Poverty in our communities is holding business back

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.

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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.

 

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