void is filled and nations start rebuilding themselves, one brick at a time." Afif Tabsh is an entrepreneur and activist who lives in Lebanon. CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article. Filippo Addarii The European Social Business Initiative "Europe is undergoing such a dramatic and deep upheaval that the only predictable outcome is substantial change. It is clear to most economic pundits that the European model is not fit for purpose in the 21st century. Europeans need a new political and economic machinery that integrates innovation, sustainability and social inclusion within a strategy for growth and employment. This is openly recognised by the European Commission in its 10-year strategy, "Europe 2020". The financial crisis provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a new socio-economic paradigm in Europe that serves both the interests of capital and people. In Athens, the epicentre of the crisis, a special social economic zone could be established to test how social enterprises and social entrepreneurs could steer the recovery. The financial resource would be provided by social investing, the new emerging asset class that seeks to deliver sustainable financial returns while seeking positive social outcomes. This is one of the ideas that emerged in Brussels at the launch of the European Social Business Initiative. On 18 November, 800 delegates including policymakers, social entrepreneurs, charities, cooperatives, mutuals and various networks from across Europe gathered in Brussels for what was "the first ever mainstream political event on the social economy and social enterprise organised by the European Commission", according to Hugues Sibille, vice-president of Credit Cooperatif and a pioneer of the social economy. It may seem strange that the initiator of this initiative is Michel Barnier, a Commissioner appointed by the French conservatives. He is determined to reform the financial services industry and promote liberalisation reforms as part of the Single Market Act in the European Union. He is not always popular in the City but he is the first Commissioner who takes the social economy seriously – contrary to his predecessors – and puts it at the centre of the new European strategy for economic recovery. The Social Business Initiative aims to foster an enabling environment for the social economy, acting along three axes by increasing funding and easing access to funding, strengthening the reputation on the social sector, and rationalising the legal environment and cutting red tape... This was no usual Brussels event because the group included the Nobel Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, the Tunisian minister of finance, Sir Ronald Cohen, and three ministers of national governments including Nick Hurd MP, Britain's Minister for Civil Society. He delivered a rousing speech and pledged the firm backing of the British government if the Social Business Initiative makes the lives of social entrepreneurs easier without letting bureaucracy get in the way. If Barnier was able to get the support of the minister, it means there is something valuable in what he is doing. However, this is just the beginning of a long journey in which Brussels has put itself at the service of the liveliest forces of society. This journey started last year with the launch of the European social innovation agenda and further initiatives on public service reform, CSR and social investments have been initiated in the last year. The Social Business Initiative is the next step." Filippo Addarii is executive director of Euclid Network. CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article. Jude Foster Health consumers and social innovation Jude Foster is one of Australia's leading but little known social entrepreneurs. As a Registered Nurse in Coffs Harbour NSW and parent of children with ADHD, Jude developed the Wrap Around Kids Program in 2000. By 2004 Wrap Around Kids was in use in 20 schools throughout NSW, with interest from Canada, USA and Scotland in establishing the program. Underpinning the program was Wrap Around Kids™ OnLine (WAKOL), a multi level internet based application which enabled families to centralise storage of their child's records and authorise access for other professionals involved in management. Her experience as a health professional, President of the Learning Difficulties Coalition of NSW, and particularly as a parent of  children with ADHD, highlighted the difficulties  for many families of retelling their story over and over, of misunderstandings occurring at school and of the need to develop a sustainable program of support. Wrap Around Kids was acknowledged in the NSW Department of Education Inquiry into Early Intervention of Learning Difficulties where it was recommended that “The Departments of health and education should explore the broad implementation of Wrap AroundKids in NSW schools”. However, institutional inertia, and opposition by some Departments to WAK's private company business model, prevented large scale take-up.  In 2007, Jude founded miVitals Technology Pty Ltd, a technology company she started to enable family control and direction of health information. In 2008, Jude was interviewed by ABC Radio Australia about miVitals: ABC Radio Australia : Imagine compiling all your health records - or those of your family - on a website, monitoring the changes over the years and presenting the information to health professionals as you see fit. Well, it's now possible via a new Australian website called miVitals where your medical history is at your fingertips from anywhere in the world. JUDE FOSTER : I've just moved down from the beautiful mid-north coast of New South Wales down to Sydney for miVitals and I had to leave my general practitioner that I've had up there for 25 years. So he very kindly gave me copies of all my records and I have put them online now to be able to share with the new GP that I find down here and dentist and optician and so on. ABC : So you can get everything, it's not just the GP's notes, you can, I suppose can you put x-rays and things like that on it? JUDE FOSTER : You certainly can. Most people have x-rays hiding in their closet somewhere or behind the filing cabinet and if you can centralise all of that information on line, it means that when you need it, you'll be able to access it from wherever you are in the world. ABC : So, when you take it to your new GP, how does he or she access the site? Do you give them a password or? JUDE FOSTER : They will have their own log-in to the site. There's no charge for them to be able to register. That part's actually under development, the sharing part. But right now, people can go on and record vital information, such as what allergies they have, what medications they're taking, who the key people are who are involved in their life, who the next of kin is, that kind of vital information. And if they wish they can also record their immunisations, their other health history so that they have a record across their life span of different