Latest CSI News - Centre for Social Impact

Developing an ethical culture

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -1000

CSI Ethics Fellow, Patrick McClure, discusses how to establish and maintain an ethical culture within organisations, in the August edition of ‘The Board Builder’.

He says there is a strong business case for CEOs and boards of not-for-profit organisations to build a strong ethical culture, including managing risk, being accountable to stakeholders, building capacity in the organisation and protecting reputation.

“CEOs and boards set the standards of ethical behaviour in their organisation,” he says.

Patrick outlines five ways of improving ethical culture; 1) lay the foundations for governance and management; 2) structure the board to add value; 3) promote ethical decision making; 4) promote effective financial management; and 5) recognise and manage risk.

Read the article titled 'Do the right thing - developing an ethical culture', which appeared in Board Builder magazine,- August 2010

Public servants and the impasse

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Peter Shergold was a guest on ABC’s Saturday Extra this week where he discussed the role of senior public servants during the caretaker period, together with Stephen Bartos, former Deputy Secretary of the Department Of Finance and presenter Richard Aedy.

Peter discussed the conventions and protocols for senior public servants in the caretaker period and the inherent difficulties in providing frank, fearless and robust advice in the current environment, particularly to the independents. He said senior public servants needed to remain nonpartisan and therefore not provide opinion on policies.

He said while that might seem straightforward, “In fact, as Stephen and I know from Senate Estimates Committees or indeed from the caretaker period, it's much, much harder, because it doesn't take too much thought to ask questions that are administrative or technical but have high political content.”

Peter also noted that a likely outcome of the negotiations with the independents was reform of parliamentary processes including the conduct of question time, debates on matters of public importance and representation of independents on parliamentary committees, which, he said, had the potential to improve the conduct of parliament.

Listen to the full program.

ABS presents draft Information Development Plan for third sector

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -1000

CSI welcomes the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ response to the Productivity Commission recommendation to develop a “knowledge base” for the not-for-profit sector and supports the proposals presented in the Draft Information Development Plan for the third sector. CSI commends ABS for the emphasis on coproduction of knowledge through collaboration between ABS, government agencies, research centres and sector peak bodies. CSI shares ABS’s view that the sector and related research community needs a statistical evidence base to participate in policy debate, gain an understanding of demand for services and move toward program evaluation and impact measurement.

However, ABS make it clear that many of the proposed developments will need significant additional funding and currently ABS is not in a position to create a measurement framework or carry out significant data collections related to the sector.

The paper highlights an early priority as being the standardisation of terminology and definitions for the sector. ABS, as the national statistical agency, uses the term ‘non-profit institutions’ which features in the United Nations System of National Accounts. However, the paper recognises the diversity of legal forms and organising models, with the emergence of new business structures and funding models such as social enterprises and social businesses, which have created a blurring around traditional definitions.

ABS also underlines the need for better understanding of the number and activities of small non-employing community organisations, concluding that the overall measurement of the third sector could be best conducted by a National Registrar which was recommended by the Productivity Commission.

A stocktake of currently available information and data on the sector is recommended, and the paper suggests that this step could be carried out by university research institutes in collaboration with peak bodies and other agencies, as part of a move toward developing a collaborative data model for the sector. The paper stresses the importance of accessibility and availability of data, and the need for the data to be kept in the public domain. CSI is also committed to a collaborative and data commons approach.

The draft plan recognises the need for more regular and detailed data on giving, and suggests the inclusion of questions on individual giving in a household-based survey such as the General Social Survey or Household Expenditure Survey, as well as questions on corporate giving and philanthropic foundations in business surveys conducted by ABS. It also recognises that there is a need for ongoing data on volunteering, a good-quality ongoing satellite account and statistical data on the issues faced by the sector. Collection of qualitative information using purposive samples and case studies is considered by the paper to be best carried out by research institutes and peak bodies.

The paper suggests that the best way to promote the data and improve its accessibility may be through the creation of a knowledge hub or ‘one-stop-shop’ for the sector and acknowledges the potential contribution of CSI’s bid to establish the Knowledge for Social Impact Cooperative Research Centre.

Read the full paper here.

Negotiating for minority government

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

An excerpt from this article appeared in The Australian Financial Review - Friday 27 Aug 2010, entitled 'Substance and pork for the independents'.

