The Blue Book of the Voluntary Sector
Produced in collaboration with the Charities Aid Foundation, The Blue, Red and Yellow books of the Voluntary Sector contain a collection of essays from leading figures from across the political spectrum. Contributors from Ed Miliband MP and David (now Lord) Blunkett to Nick Hurd MP and Charlotte Leslie MP discussed the future of the charity […]
The Good Pay Guide for Charities and Social Enterprises
At ACEVO we believe that professionalism does not conflict with the values that lie at the heart of charities. We see good management, good staff and good values as mutually reinforcing. Experience shows that committed, professional charity employees, with the support of their boards, produce exceptional outcomes for the beneficiaries and causes that they serve. […]
Realising the Potential of Governance
The ACEVO Governance Commission was established in 2012 in order to review the state of governance in the charity sector, and to make recommendations as to how it could be improved. In response to evidence suggesting an increase in concern regarding governance-related issues in the voluntary sector, the ACEVO Governance Commission set out to produce […]
Refinement or reinvention? The future of the work programme and the role of the voluntary sector
The Work Programme was the flagship welfare-to-work initiative of the Coalition Government. Beginning in 2011, the programme aimed to support jobseekers into sustainable employment. The programme was delivered through 40 contracts, worth a total of £3-5 billion nationally, across 18 Contract Package Areas. The contracts are held by larger contractors, known as ‘prime providers’, which […]
The Prevention Revolution: transforming health & social care
The ACEVO Taskforce on Prevention in Health was established in 2012 to examine ways to encourage a shift in focus and investment towards preventative health and care provision. It is widely accepted that the NHS needs to do things differently in order to adapt to long-term changes in demand and a constrained funding environment. An […]
Youth unemployment: the crisis we cannot afford
Youth unemployment is now one of the greatest challenges facing the country. Nearly 1½ million young people are currently not in education, employment or training – over 1 in 5 of all young people. A quarter of a million have been unemployed for over a year. The costs of these levels of long-term youth unemployment […]
Back on track: Making the Rehabilitation Revolution Real
The current stresses on the criminal justice system cannot be overestimated. The prison population is reaching new heights, cuts are biting across public services and reoffending rates have remained stubbornly high for many years. We need urgent and radical reform. Government is doomed to failure if it carries on doing the same old thing the […]
Powerful People, Responsible Society
This report is from the ACEVO Big Society Commission, chaired by Lord Rennard, and featuring Nick Boles MP, Lord Boateng, Dame Clare Tickell and Matt Hyde (then of the NUS) amongst others. It set out to examine the Coalition Government’s Big Society idea. As well as looking at public engagement with the idea of the […]
One million reasons for reform: unleashing the potential of the voluntary sector in early years services
There is growing recognition amongst policy-makers of the importance for children’s development of the first few years of their lives. The right support in these early years makes it significantly more likely that a child will grow up to be a healthy, happy contributor to the economy and society around them. Its absence, by contrast, […]
A People Power Revolution
This was the final report of the ACEVO Commission on Personalisation, chaired by Matthew Pike. Building on the work Making it Personal the report set out a vision of public services built around the idea of personalisation. The report welcomed the Labour government’s commitment to a radical devolution of power to individuals. However, it cautioned […]
The Big Society: Moving from Romanticism to Reality
This position paper written by Sir Stephen Bubb is in response to David Cameron’s announcement of his Big Society programme. It put this ambition in its historical context, and laid out how we could best achieve this aim. It emphasised the need for organised civic action – in essence, a well prepared third sector – […]
Public Impact Centred Regulation for Charities
This was the final report of the ACEVO Taskforce on Better Regulation, chaired by Rupert Evenett. In addition to outlining the changes which the charity sector was undergoing, the report called for a positive vision of charity regulation, centred on public impact and shared by both regulator and sector. This must be targeted to ensure […]