information. So, for example, when I put my information in I was amazed that I'd completely forgotten that there was a medication that I took about 15 years ago that I had a really bad reaction to. So I'm able to put that into miVitals and know that that will come up in any of the reports that are created for the health professional. ABC : You've had to, with your son with disabilities, (he's now an adult). You had to deal with lots of different professionals and many people have to do this and be the central communicator. You become the expert, don't you? JUDE FOSTER : I think that's part of what really drove me to this Richard. I really believe that people are the experts on their health and that it's very empowering for them to work in partnership with the professionals who are involved in their life. I found that within my own family, that when you have somebody with a chronic illness in the family, that there might be 10 or 12 people who are involved in their management and it's usually the advocate in that family which is often the Mum where its kids involved, might be then going backwards and forwards to all of those professionals and you're trying to download what you think is the most salient information for those people and in the short time that you have with them. Sometimes you might inadvertently not be telling them things that are really critical for them to know. So, I've had a lot of support from wonderful professionals here and overseas who've looked at the kind of way that people are guided in entering information in forms. They're given forms that they can then enter appropriate information to go into these reports. And it really provides the professionals then with something that's very easy for them to be able to glance through and see what they want. ABC : Is this free? JUDE FOSTER : Yes it is. The core health module is free and we also have under development some other specialised modules that will allow people to record, for example, pregnancy information, diabetes, child development, to be able to record all of the different milestones of their children from when they're born to right through to when they're elderly.... ABC : This isn't the first time someone's tried to do something like this. There have been other attempts to set up online health management. They haven't always ended that well. JUDE FOSTER : Yes, I think it's been a space that lots of people have been trying to get into and I think that often because the approaches have been much more systemic, they're looking much more at connecting hospitals and health professionals and so on is the primary reason for getting it started and then the potential possibly down the track for individuals to be able to access part of their records. This is quite the opposite of that. It's actually starting with the consumer. ABC : From the bottom up, if you like. JUDE FOSTER : Totally bottom up and allowing people, I mean people who have the most to benefit from having their health well understood and be effective advocates, being able to maintain their health record across their life span and share it with whom they want." CLICK HERE to read the full text of this interview. Rachel Botsman Collaborative Consumption - Trust Between Strangers Collaborative Consumption describes old world behaviours, such as lending, exchange, swapping and bartering that are now able to operate at scale, across geographic boundaries enabled by technology. The term was coined by Rachel Botsman whose work has brought together thousands of global innovators and entrepreneurs – all using technology and human ingenuity to develop new ways of sharing, lending and exchanging time, skills and resources. CLICK HERE to listen to Rachel Botsman speak on intelligent sharing. Over the last year NESTA (National Endowment on Education, Sciences and the Arts in the UK)  been exploring lots of 'Collaborative Consumption' concepts and enterprises and digging deeper into how public services might embrace the principles of collaborative consumption to rethink models of service delivery. In particular, how designing tools and services could help public services harness 'idling capacity'. That is the spare capacity that exists in people, places, and assets. It's a long recognised principle, however now a new breed of entrepreneurs, self-organised communities, and far-sighted local councils are increasingly connecting these resources with technology to develop scalable solutions to many of our challenges. FutureYou aims to help NEETS (children not in education, employment, or training) back into opportunities-such as education, work or skills development by using mentoring to help them develop soft skills and re-orient themselves. The concept of mentoring to develop soft skills is not a new one, but one which has been costly to deliver. FutureYou turns the traditional model on its head by harnessing unused capacity. FutureYou trains peers to mentor NEETS online via a safe social networking platform. NEETS benefit from any-time, peer-based mentoring and support, on platforms that they feel at home with, while the running costs of the model are hugely reduced. Go Genie, still in development, uses crowd-sourcing to help users, such as the disabled, plan journeys and trips out with much greater ease. It does this by tapping into the collective expertise of the crowd to collect all the details that matter, so that users can plan end to end journeys much more effectively; such as where to get the best seats to lip-read, and what time taxis with wheel-chair ramps stop their shift in Staffordshire. The service aims ultimately to deliver real-time information and tips, together with technology such as 360 degree views, in a way that a traditional, and costly, system of access audits couldn’t hope to deliver. Idling capacity applies as much to stuff as time and energy. Books quite literally have a long shelf life. The London Borough of Sutton created Sutton Bookshare, an online tool that helps you find and share books with people in your community. In the spirit of sharing, Sutton, together with NESTA, Adrian Short and Rattle, have further developed the Bookshare source code to allow other communities, schools and organisations the opportunity to create their own Bookshare. Below you'll find a link to the source code, and more information about how you can create your own Bookshare can be found on the Bookshare page. CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article.   