Civil Society Unleashed December 2020 Contents Capital Ideas: the importance of properly valuing our country’s social capital Social capital: the economy’s rocket fuel Page 1 - Andy Haldane, Bank of England Seizing the moment: why Covid provides a chance for lasting change Page 5 - Kajal Odedra, Change.org Civil society and the generations Page 9 - Rt Hon the Lord David Willetts, Resolution Foundation It’s time to unleash the power of youth Page 13 - Jason Arthur, Youth Futures Foundation Why we need civil society to stand up and lead Page 17 - Polly Neate CBE, Shelter Unleashing social power Page 21 - Sue Tibballs OBE, Sheila McKechnie Foundation Civil Partners: optimising outcomes across the private, public and social sectors Inclusive localism: communities’ place in a globalised world Page 26 - Professor Raghuram Rajan, University of Chicago Booth School of Business The importance of reciprocity in gluing society back together Page 30 - Rt Hon Professor the Lord David Blunkett, University of Sheffield The power and potential of places Page 34 - Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol Business is back in the community Page 38 - Amanda Mackenzie OBE, Business in the Community Civil society and business: a two-way street Page 42 - Heidi Mottram CBE, Northumbrian Water Group Imagining better: prioritising people and planet over growth Page 46 - Vicky Browning & Kristiana Wrixon, ACEVO The ‘dugnad’ spirit: valuing the invaluable Page 49 - Marte Borhaug, Aviva Investors From ‘sectors’ to ‘system’: partnership working and civil society’s Page 53 role in tackling inequality - Rt Hon Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester Unleashing Potential: making the most of our civil society Structural improvements: ideas for supporting a thriving civil society Page 58 - Dan Corry, New Philanthropy Capital An uncertain future: the need to better understand the potential of Page 63 civil society - Dame Julia Unwin, Civil Society Futures 2017-2018 Small charities are here to stay Page 67 - Rita Chadha, Small Charities Coalition About. For. From: unpicking the sector’s data pessimism Page 71 - Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation Entrepreneurial philanthropy for all Page 76 - Sir Peter Lampl, the Sutton Trust A new social covenant Page 80 - Danny Kruger MBE, Member of Parliament for Devizes Civil society in our extremely digital world Page 83 - Cassie Robinson, the National Lottery Community Fund About the Law Family Commission on Civil Society The UK is rightly proud of its civil society. The Law Family Commission on Civil Society But though we have pride in it, and we trust it, is created by Pro Bono Economics with the the social sector is undervalued and too often generous support of Andrew Law and the overlooked. Public policy focuses on human, Law Family Charitable Foundation. financial and physical capital, and says little about social capital. An undervalued civil society Pro Bono Economics uses economics to will never be as effective or as strong as it could support the social sector and to increase be. And a strong civil society is needed now wellbeing across the UK. The charity combines more than ever. project work for individual not-for-profits and social enterprises with policy research that can The Law Family Commission on Civil drive systemic change. Society is an ambitious programme of ground- breaking research into how we can unleash the The Law Family Charitable Foundation potential of civil society to was created in 2011 by Andrew & Zoë Law. harness and enhance the powerful It has supported a wide range of charities community bonds that exist in our nation. and charitable initiatives over the years It will look at how to get all three – predominantly in education and health, sectors – public, private and social – firing alongside social mobility and the environment. on all cylinders to build truly inclusive growth. It will provide tangible ideas for policy, companies, philanthropists and society to tackle the systemic challenges that are stopping civil society delivering on its potential. To achieve this, it has assembled 17 Commissioners, drawn from business, from public policy, from charity, from philanthropy and from community organising. Foreword It is March 2010 and an election is just weeks away. If ever there is a quiet time when you are the Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service this is it. I am on a train up to Birmingham in my role as patron of Pro Bono Economics (PBE) to visit a community centre and learn more about the St Basil’s project to help young homeless people find jobs and accommodation. PBE wanted to help the charity measure its impact and enhance its effectiveness. And I wanted the economists working on this project to understand the real challenges many people face in our society often through no fault of their own. Gillian Tett from the Financial Times called it in reenergising and reshaping social action ‘Mission Improbable: Can I persuade the world after Covid (Kajal Odedra, Change.org). that economists are useful?’ That challenge is This set of essays also explores how that value ongoing, but I hope all the economist is at risk. Sue Tibballs of the Sheila McKechnie volunteers who have worked with PBE are Foundation (SMK) traces how the government’s proving that we can make a difference. closing of civic space limits civil society’s ability to generate this kind of ‘social power’. To keep The Law Family Commission on Civil Society is driving positive policy change, Polly Neate of now taking on a bigger task, namely, to consider Shelter challenges charities to get louder and how civil society can unleash its full potential. To make their voices heard. do so, we are drawing on skills and experience far beyond economics. These essays show the In a second set of essays, “Civil Partners”, our breadth of learning available. essayists make the case that collaboration between the private, public and social sectors That is needed because they also demonstrate can improve outcomes for all. Professor Lord the wide nature of the challenge: can we David Blunkett (University of Sheffield) encourage more people to volunteer, particularly stresses civil society’s role in strengthening the young and less advantaged? Can we help participative democracy, while Vicky charities quantify their impact on society? Can Browning and Kristiana Wrixon of ACEVO we encourage greater philanthropy? What is challenge narratives about civil society’s the right balance between the private, public overdependence on government support, and civic sectors? What is the right balance presenting it instead as an essential partner between campaigning activities and providing in creating social value. In the same vein, direct help? Heidi Mottram draws on her experience as CEO of the Northumbrian Water Group to nuance The first set of essays in this collection, “Capital conceptions of businesses as exclusively Ideas”, discuss the importance of properly benefactors of civil society. Instead, she joins valuing our country’s civil society and our social Marte Borhaug (Aviva Investors) in exploring capital. We hear from Andy Haldane, Chief how civil society is a vital ingredient for Economist at the Bank of England, who outlines successful businesses. For Amanda Mackenzie how social capital drives economic and social (Business in the Community), recognising this progress and the role that civil society has to intrinsic interrelatedness means businesses play here. Other essayists explore civil society’s continue to support local communities. role in empowering the at-risk generation of young people who contribute vitally to their communities (Jason Arthur, Youth Futures Foundation), in supporting inter-generational exchange as a source of civic cohesion (Lord David Willetts, Resolution Foundation), and Looking across all three sectors, Chicago What we see throughout this collection is the Booth University Raghuram Rajan argues huge potential of civil society as a force for social that strengthening local communities is also a change, as our social glue, as a provider of vital necessary step in regaining crucial support for services and as our moral compass. What’s globalised economies. Here, Marvin Rees (Mayor more, we see how this value extends beyond of Bristol) and Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater the social sector, with cross-sector collaboration Manchester) offer distinct takes on how, through as the route to a thriving society. The challenge meaningful devolution, local authorities are for this Commission becomes how to go about uniquely positioned to work with civil society in unleashing this potential, building on the tackling local problems and regional inequalities. foundations our essayists have laid, and working together to achieve meaningful, lasting change Our third set of essays, “Unleashing for our civil society. Potential”, revolves around the question of how to make the most of our civil society. We hope that the Law Family Commission on Setting the scene, Dame Julia Unwin (Chair, Civil Society can provide practical answers which Civil Society Futures 2017-18) describes will enable all sectors to play their part in the how Covid has exposed the fault lines in our recovery. At PBE we are determined to show that society and revealed the need for a collective voluntary efforts can have a real impact. social effort in improving the world we live in. Echoing essays from section two, Danny Kruger MP calls for a social covenant under which community empowerment takes place through collaboration with government and businesses. For Rita Chadha of the Small Charities Coalition, the answer lies with small charities driving a new sense of ambition and purpose for civil Lord Gus O’Donnell, society, while Sir Peter Lampl of the Sutton Trust, advocates for more (and more engaged) Chair of the Law Family Commission on philanthropy. Dan Corry (New Philanthropy Civil Society Capital) calls for a systems-based approach to unleashing civil society’s potential, centring Thank you on improvements in regulation, infrastructure and access to data.