Australian Public Servants have put in much hard work over the election period preparing the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ books of political commitments, ready to brief an incoming government of either persuasion. These crucial documents have now become less authoritative. Mandates, so carefully recorded for implementation purposes, are up for negotiation.

The process of democratic transition has become more complex. Normal service may not be resumed for some time. The reason is that the election has resulted in a hung Parliament. That’s not happened at the Commonwealth level since September 1940.

The historical precedent is not reassuring for those who hope for the speedy negotiation of minority government for a full term. The United Australia Party coalition was forced to resign in October 1941 when the two independents voted down the Budget. They subsequently shifted their allegiance to John Curtin’s Labor government.

Both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are now turning their minds to what can be offered to 4 independents and a Green to win more assured support. A formal coalition is not necessary. The level of partnership agreed can be tailored to each individual although almost certainly, remembering 1941, they would wish to secure commitments to support Budgetary Supply Bills.

Each side has a range of options that they can offer to try and exercise government. Think of them as the 4 P’s of Power. Played carefully they can strengthen the genuine resolve of the independents to provide political stability. An early poll is in no-one’s best interest.

The first card is policy. Existing commitments can be modified or deferred and new priorities agreed. The question is whether such horse-trading (the technical term, I understand) is likely to be successful. Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter are united not only in their animosity towards the Nationals but by a conviction that rural Australia deserves more equitable access to government services (not least telecommunications). Commitments on infrastructure investment will also be sought.

However, the policy negotiations will be made harder by the fact that beyond their superficial unity of perspective the country independents hold very different views on many things. Oakeshott wants to see control of carbon emissions legislated; Windsor has a longstanding focus on rural health; and Katter looks back fondly to the era of agricultural subsidies.

Adam Bandt has the advantage that his demands will be presented as part of a coherent Green position that may open the door to government gaining a Senate majority on those policies that require legislative support, especially when newly elected Green Senators take their seats in mid-2011. Andrew Wilkie, previously a Green candidate, continues to subscribe to much of that agenda. Nevertheless, he will undoubtedly argue his own distinctive views on national security issues.

The second card is political position. Independents can be offered both power and status. Oakeshott has already made it clear that he is not interested in being appointed Speaker as it would “take him out of the game”. Others may hold a different view. It is possible that the major parties will contemplate providing independents with Ministerial positions although offering a Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Australia is more likely. A ‘unity Cabinet’ will not be formed.

Other more innovative measures might be considered. In the lead-up to an election public servants are able to provide detailed briefings on the departmental administration of programs to Shadow Ministers. A similar arrangement could be set in place for independents in return for their ongoing support.

The third card is good old-fashioned pork-barrelling. Time and time again in the past Senator Harradine was able to win projects for Tasmania as a price for his political support. Wilkie is already talking in similar terms. There is a wide variety of measures that could end up benefiting the electorates of independents, from roads and tourism centres to government offices and call-centres. Thankfully, however, the opportunity to direct discretionary grant programs as political favours is constrained by the independent scrutiny of the Auditor-General.

Fourth, and a more elevating prospect, there are Parliamentary processes. Here exist real opportunities for reform on a broad range of issues from the conduct of Question Time and debates on Matters of Public Importance to scrutiny of legislation. The lofty rhetoric of a consensual and collegial polity may find muted substance in the strengthening of Parliamentary committees and the role that independents can play on them.

Committees of the House of Representatives, or Joint Committees of both Houses, offer potential for the independents to scrutinise government activity, including the conduct of public administration and development of policy. Key roles on the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit or, for example, on the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, could be offered. The majority of committee members are nominated by the Government. Here, clearly, is an opportunity for the independents to secure a more active, influential and visible role in Parliament.

The negotiations necessary to secure the support of independents have the potential to make parliamentary processes more transparent, efficient and consensual. But will they ensure stable executive government for the next 3 years?

The answer will probably lie not in the erratic behaviour of the independents but in the unity of the major party forming government. It was the disunity in the United Australia Party coalition, rather than the unreasonable demands of the two independents, which brought about the demise of the Fadden government in 1941. Perhaps that is the major lesson to be learned from Australia’s last experience of a Federal minority government.