Luke Bretherton Hospitality not Tolerance, Civil Society rather than Social Cohesion "Social cohesion" is a term that suggests an undifferentiated mass of relationships that have no goal or purpose other than to cooperate with the state... In place of social cohesion, I would like to insist on the old fashioned term "civil society" - a contested but conceptually rich term that envisages the housing of social relationships within institutions. Such institutions, particularly religious institutions, embody traditions of belief and practice that are themselves on-going arguments about the good. The term "civil society" upholds the importance of institutions in mediating between the individual, the state and the market and holds that such mediatory structures are crucial, not only for the health of social relationships, but also for the health of the state and market as well. I would suggest that the conversation in ethnically diverse and cosmopolitan cities such as London - and to a lesser extent Sydney and Melbourne - needs to move beyond advocating working "side-by-side," and instead should discuss what it means to be part of a robust civil society within which religious groups undertake shared political action in pursuit of goods in common - not to mention where such action may well involve conflict with the priorities and policies of government and business corporations in pursuit of a critical yet constructive relationship with both. Real encounter, dialogue and understanding is, I would suggest, best generated as a by-product of shared civic action, because in such shared civic action the focus is neither on face-to-face encounter nor even on simply working side-by-side. Rather, the focus is rightly on the pursuit and protection of goods in common - or, to put it another way, it is through the relationships that emerge between people of different faiths and none, as they identify and uphold the things they love and hold dear, that something genuinely worthwhile emerges. Such common, public action and civic association is part of what it means to participate in civil society, and is best understood as a form of civic or public friendship. And yet civil society itself is constantly under threat by cooption and subordination to the market and the state, so generating such public action is no easy matter. But I argue that religious institutions, and common action between them, are crucial to invigorating a robust civil society and contradicting the commodification and instrumentalisation of social relationships." Luke Bretherton is Reader in Theology and Politics, and convenor of the Faith and Public Policy Forum at King's College, London. His most recent book is Christianity and Contemporary Politics: The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), and he is currently writing a book on community organizing and democratic citizenship. CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article. Voluntary Activity Only 31% of Australians do voluntary activity? Why? In the last three years, the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments have supported strategies to strengthen volunteering and volunteering agencies. This invariably entails giving grants to funded organisations run by paid workers to encourage other people to engage in voluntary activity. These strategies are a conspicuous failure. The Monash University - Scanlon Foundation Mapping Social Cohesion Survey conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2011 reveals a steady decline in the number of Australians engaged in voluntary work, while governments have pursued their "Strengthening Volunteering" strategies. The survey asked its participants if they had participated in any voluntary activity once in the preceding month. In 2009, 38% indicated that they had participated in voluntary activity in the preceding month. In 2010, 32% indicated this. In 2011, 31% indicated this. Ageing Australia A ten point program for self-directed connected ageing As the average age in Australia rises, as it will in all western societies over the next thirty years, panic is growing amongst governments and welfare services as to how existing systems and finances will cope. The reality is that our existing systems of social provision and financing will not support the coming "Silver Wave" in our population. These systems are not oriented to regarding older people as a value-producing segment of society. They are rooted in assumptions about post-value creation retirement. Nor are they oriented to understanding changing patterns of relationships and responsibilities amongst citizens. Our systems are built around cohorts of passive recipients of services, not around individuals, families and communities as active agents who enter into relationships and incur responsibilities. Nor are our existing systems oriented to comprehending diversity and individuality. Institutionalised arrangements may have become passe in mental health and disability, but in aged care they are still in vogue. One-size-fits-all ways of thinking will not accommodate the generation of baby boomers. Readers are invited to comment on our selection of a ten point program for what we call "self-directed and connected ageing". Our assumption is that individuals want to retain as much individual and social autonomy as possible as they age, and self-direct, for as long as possible, their preferred way of living. Our assumption is also that individuals do best when they are socially connected rather than isolated. We also assume that governments and welfare systems are not likely to get this, without a lot of help. Without a strong exercise of social leadership by citizens themselves in shaping a public agenda for "self-directed and connected ageing", government initiatives and social interventions will fall well short of what is required. Our ten point program is informed by several leading examinations of ageing issues around the world. The UK National Endowment for the Sciences, Technology and the Arts' Age Unlimited program; the Helsinki Design Lab's work on ageing in Recipes for Systemic Reform in Finland; and UK ResPublica's Age of Opportunity are worth exploring. We invite readers to use the online form below to send in comments on this program. It is a draft, and it needs your input. From this process, we would like to develop a Strategy Group to explore ways of shaping the public agenda on ageing in the coming few years. Please indicate your interest if you would like to participate in this work. You will see too that this program contains a mix of public policy initiatives and social innovations, with an understanding that both are important, including the relationship between them. A ten point program for self-directed and connected ageing Eliminate the formal retirement age: Allow individuals to choose when and at what rate they conclude their working life. Replace the age-based eligibility requirement for the aged pension (currently 67) with a lifetime service requirement of 40 years in the paid workforce and/or voluntary service to encourage life-stage flexibility. Allow superannuants to draw on their superannuation at any time over 60 years for the purpose of starting a business or making alternative investments. Establish lifetime volunteer credits for voluntary service activity which from the age of 60 can be traded for benefits through a Volunteer Bank. Encourage diverse co-housing arrangements whereby older people may house share with peers, students and other community members. Introduce a requirement that Commonwealth benefit recipients (including family benefit, unemployment