Julia Phillips of VASA on defining the Big Society agenda at the Stratford event on 22nd October

Julia Phillips, Chief Executive at Voluntary Action Stratford on Avon (VASA), delivered a presentation to open the Big Society event at Stratford on 22nd October. The presentation – which you can see above – outlined the Big Society agenda and provided talking points ahead of the discussion groups which came later on during the session.

You can read the key points of Julia’s presentation below, or view the slides above.

• “Keep doing what we’ve been doing but for less money…”
• The focus is on people – there is recognition that the grass roots is where things are happening and need to happen
• Big Society is a concept – a cross-government policy with the aim of creating a climate which empowers local people and their communities
• Partnership working, a staple of the voluntary sector, will become even more important
• Changing the relationship between the state and the individual, and shifting the emphasis of control back to the individual
• Future of the Big Society centres around accountability and transparency – openness of information, with the right to buy and/or request
• Community activism and local activity has an important role to play
• Attempts to reduce the amount of bureaucracy and intervention to ensure that money reaches its intended destination/recipient as quickly as possible
• Integration and collaboration should be part of this process
• The need to be creative in order to do a lot with very little money – it’s a mindset, a way of thinking
• Individuals and communities taking a participatory role and greater responsibility for their local area
• Balancing the demand for services with limited resources
• Ensuring the most disadvantaged people and families are not marginalised and are given the opportunities for improving their lives and empowering themselves

Posted on 22nd October 2010 by Simon Harper
Tags: big society, Julia Phillips, localism, stratford, stratford event, VASA, warwickshire
Posted in All events, Big Society, Coventry, Our events, Warwickshire | 1 Comment »