UK: Volunteering is the British way of life

Forget about Tony Blair?s Cool Britannia, the Britain that he handed over to stylists, designers and pop stars in an attempt to forge a national identity that would stop young intelligence from escaping while at the same time attracting foreign capital into the country. Gordon Brown has chosen to place his bets on volunteers and social entrepreneurs to represent the Country he wishes to build.

?Everyday heroes? is what Brown called them on the 24th of July, the day he launched a ten year cooperation plan between the government and the third sector, as they perfectly embody his idea of Britishness: ?Not the individual on his or her own living in isolation sufficient unto himself but the individual with a sense of belonging that then ripples outwards again from work, school, church and community and eventually outwards to far beyond our home town and region to define our nation and country as a society?.

A society that sees the non-profit world as a vehicle for development and social cohesion and as something to invest in. The figures presented by Brown speak clearly: 515 million pounds, just in the first 3 years, to support the development of the sector of which 117 million are to be destined to the launch of a nationwide civil service program for young people.

What are the guidelines of cooperation between civil society and government proposed by the new premier? A Cabinet Office and Treasury report, The future role of the third sector in social and economic regeneration, presented at the same time as the ten year plan, explicitly mentions the devolution of public services to the non-profit sector. Importantly, it also mentions that charities and will soon also be allowed to launch political campaigns, a momentous statement that Stephen Bubb, Acevo CEO, says he his more than pleased to hear. ?It is time to dispel myths about how best we can achieve our missions. There is no real conflict between commissioning for service delivery contracts and campaigning freely and effectively. It is important that third sector leaders can manage both their campaigning and service needs, indeed service delivery has strengthened our voice and our ability to influence?.

Influence, guaranteed the English Prime Minister, that will definitely mean the strengthening of social enterprise. But not only. Brown?s Cabinet has promised to create a research centre for the third sector and that the hundreds and millions of pounds left ?dormant? in bank accounts and high street banks would be used to create a social investment bank.