benefit, youth and student allowance) must enter a mentoring arrangement with a non-family person over the age of 70 years as a condition of eligibility. Introduce a requirement that Seniors Card holders must enter a mentoring arrangement with a young person. Introduce neighbourhood-based volunteering options to facilitate neighbourly acts to assist older people living at home with simple practical tasks. Develop new and diverse forms of mutual support groups (variations and developments of senior citizen clubs and informal associations) amongst older people. Redirect all aged care and support funding through individualised funding allocations, payable to each older person or their nominated agent. CLICK HERE io send us your comments on this program. Indicate if you wish to participate in a Strategy Group to develop this initiative. Elisabeth Wynhausen Unemployed and wrapped in red tape "Christmas has come early to Mount Street, Mount Druitt. Well, not Christmas, exactly, but a red-and-green polyvinyl chloride substitute for the spirit of Christmas – a blow-up Santa as big as the Ritz popping in and out of a blow-up box. The offices of Max Employment, in the western suburbs of Sydney, have been decked with everything but holly. There are streamers of paper Santas, a puce-coloured blow-up reindeer and a banner with the words “Santa’s Jobs Workshops." Job-seekers anywhere in Australia who receive the payment with the Orwellian name Newstart must demonstrate that they are out looking for “suitable” paid work, going to job interviews and accepting “suitable” offers, but all this activity won’t hold them up long in Mount Druitt. Here, there are almost as many job agencies as jobs: seven agencies, in fact, and twelve full-time jobs when I last checked... But the unemployment industry is thriving, as it is in many other areas where joblessness is over 10 per cent, not least because the government pays the agencies fees, whether the people on their books get a job or not. That’s how it’s been since the Howard government privatised the old Commonwealth Employment Service, or CES, in 1998. What had been a public service was chopped up into market shares and assigned to non-profit and commercial providers. By now the biggest single share – nudging 10 per cent – is in the hands of MAXNetWork Pty Ltd (which trades as MAX Employment), the wholly owned subsidiary of an American corporation. The company’s financial statement filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission shows that in the year to 30 September 2010, MAXNetWork collected about $125 million in fees and about $41 million in related payments from the government, a reliable revenue stream that contributed to after-tax profits of $30.4 million that year. The figures give a glimpse of an industry that has stayed out of the spotlight while scooping up about $1.7 billion a year in government funding (and hundreds of millions more if providers double up and run recruiting businesses on the side). Instead, attention falls on the supposed beneficiaries of all this largesse – the people on the dole or on disability benefits. Yet a study by the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations published in 2006 found that people left to their own devices were only ten per cent less likely to end up with a job than those being churned through the system. And things are much as they were. The agencies have been forced to tender three times since the CES was replaced by the Job Network and then replaced, in turn, by Job Services Australia. The third time was in 2009. Once the dust settled, half of the Rudd government’s $3.8 billion Job Services Australia contract was in the hands of private enterprise, with MAXNetWork projected to receive $321.7 million over three years. When I submitted a series of questions about its finances and its operations, the company declined to comment. So did Mission Australia, which picked up the second-largest share, valued at $246 million. Next came the Salvation Army with $206.7 million, then another for-profit, JobFind Centres Australia Pty Ltd, with an estimated $177.4 million, ahead of another 125 companies, charities and community organisations, with contract shares valued at anything from $40,000 to $97.9 million. The agencies are in competition, but one effect of a system subject to commercial pressures but strangled in red tape is that there may be little to choose between them. I proceed from Max Employment to Mission Employment and from Mission Employment to JobFind, where the placards and posters say “Anything is possible” rather than “All I want for Christmas is a job.” But going from one agency to another and one suburb to another only serves to strengthen the impression that these offices, with all their furniture and the sometimes out-of-date job lists tacked to their walls, are like props in a Potemkin village version of the performance-based contracting model set out in the paperwork."  Elisabeth Wynhausen is the author of The Short Goodbye: A Skewed History of the Last Boom and the Next Bust (MUP, 2011), On Resilience (MUP, 2009) and Dirt Cheap: Life at the Wrong End of the Job Market” (Pan Macmillan, 2005).  CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article.   Summit 2012 Reforming Public Services - Towards citizen-centred social policy and empowered users of public services Reform of public services has been a constant theme amongst governments, policy officials, and service delivery organisations for the last two decades. Despite the constant talk, real change towards citizen-centred social policy and empowered users of public services is hard to find. What is more common is a pattern of frequently restructured financing arrangements for service delivery and re-badged programs which have little impact on the experience of users of services. This Summit on 7-8 May 2012 will review the progress, and the stalemate, in reform of public services, and explore prospects and strategies for reform in the following areas of social policy: Education Health Welfare Ageing Disability Families Indigenous affairs Rural and regional affairs Community strengthening Justice and community safety The Summit has an interest in processes and models, from Australia and overseas, that have broken through the reform stalemate and generated innovative thinking and practice, and new forms of user participation in the design, ownership and implementation of reform options. The format of this Summit will involve a mix of structured consensus-oriented deliberations, informed by inputs from presenters in plenary and concurrent sessions. The goal is to search for, and progress, common understandings and approaches through the course of the deliberations over the two days. Call for Papers Expressions of interest in presenting a paper or workshop or display should be forwarded, in no more than 300 words, by 31 December 2011, using the form below or emailing admin@partnerships.org.au CLICK HERE to submit an expression of interest in presenting CLICK HERE to register. Earlybird