Friday 18 May 2012

Wisdom

Hi - this has been a catching up week having had some days off, but I
seem to have caught a cold/cough as well, which has not helped.

We had a very useful and productive discussion at our Management and
Finance Committee about the succession planning for key posts on our
Trustee Board, and David Hypher (Chairman) is going to put his
considerable diplomatic and persuasive skills into effect to approach
particular people, and we will then report formally to the Board.
We think we are a well run charity, and pay a great deal of attention
to effective governance.


And so it was that last Tuesday we met with someone who might become an
independent trustee, following an advertisement we placed; she has
outstanding experience in marketing and organisation development at the
highest (blue chip) level. David and I had a great discussion with her,
and we await further developments with fingers corossed - she would
bring a great deal to Surrey Youth Focus and to its members.


I met with the collegaues setting up the "Woking social enterprise" and
this is now moving apace - I am checking out premises next week, and then
we'll recruit staff and get trading. I'll disclose more when we're in
business as a social  enterprise.


Following on from our strategy day we have begun considering what
response, if any, to make to Surrey County Council's Infrastructure
contract commissioning document. This describes the outcomes it is
seeking to achieve from infrastructure support services at county and
local level on the basis of a three year contract. We are also exploring
links to other organisations. However, becoing a contractor is completely
different from being an independent voluntary organisation, and I am
personally involved in helping to resolve some issues between a member
organisation that is a contractor and the County Council. It will be
interesting to see if open competitive contracting, as opposed to
commissioning, (with which I have no problem) remains the "received
wisdom" of the way ahead for service delivery in the public sector,
depending, I think crucially, on how it works in the NHS with the
Clinical Commissioning Groups, and as we get closer to the next General
Election. I think I am at an SCC Select Committee discussion about this
next week.


Best wishes,
Mike

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