Peter Shergold, Macquarie Group Foundation Professor at the Centre for Social Impact, used to be the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Social Innovation Dialogues – Ezio Manzini

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Videos now available for Ezio Manzini visit.

Ezio Manzini, Professor of Design at the Politecnico di Milano, is one of the world's leading thinkers on design for social innovation and sustainability. He was recently in Australia for the Social Innovation Dialogues, hosted by the Centre for Social Impact, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation and the Australian Social Innovation Exchange.

The Social Innovator Dialogues aim to challenge people to think differently about the big issues affecting nations and communities and to find practical ways to integrate innovative approaches into responding to unmet social needs.

Over 700 people attended Ezio’s master-classes and public forums in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney where he discussed up-scaling social innovation and the interplay between social innovation, new forms of governance, innovative businesses and design as a promoter of lasting sustainable changes.

Ezio discusses new ways of solving problems and living for greater social and environmental sustainability.

“Transition towards sustainability requires radical changes in the way we produce and consume and, more generally, in the way we live. In fact, we need to learn how to live better and, at the same time, reduce our ecological footprint and improve the quality of our social fabric,” he said.

Ezio examined “creative communities” that, in the current environment, behave in a way that is different from the “unsustainable mainstream”. He argued that these communities provide tangible examples of sustainable enterprises that can be up-scaled.

Up-scaling can occur, he said, not just through innovative activities growing larger in scale but also through the linking and networking of smaller activities. He argued that it is through replicating and synergising these small innovations that greater social impact can be created.

The Social Innovation Dialogues with Ezio Manzini can be viewed here

Peter Shergold talks about participatory democracy on ABC's 'One Plus One'

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Peter Shergold spoke to Jane Hutcheons about the Federal Election and participatory democracy, on ABC News 24's One Plus One program last Friday, emphasising the increasingly important role of community organisations as vehicles for political engagement.

Peter talked about the Citizen's Assembly put forward by Julia Gillard, saying it 'offered something really interesting, but came across as a giant focus group'.....he said that the proposal was the right solution presented in the wrong context, as it could readily be portrayed as a form of procrastination to delay making hard political decisions.

Peter also referred to other forms of democracy which are emerging such as Citizen's Juries and People's Forums, 'and good old-fashioned Town Hall meetings', driven in part by social media. He believes these forms of citizen engagement can reinvigorate a political dialogue, providing opportunities for participation in the way that political parties and trade unions used to do.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon and journalist Alan Ramsey also feature in this interview.

Watch video

To find out more about participatory democracy:

- Watch interview with Jonty Olliff-Cooper entitled 'Resuscitating Democracy - creating a participatory democracy: The Australia and New Zealand Public Sector Summit'

- Read 'Been there, done that, still hoping for more' by Peter Shergold, published in The Griffith Review Edition 24 - Participation Society

- Read 'A Quiet Revolution' by Cheryl Kernot, published in The Griffith Review Edition 24 - Participation Society

Peter Shergold discusses effective leadership on ABC’s Saturday Extra election-day special

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Peter Shergold, with fellow guests, Michael Traill, CEO Social Ventures Australia and Catherine Fox, Deputy Editor of AFR Boss magazine, discussed effective leadership with Saturday Extra presenter Geraldine Doogue outside the Eastwood Primary School polling booth on election-day.

“Leadership is about having a clear vision for the future, but it is also about leadership behaviours that can help to bring it about. My sense is that people in the workplace want leadership behaviours that emphasise collaboration, partnership, negotiation and teamwork, and, increasingly I think, they want to see that also within the political system,” Peter said.

“The irony is that if you think about it, in politics you need a leadership of collaboration more than any other area. Our parliamentary system depends on it. We've got a federal structure; the whole point of Cabinet is to have a collaborationist type of approach to leadership in order to get collective responsibility,” he said.

“And yet then we run our election campaigns as if we have a presidential system, in which the emphasis is on a very strong leadership, with far less emphasis on collaboration.”

Listen to the full program on ABC Radio National Saturday Extra, Sat 21 August 2010

Labor to invest in knowledge base for NFP sector

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Senator Ursula Stephens has announced on the ALP Blog that Labor, if re-elected, will invest in a knowledge base for the not-for-profit sector.