deadline is 31 January 2012. CLICK HERE for more information. Public Services Inside Out Putting co-production into practice In preparation for the 2012 Reforming Public Services Summit, we have made available for download two excellent collections of case studies from the UK on putting co-production into practice. The first collection Public Services Inside Out was produced in 2010 by NESTA (National Endowment on Sciences, Technology and the Arts., and the New Economics Foundation. Here is the Executive Summary: "This report is about real stories of reform, led by people who work in and use public services. The examples included in this report didn’t rely on expensive consultants, troublesome IT systems, or grand blueprints drawn up in Whitehall departments and Westminster think tanks. They depended only on the commitment and creativity of frontline workers and members of the public who wanted better services. In spite of this – or more likely because of it – these examples represent a radical new approach to public services. They embody what has come to be known as ‘co-production’: public services that rest on an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and neighbours. They exist today not as promises in pamphlets or manifestos, but as real services serving real people more cheaply and more effectively than traditional approaches. This is public services inside out – innovation that overturns the conventional passive relationship between the ‘users’ of services and those who serve them. As we enter a period in which cuts and savings will be made from on high, these examples point to the possibility of a different approach: better, cheaper services created from the ground up by those who know public services the best. This is the second of three reports on co-production from a partnership between nef (the new economics foundation) and NESTA. The first report, The Challenge of Co-production, published in December 2009, identified the problems in trying to reform public services from the centre. It pointed to the exhaustion of improvement efforts through a so-called ‘New Public Management’ of seemingly endless institutional re-wiring, targets and ‘efficiencies’ – especially in the face of long-term challenges such as an ageing population and a rise in debilitating health conditions. ... From family nurse partnerships to parent-run nurseries, community-led justice to patient-led recovery from brain injuries, the examples here demonstrate six main themes. These include recognising people as assets and building on their existing capabilities, establishing mutual responsibilities between professionals and the public, and supporting people to support each other. ... But the fundamental and provocative issue underlying all of these barriers is that co-production is sometimes blocked because it takes seriously the current political rhetoric about ‘devolving power’ and ‘empowering communities’ – because it challenges the costly but conventional model of public services as a ‘product’ that is delivered to a ‘customer’ from on high, and instead genuinely devolves power, choice and control to frontline professionals and the public." CLICK HERE to read the full report. New Economics Foundation Empowerment and Inclusion The second collection of case studies was produced by the New Economics Foundation in 2011. It is titled Creating stronger and more inclusive communities which value everyone's right to contribute. CLICK HERE to read the full report. TACSI  Working with Citizens - Without Any Citizens! The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) was established by the South Australian Government with a grant of $6m in 2008. It is headed by former bureaucrat in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Brenton Caffin. [photo, right] For a mere $3,000 Australians may participate in a two day conference conducted by TACSI in March 2012 titled Towards Co-Design and Co-Production: Working with citizens to design, shape and deliver better policies and services. http://codesignproduction.com/files/2011/11/Co-Design-Co-Production-WEB.pdf Despite the title Working with citizens, there will be no citizens participating in this event in their capacity as citizens, no citizens speaking in their capacity as co-designers and co-producers, and no citizens attending since the attendance fee is set for government officials ($3078.90 - $3408.90) and CEOs of funded charities ($1978.90 - $2308.90). Every contributor to Working with citizens will be a government official, with just one exception, a community sector CEO. In July, the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)   held its annual conference titled Putting Citizens First  examining "Citizen-Centric Service Delivery". Of course, there were no citizens present at this event either. Participants were exclusively public sector bureaucrats or public sector management consultants. This, too, was Putting Citizens First without any citizens. It is doubtful that even George Orwell could anticipate anything quite so Orwellian as these events. The gap between Australia's bureaucratic class and the general public is so vast that public servants (including those seconded to run government-established Centres for Social Innovation or Social Impact), can comfortably discuss "co-production with the public" without any member of the public actually being part of the discussion. A new public agenda on Reforming Public Services that involves citizens is long overdue in Australia. To this end, a Summit on Reforming Public Services will be held in May 2012. Members of the public (citizens, users of services, residents and taxpayers) are invited to be part of the discussion. CLICK HERE for the Summit flyer. Social Enterprise Australia  Leadership in Social Entrepreneurship Social Enterprise Australia was formed on Monday 28 November 2011.   It is a coalition of social enterprises and social entrepreneurs, a peer-generated voice of the social enterprise sector and a tool for development and innovation. Membership is  open to all social enterprises who meet the eligibility criteria (below), and social entrepreneurs. There is no cost. The initial Leadership Council of Social Enterprise Australia comprises: Cameron Burgess  Uncompromise NSW Simon Cox  Hope Street NSW Nick Savaidis  Etiko Fair Trade VIC Cynthia Nadai  Balmain/Rozelle Community Bank NSW Dianne Batterham  Westgate Health Cooperative VIC Chris Mason  Swinburne University VIC Aloma Fennell  The Senior Agenda NSW Cameron Price  Diversitat VIC Chris Burrell  Educare NSW Tim Goh  Life Expedition VIC Susanna Chamberlain Griffith University QLD Gautum Raju  OurSay Australia VIC Paul Bishop  Arts Evolution QLD Dan Petrovic  Dejan SEO  VIC Anita Busch  TAS Vern Hughes  Social Enterprise Partnerships VIC The coalition's founding Statement of Purpose follows. To join Social Enterprise Australia, complete this online membership form.  Statement of Purpose 1. A social enterprise is a market-based business for a social purpose. It may be for-profit or not-for-profit. 