This is a transcript of a speech delivered by Tony Hawkhead, Groundwork's Chief Executive, at the Business in the Community conference on 17 March 2011. 

Whatever you think about the Big Society, the principles are universal – people need to be empowered and enabled to depend on themselves rather than the state.

The state we’re in right now, regardless of who you think put us there, is unacceptably precarious for people in vulnerable communities.

Unemployment is soaring – meaning those people who were out of work before this crisis are even further from finding a job. The funding model for tackling a lot of this is being turned on its head with local authorities having to cut services and local charities losing funding streams.

I’m not trying to make a political point here, it’s simply a reality that whilst this government reviews what the last one did there are millions of people caught up in waiting for the solutions to filter down to them.

Now is the time for us to come together – whether public sector, private sector, charity, local business, national or international corporation and support the work going on to get our communities on their feet.

So, here’s my idea – find out who is making a difference to the communities that are getting left behind and work with them to speed their efforts. It could be a local authority, it could be a local charity, it could be a national organisation such as the National Apprenticeships Service or it could be Groundwork UK, where I work. Then let’s co-ordinate these efforts. Let BiTC know what you’re doing, who you’re supporting, let’s collect the work into one place. Add it together, and we’ve got a national campaign which is championing the cause of communities in need.

Now, you might be sitting there thinking why should you bother doing that? It’s simple. You need to do it because your efforts as businesses, your future economic success depends on this nation not being dragged down by poverty.

And if we do it together, the government can’t ignore it. Your role, therefore, is really important. Are you supporting charities or local businesses working on the front line? Are your staff volunteering, or offering apprenticeships or work experience to people out of work? Are you prepared to stand up for the poor in our society – and tell the government that you are doing so because it’s in the nation’s best economic interests that you do?

So, how do we come together as charities and businesses to champion our communities? Through having partnerships with each other – and if you are looking for a charitable partnership please come and talk to Groundwork because we’re experts in offering people prospects and helping them change the places they live for the better.

But, more to the point, you need to regard any partnership that benefits the community as one of your most valid business collaborations. It can be as powerful to you as, for example, your membership of a trade body – or even your relationship with your bank. It makes you relevant to your customers and it works wonders with motivating your staff.

In my book, that’s good business.

Groundwork has always done partnerships – whether with local authority, public or private sector organisations, to get things done in and for local communities. The trick is to be clear at the outset on what the partnership will achieve for the community.

Here are just a few examples from Groundwork of the positive changes that can be made when communities, businesses and the voluntary sector work together.

This week it's the big one, the Conservative Party Conference and it's home turf for us as it's being held here in Birmingham and a stone's throw from our offices - not that we're throwing stones.  We've had some really good meetings with Ministers - among them Nick Hurd, Charles Hendry, David Freud and Tim Loughton. Tim, who has children and young people in his brief was particularly open and engaged - turning up to several roundtable discussions (where he wasn't even the main speaker) to listen to concerns.

Today I see that Tim has stuck his head above the parapet and commented on the potential unintended consequences of removing child benefit from higher rate tax payers - although I imagine David Cameron was well aware of the backlash it would provoke.  Whilst there's no doubt we'll all be hit hard by the spending cuts it is heartening that ministers like Tim are able to see the effect and want to discuss actively how best to protect the most vulnerable from the worst of the cuts.  That is important - the recession is hitting the poorest harder than any other group, as is always the case.  Ministers who know and understand their brief well will not enjoy this spending squeeze any more than most of us, but they are best placed to help mitigate the impact. 

We held a small reception at our office and were delighted to welcome Baroness Margaret Eaton. She's a great speaker - lively and passionate and luckily for us, a big fan of Groundwork.  Anyone who wandered in for the curry and beer was left in no doubt what an impact our organisation makes thanks to Margaret!

I was speaking at a Fabians breakfast fringe meeting at the Labour party conference this morning. It was on green investment and also speaking were Emily Thornberry, shadow for climate change and Michael Jacobs, former no.10 adviser on climate change.

There's a consensus over the importance of inward investment but also anxiety that massive cuts to departmental budgets bring instability and insecurity to the sector. As Emily pointed out, for a small department like the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), 40 per cent cuts will reduce it to nuclear clean ups and that's about it.

