Louise Bratchie, seconded to Project Trust & Winner of the 2019 WIG Emerging Leader Award
“I found the transition between government and the not-for-profit sector fascinating – gaining a far better understanding of how government looks from the other side, and being able to consider how smaller, more remote charities can best engage with the wider public sector.
The huge potential benefits of strengthened engagement and partnership working between sectors are also clear. Non-profits hold a wealth of practical expertise and local insight invaluable to public sector policy-making – the key is to join up the conversation from the very beginning, building stronger cross-sector dialogue and ensuring the voices of smaller charities are heard at the centre.
I left the secondment hugely inspired by the enthusiasm and dedication of my charity colleagues. Their desire to make a positive difference and have a tangible impact on people’s lives is one that I know is shared by many who work in the public sector. Following my secondment, I was delighted to be offered a position on the charity’s Board of Trustees, an amazing opportunity to continue to expand my understanding of the sector and a real privilege to be able to support Project Trust in this way over the coming years.
Ingrid Emerson, Project Trust, Charity Next host
Having a civil servant join the charity has had a tremendously positive impact on Project Trust. Someone with such a high level of skill, knowledge and ability to work on a standalone project is priceless and it is impossible to place a value on it. It is an ongoing struggle within the third sector to dedicate enough time and resources to meaningful research and evaluation and these are often areas overlooked whilst juggling the pressures of the day-to-day. They are however essential if the organisation is to develop and grow whilst remaining competitive and current. Having a civil servant secondee with strong links to government networks has allowed this to happen for Project Trust.
Colin Colas, seconded to Catch22
My secondment to Catch22 exposed me to a whole range of exciting practices and ways of working. Of the many skills that I developed during my secondment, I was particularly pleased to have led on the creation of a detailed Project Initiation Document, which was fundamental in securing the funding required to deliver the organisation’s flagship IT transformation project. This was hugely exciting as I had the opportunity to engage with areas of work that I had not previously experienced, ranging from data analysis all the way to actual procurement.
I also benefitted from a deepened understanding of how charities can succeed in the naturally challenging third sector environment, operating often with limited resources. This taught me a great deal about how to maximise efficiencies within and across teams, as well as how charities can work with different sectors to achieve their goals.
Martin Howlett, Youth Fed, Charity Next host
I really don’t think that you can understand the opportunities and limitations that not–for-profit organisations offer government…without having been a part of them [not-for-profits] on a day-to-day basis.
The impact of having a Civil Service secondee as part of our charity has been extremely valuable. It has given us the ability to really question what, and how, we do things. Furthermore, this project could not have been established without the support of a secondee. The added capacity that this has brought has meant we were able to produce outcomes and outputs that encouraged further investment in the work we do, therefore, making it much more sustainable in the future. And, with the secondee in position, we have been able to open up a second facility and help many more beneficiaries.