2. Social enterprises have a long history in Australia, but lack a peer-generated leadership, a public voice, and shared tools for strategic development and innovation. 3. Social Enterprise Australia is a leadership vehicle and voice for social enterprises in Australia.It will speak to governments and the general public on the value of social enterprise and engage them in the growth and development of the social enterprise sector. 4. The governing body of Social Enterprise Australia is a Leadership Council comprising representatives from the main streams of social enterprise in Australia:        a. cooperatives and mutuals     b. for-profits with a social purpose     c. community sector ventures for a social purpose     d. indigenous businesses and social enterprises     e. rural community businesses and social enterprises     f. environmental businesses and social enterprises     g. consumer empowerment businesses 5. Social Enterprise Australia will advocate for major regulatory reform to create a favourable operating environment for social enterprise. 6. Social Enterprise Australia will advocate for a key role for social enterprise in the reform of service delivery in health, education, community services, housing, indigenous affairs, rural affairs and environmental innovation. 7. Social Enterprise Australia will advocate for a key role for social enterprise in reform of the Australian economy, in diversifying ownership, dispersing assets more broadly, and enhancing competition in all sectors. To join Social Enterprise Australia, complete this online membership form.  National Conference Social Innovation, Social Enterprise, Social Change: Can Citizens, Entrepreneurs, Institutions and Governments Work Together in Transforming Australia? 18-19 June 2012 This two day conference in June 2012 will explore the fields of social innovation and social enterprise, and examine the place of citizens, entrepreneurs, institutions and governments within these fields, and the relationships between them. The conference aims to achieve some conceptual clarity and strategic purpose in areas which are frequently misunderstood. People interested in contributing papers, presentations and workshops are invited to express their interest to info@civilsociety.org.au Kate Lawrence  Call to Action: National community-led disaster organisation A number of community focussed citizens from across Australia are planning a two day meeting in Melbourne in March/April 2012 to discuss the establishment of a Community-led National Disaster organisation.  The following is to help explain why we think there is a need for such an organisation, and why and how you can become involved.  Why do we need a National Community Led Disaster organisation?  Currently there is a gap between the stated goal of governments in wanting to give communities a pivotal role in emergency management,  the real opportunities for community-led decision-making  and the skill and capacity of citizens and communities in assuming this responsibility. Governments are big, and bound by bureaucratic procedures. As such, they are slow to adapt and can struggle to action desired strategies. Governments are big, and bound by bureaucratic procedures. As such, they are slow to adapt and can struggle to action desired strategies. Community leaders and active citizens are desperate, because of their experiences or interest, to have a lead role and a strong voice in managing the risk. However, there are no avenues available at present to facilitate this. There needs to be a fundamental change or shift in the relationship between citizens, communities and governments. There is a crisis in governance and a disaster brings this to light. This shift needs to build on the passion, local knowledge and self-organising capacities of local disaster impacted communities and should signal a shift away from Tier upon Tier decision-making to Peer to Peer collaboration. This is best exemplified in deliberative and participatory stakeholder-inclusive processes initiated as disaster preparedness strategies and then formally enacted as disaster-response and disaster community renewal decision-making processes. The amalgamation of smaller local governments into larger Councils has meant that in the aftermath of a disaster there is an absence of a local authorising environment or agent at the township level.  This creates significant challenges in community preparedness, and in the response and personal and community renewal after a disaster.  What could such an organisation do? Focussing on preparation, prevention, response and renewal after disaster, it could:  Provide strong advocacy and direct representation of community interests and alternative strategies and approaches to emergency management agencies and government departments. ·     Provide input into and feedback on government, non-government organisations, peak bodies and corporations and businesses emergency management policy and strategy development. Be proactive in advancing the issues experienced and identified by communities to government, non-government organisations, peak bodies and corporations and businesses. Provide input into government emergency management policy development. Provide a space that encourages and allows free and frank discussion about issues arising from living with the risk and consequences of disasters, outside the confines of government, NGOs and business. Resource, support and enable community groups and citizens. Encourage and enable independent, citizen led, community research and impacted community reviews of disaster events. Ensure grants and resources are accessible for community members and groups to encourage initiative, diversity and local solutions to local issues. Connecting community groups and citizens with common interest in disaster, and encourage translocalism (direct sharing of experiences and learning between one local community). Be informed and directed by the issues arising at community level. Provide a channel/outlet for local community members who have developed an interest and experience in community disaster responses and preparation. ·     Foster a change in the disaster recovery paradigm from a government and funded agency led approach focussed on individual and family welfare to a community-led approach that is based on holistic community dynamics and social, economic, cultural and political determinants analysis and systemic, structural and strategic community-level development. Explore socially innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to these issues. ·         We will develop an online set of tools by the end of the year.  The aim will be to begin the conversation online to develop ideas and connections, to utilise the capacity of online tools to get things started, and to enable the most to be made of the face-to-face time. If you are interested in being involved in the discussion to set up this organisation, or being kept in the loop of developments, please contact Kate Lawrence katel@alphalink.com.au or 0402 080 445. Street by Street  Recovering the art of neighbourliness Street by Street is a national neighbourhood support program that links people who live in the same street or nearby. The focus is on practical helping tasks such as taking the bin in and out, hanging washing, getting a few items from the shops, or getting mail from the letter box.  