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General Reports and Other Publications
Newswire – Demos: Third sector organisations must be able to demonstrate their social value in the face of pending cuts, argues a report released by Demos.
The danger of losing valuable and value-for-money services provided by non-profit organisations can be avoided by supporting the third sector to implement a standardised method of demonstrating the social value of the work organisations do.
The danger of losing valuable and value-for-money services provided by non-profit organisations can be avoided by supporting the third sector to implement a standardised method of demonstrating the social value of the work organisations do.
Demos urges non-profit-generating organisations to seize the opportunity of the recession to show the social goods they produce offer value for money. The report recommends working towards the Social Return on Investment model (SROI) but highlights that few organisations in the UK are ready to apply this model.
Press release ~ Measuring Social Value: The gap between policy and practice ~ Social Return on Investment model (SROI) Network
CO: In a further drive to make government as transparent as possible, the Cabinet Office has published details of everyone working in Non-Departmental Public Bodies (also known as ‘Quangos’), who earns more than £150,000 Available in CSV & XLS format. Details were withheld for 24 individuals.
Press release ~ List of special advisers who earn more than £58,200 each year ~ Cabinet Office structure charts
ESRC: New research, presented at a major international conference in London, demonstrates how inequality in education, skills and incomes reduces opportunity & undermines social cohesion. In education, for example, the social & ability mix of the school has a major impact on how well a child performs.
Professor Andy Green, Dr Germ Janmaat and Dr Tarek Mostafa show this 'peer effect' is particularly strong in the UK, where school intakes & performance vary widely. High levels of inequality in skills are, in turn, associated with growing income gaps and declining levels of social & political trust.
Press release ~ Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES) ~ The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
BIS: ‘Proposals for simplifying the planning & consents environment, encouraging development & growth and cutting the amount of red tape faced by business & government’, have been published by the Penfold Review.
The Penfold Review was set up to find out what problems business (& especially small businesses) encounter that can make or break investment in development. The investigation into ‘non-planning consents’, such as environment permits, highways orders and heritage consents that are needed alongside (or after) planning permission, found a complex & fragmented landscape that poses real problems for some businesses to navigate effectively.
Defra: Defra has published research on claims about environmental performance on products & packaging. The research examined the number & types of claims being made. This will be used to inform Defra’s work to update the Green Claims Code. Previous projects examined green claims in marketing & consumer understanding of green claims & specific terminology.
Press release ~ Final report - Marketing (EVO 430) ~ Final Report – Product Packaging (EV0431) ~ Green Claims Code
WAG: The Welsh Assembly Government has welcomed the final report of the Holtham Commission. Publication of the final report fulfils a key One Wales commitment to undertake an independent review of the funding & finance of the devolved Government.
DH: Re-offending in troubled & aggressive young people can be significantly cut using a pioneering new mental health approach known as Multisystemic Therapy, a UK conference was told last week. Reporting on the initial findings of the first UK evaluation pilot, researchers found in families with multiple problems that the use of Multisystemic Therapy reduced the risk of re-offending, particularly among boys.
They found that lower re-offending behaviour was evident 2 years down the line compared to existing service approaches, and can be cost effective, because young people are kept out of custody or local authority care, and parents are encouraged to use the voluntary sector and local supports instead.
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