There was a lot of support for retrofitting and skilling up people to deliver energy improvements to homes - giving us the tools to tackle our own energy consumption. I'd like to see energy reduction embedded into government policy at all levels. An example - the Winter Fuel Allowance needs to focus at least as much on saving energy, not just meeting the cost of using more. The funds should be reorientated, so the payment can be used to insulate homes (perhaps with two for one vouchers?) rather then simply helping people, however needy, as they consume more fuel.  We need to start joining up policy on green issues if we are to get the most from the pared-down budgets that are still available.

I've just returned from the Lib Dem Party Conference where I witnessed a strange mix of emotions. Excitement and delight at the developments which have placed them in Government and, thanks to their leader, punched well above their weight in terms of policy and influence.  Yet many councillors seemed deeply uneasy at the reality of savage public service cuts and the effect they will have on poorer people.

As one outspoken councillor put it at a policy roundtable about young people I attended - ''We're cutting the deficit now so that future generations won't have to suffer our mess, but future generations are already suffering because cutting the deficit means cutting support services.'' In the refreshing conspiracy light Lib Dem style, these fears were all freely voiced to the DPM and seem to be taken in good part - Nick Clegg even turned up to a fringe where one of the main speakers had been asking him awkward questions during his opening speech. These are however, very real fears and let's hope they are taken note of too.

On a lighter note, the latest deficit reduction analogy - a cabbie in Liverpool to Nick Clegg's mate: ''If someone is sick in the back of my cab, I don't blame it on the woman with the mop and bucket who clears it up.''

The coalition government is 100 days old today, and I have been very interested in some of the ideas we have heard during that time. While a lot of emphasis has been placed on spending cuts (perhaps sometimes to the exclusion of all else), a number of ideas to emerge from the Government over the past 100 days have a lot of potential - if properly resourced and properly handled.

The first is the ‘Big Society.’  Giving communities the knowledge, tools and confidence to take their own decisions and collective action can only be a good thing. But a true Big Society must provide support to those on the margins so they can play a full and active role in shaping the destiny of their communities.

The second is the Green Deal. Groundwork has long argued that more needs to be done to make homes as energy efficient as possible.  We believe that energy efficiency advice for the most vulnerable needs to be as personal as possible – and our experience with programmes like the Green Doctor shows that bespoke advice provided to householders by someone they trust is a very effective way to change behaviour.

Third is the National Citizen Service, which was billed as a programme to get more young people to volunteer and take part in projects to develop “life skills and resilience.” Groundwork and its partners have a great deal of experience of working with young people to give them opportunities to realise their potential. We have found they want to play an active role and to have their voices heard in their communities but need to be given the tools and support needed for it to happen - this initiative has the potential to give them exactly that.

The past few weeks have certainly been interesting and there has unquestionably been a lot of food for thought. Over the course of the past 100 days the government has signalled some good intentions – but must now create the conditions to make them a reality.  And it must fulfil the promises in its own coalition agreement: to take action to shield the most vulnerable neighbourhoods from the most damaging impact of the cuts.

The latest raft of announcements about bank profits has come at an interesting time. Although the political heat surrounding fat-cat bonuses has been turned down a bit since the election, the government is still applying pressure to get financial institutions to play their part in supporting social policy objectives. Nowhere is this happening more than in the field of welfare to work provision. The Work Programme is the new game in town - a results-based, personally tailored approach to getting people into jobs. Over the last few years this has become a market dominated by private sector prime contractors often engaging public and voluntary sector subs. It sort of works. It would work better, however, if more of those supply chains were managed by organisations whose primary driver isn't profit.

The Work Programme should allow greater flexibility with the potential to distribute risk and reward across the supply chain with enough balance and creativity to ensure no-one goes out of business and everyone is able to do what they're good at - whether it's job brokerage, temporary employment, specialist support or just helping people get out of bed in the morning. The scale of the contracts to be let will be such, however, that very few will be able to engage without attracting external finance. Back to the banks. As far as anyone can tell, none of them are saying no but none of them are saying yes. As soon as one does throw their hat in the ring - and does so publicly - then I'm sure others will follow. There is undoubtedly money to be made from this but there's also the chance to demonstrate social credentials by backing proposals that also help to strengthen the role of the third sector in public service delivery.

Today saw David Cameron bring his ‘PM Direct’ event to central Birmingham.  I attended the event and felt that the Prime Minister delivered a polished performance – handling the questions put to him very well, turning the debate around to the Big Society wherever possible or tackling the budget deficit.