We would like to hear from individuals and organisations around the country interested in participating in rolling out Street by Street on a national scale. Community centres, service clubs, neighbourhood houses, community health centres, scout and guide groups, and voluntary associations are some of the organisations participating in auspicing a local Street by Street initiative. An Information for Participants Kit is available here. A Workshop on Street by Street will be held in Melbourne on Monday 20 February 2012. For information on the Workshop, email info@civilsociety.org.au Neighbours not volunteers Participants in a Street by Street link-up are not volunteers, they are people in a voluntary relationship with their neighbours, as neighbours. The aim of Street by Street is to recover the practice, and art, of neighbourliness. We don’t want to surround this activity with rules and regulations, nor do we want to subject participants to the usual procedures that volunteers in formal organizations are subject to.    Street by Street is a very simple program that aims to re-kindle links between neighbours that might once have formed spontaneously but which, in our day and age, require a little facilitation. It is our intention to run Street by Street as a simple informal network, operating on a very large scale across Australia. More information is available at Street by Street.   An Information for Participants Kit is available here. Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets  Expressions of Interest A National Steering Group on Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets was established in May to exercise leadership and coordination across Australia in the development of self-directed services and personal    budgets in aged care, chronic and mental illness, disability, special    education and vocational training, and other areas of intensive personal and social support for individuals and families. The brief of the Steering Group is to develop tools, systems, infrastructure, peer and professional supports for large numbers of Australians in exercising self-management in their personal and social supports.     Expressions of Interest are invited in the following areas:   Family-Management of Aged Care Packages National Register of Aged Care Agencies Willing to Host Family-Managed Arrangements Consumer/Family-Managed Support Models in Mental Health Consumer/Family-Managed Care Budgets and Support Models in Chronic Illness Families Wanting to Self-Manage Integration Aide Funding in Schools Families Wanting to Self-Manage VET Funding National Register of Schools and VET Agencies Willing to Host Family-Managed Arrangements Consumer and Family-Management of Disability Supports National Register of Disability Agencies Willing to Host Consumer/Family-Managed Arrangements Web-Based Portal - A Technology Platform for Consumer and Family-Management in Aged Care, Chronic Illness, Mental Illness, Disability and Education Matching Support Workers with Individuals Needing Support CLICK HERE for further information on Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets. Members of the Steering Group are: Siegfried Drews (VIC) managed his wife Mardi's 24 hour care needs through a technology portal he designed himself to assist in the recruitment and direct employment of staff. [photo, right: Siegfried] Claire Rennox (QLD) worked on the introduction and ongoing implementation of Direct Payments in Scotland and is now working in Disability Services, Queensland with individuals who are utilising self directed care. Lorraine Hitt (WA) is Chair of Planned Individual Networks in WA, is negotiating self-management arrangements for her 47 year old son with multiple disabilities, and works as a Local Area Coordinator with the Disability Services Commission. Margaret Gray (VIC) is developing models for her 92 year old mother's EACH aged care package. Trevor Parmenter (NSW) is Emeritus Professor and Foundation Chair of Developmental Disability at the University of Sydney and is a leading researcher and innovator in ageing, community living, and physical and mental health. Ruth Robinson (NSW) is Executive Officer of the Physical Disability Council of NSW. Peter Sparrow (SA) is CEO of the Carer Support and Respite Centre, and carer for his 21 year old step daughter who has physical and intellectual disabilities. George Vassilou (VIC) manages his ageing mother's care package and his 23 year old daughter Natasha's disability package. [photo, right: George and his mother] Wendy Hudson (WA) is Manager of PolicyDevelopment and Quality Assurance at Alzheimer's Australia WA, and a long time advocate of self-directed care. Colin Peterson (VIC) is Finance Manager of the Cerebral Palsy Support Network. Sherryn West (QLD) is Business Services Manager for Micah Projects, developing individualised support arrangements for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and mental illness. Brian Wild (VIC) lives in Echuca and, together with his wife Lynne, manages the support packages of their adult sons with disabilities. Livia Auer (ACT) is carer and legal guardian of her 32 year old sister Melanie who has an intellectual disability, and has recently begun managing Melanie's support package. Peter Baker (QLD) is Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland's Rural Clinical School. Annette Herbert (SA) manages a support package for her 32 year old daughter Renee who has cerebral palsy and life threatening epilepsy. Maree Ireland (VIC) is a person with multiple disabilities and coordinates a project on self-directed approaches at field - furthering inclusive learning and development. Ruth Davey (SA) is a Director of Community Support and parent of a daughter with an intellectual disability participating in Phase 1 of self-managed funding in SA. Christine Regan (NSW) is a parent of a 33 year old daughter with Down Syndrome, is Senior Policy Officer for Disability for the New South Wales Council of Social Services, and is secretary of the NSW Council on Intellectual Disability. Leslee Hogan (QLD) lives in Atherton in Far North Queensland and manages a support package for her 25 year old son Paul who acquired a severe brain injury at the age of 20. Kerry Hawkins (WA) is a family carer for her husband who has schizophrenia. Suzette Gallagher (VIC) has managed her 45 year old son Shaun's disability package for 20 years. Suzanne Haydon (NSW) is an innovator and film maker and carer for her ageing mother. Deb Shipman (NSW) lives in Coffs Harbour and is developing self-directed supports in ageing and disability through Mid North Coast Community Care Options. Ian Bruce (SA) is is a volunteer social advocate with experience in business who