The Big Society: now is the time for action!
“Too much time is being wasted in trying to define the Big Society. The time for words is over and now is the time for action,” said social entrepreneur Robert Ashton, yesterday.
Speaking after a House of Lords meeting with Baron Wei - the Government’s Big Society advisor - Mr Ashton said that a considerable shift of attitudes was required inside most of the organisations involved.
“A significant intellectual move is required in the way that both the funder and the funded regard each other.
“The Big Society offers huge opportunities to all of us to make up our own minds and the relationship between the organisations involved has to change from ‘parent child’ to ‘adult adult',” said Mr Ashton, who is trustee of Norfolk Community Foundation and managing director of Ethecol Merchant Services (an ethical chip and pin provider).
Baron Nat Wei had asked to meet with Mr Ashton because he liked his interpretation of the Big Society in the recently published The Keystone Development Trust book ‘The Big Society Challenge’.
“I was able to brief Baron Wei about a number of the practical aspects of projects I have undertaken to make Big Society happen,” said Mr Ashton.
“We both agreed that the major need now is for action; people actually doing stuff rather than talking about it.
“The Big Society is like riding a bicycle", he said, "trying to define it won’t get you anywhere, you have to choose where you want to go, jump on and start pedalling. What’s more also like riding a bike, although when you first do it you wobble and might fall, once you get the hang of it it’s actually simple." he added.
As an example of Big Society action Mr Ashton cited the case of Chapel Road Special School in Norfolk. The school was rated as outstanding by OFSTED, educating and supporting 64 of the County’s most disabled children.
Chapel Road School has currently half the floor area needed and a campus of only 20% of the recommended size for a school of their kind. They had been promised a new £10 million school: a promise that disappeared after the election when the new Government abolished the BSF school capital programme.
Funding has recently been secured from Norfolk County Council to buy the land upon which an exciting new special school can be built with private and third sector partners that Mr Ashton has been able to recruit. "This Big Society school will cost less to build and to run, as well as deliver more to its students, neighbours and other special needs community groups. It’s a great example of how you can turn a seemingly impossible situation into a collaborative success."
Ashton has also managed to treble the seed investment made by a Housing Association in a new community owned shop programme. By linking the organisation with rural enterprise specialists the Plunkett Foundation he was able to secure £120,000 of grant funding to match the £60,000 Victory pledged to help local communities start new community owned shops. The Plunkett Foundation will also be providing valuable advice, support and funding local mentoring under their Village Core Programme. He’s also recruited six isolated rural communities that until recently, thought they’d not be able to afford to set up their own shop.
“Big Society must start for us all by becoming a state of mind,” said Robert Ashton.