Martin Narey, Chief Executive of
Barnardo's and formerly Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), has warned voluntary organisations of 'The Price of Complacency'. In a presentation to a recent ACEVO conference, subsequently summarised in an article in The Guardian, Martin sets out clearly some of the challenges facing voluntary organisations in the current environment. He highlights within these the need to demonstrate effectiveness and measurable outcomes. He writes:
'As the Audit Commission concluded this year: "There is very little evidence, at either national or local level, on the performance and value for money secured from voluntary sector providers".
'It is inconceivable that we can continue to get away with this. One of my priorities at Barnardo's is to ensure that, by the beginning of next year, 90% of each of our 400 projects around the UK has measurable outcomes in place - outcomes that measure how many children we help and the effect of that help, outcomes that we shall seek to improve year on year.
'We need to demonstrate our effectiveness to the local authorities and others with whom we contract.' Martin Narey
Martin has kindly allowed us to feature his article - it's worth a read.
Download the full '
The Price of Complacency' article as published in the Guardian.