has managed a consumer-directed EACH package on behalf of his sister. Miriam Dixon (NSW) is CEO of Parkinson's NSW. Sue Harrison (VIC) is a parent of a 26 year old daughter with intellectual    disability and mental health issues, in receipt of a small respite package. Tracey Forster (VIC) is Manager of Self-Management Support at Goulburn Valley Health in Shepparton. Coralie Jensen (NSW) is a parent of an adult son with an intellectual disability, and Chair of Side by Side Advocacy. Sharon Van der Laan (WA) is Executive Director of the Genetic Support Council WA. Jennie Somerville (NSW) is a survivor of mental illness and advocate for self-directed services in mental health. Galina Kozoolin (VIC) is Aged Care Manager at South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre. Ali Ayliffe (SA) is Manager of Care Services for Older People at UnitingCare Wesley. Sam Mauchline (QLD) is a parent of a 40 year old son Paul requiring 24 hour support and care. Jennifer Mollett (NSW) lives in Wollongong and has worked on self-directed services in New Zealand. Vern Hughes (Convenor VIC) is a parent of two sons with autism and mental illnesses and Director of Social Enterprise Partnerships.     Volunteer  Three roles available with the Centre for Civil Society The Centre for Civil Society is experiencing huge growth in the scope and scale of its activities. If you are looking for a volunteer role that is intellectually stimulating and practically challenging, we want to hear from you. We have three roles for which we are seeking to appoint volunteers. Applicants are invited from all states and territories, for varying time commitments. Events Organiser - assisting in the organisation of forums and conferences Writer - mentoring and support is available in writing news and opinion pieces on various topics which fit the Centre's agenda Administrative Assistant - assisting in various administrative, financial and database management tasks If you have an interest in any of these roles, please send a CV along with a covering letter on your interest in the work of the Centre to Liz Stewart. Organising by Federal Electorate     CLICK HERE to register in your electorate (there is no cost). On registering, participants will be connected to an online forum in their electorate, and will receive access to resources and guidelines for local activity. CLICK HERE for more information.  Events        February 20 2012 Street by Street - Workshop for Participants Workshop Melbourne March 26/27 2012 Social Innovation and Community Building in Sport National Conference Melbourne May 7/8 2012: Reforming Public Services - Towards citizen-centred social policy and empowered users of public service National Summit Melbourne.  June 18/19 2012  Social Innovation, Social Enterprise, Social Change: Can Citizens, Entrepreneurs, Institutions and Governments Work Together in Transforming Australia? National Conference Melbourne.   This message notifies you of news, events, publications and opinions from the Centre for Civil Society, a not-for-profit think tank leading an empowerment agenda for ordinary people in Australia and a strengthening of civil society. Unsubscribe:  If you no longer wish to receive this update, simply reply to this email with 'unsubscribe' in the text or subject line. Centre for Civil Society  http:www.civilsociety.org.au PO Box 159 Yarraville Vic 3013	THE CENTRE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY We are the only think tank in Australia committed to a wide-ranging agenda of empowerment of ordinary people and strengthening of civil society..   Visit our Website     MAKING IT PERSONAL Charles Leadbeater, Jamie Bartlett and Niamh Gallagher have authored this highly influential Demos Report on Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets. This small publication is set have a lasting impact on social policy debate for many years to come. Charlie Leadbeater Click here to read Making It Personal.           NOW AVAILABLE: Click here to purchase this book. $26.95               NOW AVAILABLE: For purchases, contact Audra Kunciunas Tel 03 9878 3477 Email admin@cra.org.au               NOW AVAILABLE: Click here to purchase this book. $15.95               LEFT AND RIGHT? "The Left and Right have been as bad as each other. The Left has allowed its distrust of markets and endless faith in government to obscure the importance of civil society. The Right has been so focused on replacing the state with markets that it has forgotten how to cultivate a trusting society. This is the politics of the absurd. The Left identifies with the good society but rarely talks about the mutualism and trust between people. The Right recognises the importance of moral obligation but gives the impression of trusting market transactions more than civil society." Mark Latham, Mutualism: A Third Way for Australia," 1999. CLICK HERE to read more.                NOW AVAILABLE: Click here to purchase this book. $29.95               NOW AVAILABLE: Click here to purchase this book.               NOW AVAILABLE: Click here to purchase this book. $29.95         SURVEYS   If you are the proprietor of a small business, please send us your thoughts on how we can support small businesses through our  SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY If you are caring for a family member at home who has an illness or disability or aged frailty, please click here to participate in our  Family CarERS SURVEY.                consultant(s)  Alternative to school-teaching and unemployment. What the dejobbed, rightsized     and decruited become. Something to do after politics or sport. Lifestyle  incorporated. The plague-rats of managerialism.   'So that said, you can get consulting work knowing very little, as long as you can do what the client is paying you to do, and do it well.'   - The Consultant's Consultant  (Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, Contemporary Clichés, Cant & Management Jargon, page 84.)               JOIN US The Centre brings together people in each federal electorate (150 electorates around Australia) to work locally in engaging our communities and our  representatives in an agenda of respect, empowerment, inclusion. CLICK HERE to join us               MAKING IT PERSONAL Charles Leadbeater, Jamie Bartlett and Niamh Gallagher have authored this highly influential Demos Report on Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets. This small publication is set have a lasting impact on social policy debate for many years to come. Charlie Leadbeater Click here to read Making It Personal.               CENTRE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY brings together people in each federal electorate (150 electorates around Australia) to work locally in effecting change and influencing policy and opinion, with a special focus on disability, mental health education, and family carer issues.  CLICK HERE to join us               NOW AVAILABLE: Click here to purchase this book.               NOW AVAILABLE: This collection of essays is  available online here.