Senator Stephens commented in the blog post;

“The Productivity Commission recommended an investment in knowledge systems in the sector and a re-elected Gillard Labor Government will achieve this through an investment of $36m in the Social Innovation Cooperative Research Centre projects to target research on major social challenges.” This follows Labor’s earlier commitment to the formation of an Office of the Not-For-Profit Sector and a move toward simplified regulation of third sector organisations.

Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) are consortia built on collaboration between industry stakeholders and leading researchers and universities, supported through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s CRC program and other government grants, employing long-term end-user defined research projects to address major challenges faced by the industry. CSI is part of the consortium backing the Knowledge 4 Social Impact CRC bid.

Applications open for the AGSM Alumni Community Leader Scholarship at Australian School of Business

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Staff from the not for profit sector are invited to apply for a scholarship to undertake an MBA (Executive ) in the AGSM MBA program at the Australian School of Business, UNSW.

Many not for profit (NFP) organisations have limited financial resources to provide management training to their staff. This issue was recognised by AGSM alumni who decided to raise funds to create the AGSM Alumni Community Leader Scholarship so that individuals from the sector could participate in the MBA and bring the skills and knowledge they gain back to their organisation.

The scholarship provides a unique opportunity for an individual working in the NFP sector to access the world-class teaching and research provided by the AGSM MBA programs. It also allows students to learn from their peers in the corporate and government sectors, as well as share their own NFP management experiences and challenges.

An AGSM MBA (Executive) is a part time business management and leadership development program where your own job provides the raw material that you apply to your studies. The scholarship covers the costs of the entire program and the recipient will also have the option to attend Executive Education programs run by the Centre for Social Impact.

Awarded for the first time in 2008, scholarship recipient Laurel Draffen from NSW Federation of Housing Associations reflects on her experience;

“My MBA studies are helping me develop and implement new business skills for the complex not-for-profit sector where building business capability is vital. The program is giving me the opportunity to take my knowledge and skills to a new level and the confidence to step up to executive level decision making. I did not expect the opportunity to complete these MBA studies to be such a life enhancing experience as well as such a significant contribution to the sector. The opportunity to network with other business professionals has been an enormously positive experience.”

The scholarship offers full course fees to talented leaders in the not-for-profit sector to undertake a part time AGSM Executive MBA starting in 2011. Applications are open now and will close on 23 October. For more information about the scholarship or to apply click here.

For more information about the AGSM Executive MBA program please contact the admissions team on (02) 9931 9490 or visit: http://www.agsm.edu.au/futureleaders
This scholarship has been established thanks to the support from AGSM MBA alumni.

2010 Commonwealth Bank Social Impact Scholarship

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Georgina de Beaujeu, National Manager, Strategic Planning and Business Improvement at the Australian Red Cross, has been awarded the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Social Impact Scholarship.

Trent Moy, the Commonwealth Bank’s General Manager of Sustainability, said the Scholarship is part of the Commonwealth Bank’s commitment to those who work in the third (not-for-profit) sector.

“We were delighted with the response from partner organisations that encouraged their staff to apply for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact. I congratulate Georgina on being the inaugural winner of the Commonwealth Bank Social Impact Scholarship,” said Trent.

Georgina said the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact would contribute to the networks, management and leadership skills required to pursue her aim of establishing and operating a social enterprise.

“I want my future to be focused on working with others to bring inspirational ideas to life, particularly in the areas of health and well being, food security and livelihoods,” said Georgina.

“Business should be about more than shareholder value – it should also be about improving lives though social and environmental outcomes.

“I am inspired by the opportunities afforded by the juncture between market forces, government policy, not-for-profits and society. The complex interplay between these groups is critical to obtaining the most from both the ‘for-profit’ and ‘not-for-profit’ sector and to understand the levers better will positively inform future endeavours,” she said.

The Graduate Certificate in Social Impact is offered by the Centre for Social Impact through its three founding partner business schools: the Australian School of Business at UNSW, Melbourne Business School and Swinburne University of Technology's Faculty of Business and Enterprise. In 2011 it will also be available at our partner UWA Business School.

The Commonwealth Bank Social Impact Scholarship is available to an employee of a recognised not-for-profit organisation that has a connection with the Commonwealth Bank Group and provides $10,000 to offset tuition fees for the program.

Find out more about the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact