June Newsletter
Performance In Foundations | Opening New Spaces | Hiding Knowledge
WHEN FOUNDATIONS STOP THE ‘PERFORMANCE’
This month on Ratio Talks we talk to Sarah Davidson, Chief Executive of Carnegie UK Trust.
One of the things that I reflected on quite a lot when I arrived was if, like government, foundations often focus on what I call proximate risk at the expense of strategic risk. So, I suppose that’s another way of saying that they risk focusing on the trees at the expense of the forest.
A former high-ranking civil servant, Sarah reflects on how people perform when they seek approval. This performance, she argues, makes it difficult to take risks and learn. Sarah talks about the Trust’s journey over the past two years, which has focused not on securing rounds of applause from their Board but on agile learning that requires being seen as one is — whether that refers to the work or the person.
Our conversation with Sarah is part of How To Be Wrong, our project on the future of learning with a network of experts from around the UK and the Netherlands. Read the report and listen to our conversation with Sarah.
OPENING NEW SPACES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY
What happens when people who work for the same area step outside of their organisations and gather informally to make their community better?
In 2019 nine leaders of social sector organisations from Barking and Dagenham decided not to enter the tired dance of competing against each other for funds. Instead, they gathered informally as a network, not an organisation, called the Barking and Dagenham Collective.
Over the last two years, Ratio has charted the story of the Collective’s development, which has evolved into a network of networks of civil society organisations. The networks seek to connect, build trust, and share accountability and power with one goal, to make Barking and Dagenham a better place for its residents.
In its current phase, the Collective is focused on going wider — more networks of civil society groups collaborating to create a social sector greater than the sum of its parts. We are testing a model where individuals receive a kit that allows them to set up a network with practical support but negligible input from the Collective.
Are you or do you know someone in Barking and Dagenham? If so, and would like to know more about being part of the network, reply to this email and we’ll connect you with the team.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Some highlights from the last month:
· We’ve been designing with the team at Pembroke House on how to use food as permission to connect residents in Walworth.
· With the Give a Day to the City team we’ve been designing a box to help other civil society enablers galvanise their communities into love and action for a week.
· We’ve been exploring the concept of the pattern of social connection (all the relationships in someone’s life and the function they perform) by reviewing the evidence. We’re planning to publish an article on it in early autumn.
WHAT CAUGHT OUR EYE
· This article by West and colleagues on how collaboration between health agencies in three sites in the North of England depended on informal rather than formal relationships.
· This article by Abdullah and colleagues showing how leaders who are guided by ethics such as integrity, honesty, and altruism create a work context where employees develop trusting relationships manifested in less hiding of knowledge.
We explore how social connection shapes health and development and use that learning to design better ways of living.