An interesting question was raised on the issue of retrofitting, and I was pleased he made the connection to green jobs and didn’t just refer to fuel poverty and saving money.  Another gentleman asked a question challenging the idea of climate change and the PM was swift to point out that he felt that even if you didn’t believe in the science, (which he personally did) if your house was at risk of burning down you would still take insurance out, so action on climate change was needed.  He then made the link to energy security:  we can't rely on ever more difficult to reach carbon fuels, so action is required anyway.

A colleague who works on a number of Groundwork projects asked what support would be given to disadvantaged communities to play an active role in the Big Society.  Acknowledging that the third sector has been helping to create the conditions needed for a Big Society long before he coined the term, Cameron said that he saw the Government’s role was to help the sector to do more of what’s required to do so, instead of less – something that perhaps bodes a bit more positively for the future than the cuts agenda might imply.

The Sustainable Development Commission has brought out its fifth annual report on Government departments' green behaviour. I remember when the SDC was set up, I think then under the Cabinet Office, and it promptly marked that department as the worst performing of all. Progress has been made and improvements in energy, waste, recycling and road transport mean millions have already been saved and millions more can be if the coalition steps up its ambition.

Whilst these savings arise from measures implemented by the last government, this is really good news. Groundwork is one of a number of partners working with the environmental think tank Green Alliance, studying the policy mechanisms needed to effect green behaviour change. An area which has emerged is that of Governments' behaviour and the crucial role it plays in influencing the public - whether that be laying out a frightening doomsday scenario which does nothing to motivate people, passing policy directives which appear to contradict its messages or failing to practise what it preaches in terms of departments and ministers' behaviours. This last one has added resonance now cost savings are an imperative and that reason alone, quite apart from any environmental considerations, should be sufficient to ensure that the coalition is listening.

It's sad then to see the SDC is falling victim to the efficiency savings and funding is being withdrawn. Scrutiny of government's environmental performance will fall to the Environment Audit Committee, who chaired by the very experienced Joan Walley, alongside Caroline Lucus and Zac Goldsmith will I'm sure continue the SDC's good work and give all departments' activities their full attention, albeit along side their other work commitments.

Our work with the Green Alliance has several years to run but looks like being an important part of future policy discussions on this topic. Green Alliance will be holding meetings at the three main party conference fringes this autumn. The events will be open discussions so please feel free to come along and join the debate.

The Prime Minister has today outlined details of the government’s planned national citizen service - a programme aimed at getting more young people to volunteer in their community. The scheme will be launched next summer, and will see 10,000 teenagers take part in projects intended to develop “life skills and resilience.”

You may remember the idea was first proposed during the election campaign, and received backing from Sir Michael Caine. As part of today’s announcement the Prime Minister has said the scheme would “teach young people to be socially responsible and appreciate what they could achieve and how they could be part of the Big Society.”

Groundwork has a great deal of experience of working with young people on youth engagement schemes that give them the skills and confidence to make a positive contribution to their communities. Our ‘Children and Young People of Westmill (CAYPOW) project’ is just one of many examples. The three-year project on the disadvantaged Westmill housing estate in Hertfordshire helped to get the voices of young people heard in their community and gave them a positive profile amongst the adults in their neighbourhood.

CAYPOW and other similar projects show that young people can be a powerful force for good and will play an active role in their communities if given a chance. With meaningful support their drive and enthusiasm to make a difference can help shape their future - and the destiny of their neighbourhoods.

I found this morning's (re)launch of the 'Big Society' in Liverpool very interesting.

As the Government itself has previously acknowledged, ensuring communities are given real power to address local issues will need more than just applying better sticking plasters or creating a stronger safety net.  It will mean giving those most vulnerable neighbourhoods the knowledge, tools and confidence to make their own decisions and the freedom to take collective responsibility and action.

Groundwork’s Centenary Gardens project in Manchester has done just that.  The success of the project is entirely down to the drive and determination of a community who had very clear – and very strong views – on how a local issue should be dealt with.  The site used to be a derelict and dangerous piece of land in Old Trafford.  Actively supported by Groundwork, a group of local residents, the local authority, school and a youth club worked together to secure the transformation into a green space that, as a result of addressing their original concerns and implementing their solutions, inspires them to take on the job of its ongoing maintenance. 

The Big Society is, at the moment, a defining concept for the way this Government intends to play the cards it’s been dealt.  We must be ready to respond to ensure that those on the margins can take part and take more control of the places in which they live, and the cards that they in turn have been dealt.