Business in the Big Society

By Nick Wilson, Chair of East Hampshire Community Partnership

Public spending cuts, localism, less big government, the Big Society: all 'big' issues for the public and voluntary sectors. Googling 'business in the Big Society' gets 168,000 results but which of us could say what the Government thinks business should be doing in the Big Society?

Of course, the point about the Big Society is that we shouldn't wait to be 'told'. I attended a recent Business East Hants Meeting where the focus was what businesses themselves could do - in this case about boosting the number of apprecticeship opportunities. A great example of business leaders themselves deciding what needs to be done and doing it.

I'd like Business East Hants to be an influential member of East Hampshire Community Partnership, together with key public and voluntary sector members, in a 'partnership of equals'. BEH knows what local businesses' big concerns are: transport and infrastructure, business support, skills and employment, etc. The Partnership can promote dialogue about these and broker solutions.

But this could also be about business opportunities. The race is on to design and deliver public services in new and more cost effective ways. Hampshire has around 4,000 social enterprises with a turnover of over £1 billion and 22,000 employees. Combining the knowledge, business skills and creativity of successful voluntary and private sector enterprises could be the route to winning public service contracts and achieving 'more for less'. The Partnership can be a crucible for new alliances and new solutions.

*For what the Prime Minister thinks about business in the Big Society, go to: http://www.bitc.org.uk/business_and_the_big_society/business_commits/index.html