The times they are a'changing says bloghead - and Bob Dylan

A Gathering Storm.

While some parts of the country are being ravaged by storms and once in a thousand year floods, other parts are serenely oblivious to the worst that Mother Nature has to offer.

I think even the most unimaginative sixth form student could spot the symbolic link I am about to make between the recent storms and the unprecedented challenges the voluntary sector is predicted to face.

What will befall the voluntary sector, if there is a change of government next year or public expenditure cuts in March 2011 are as severe as predicted, is not going to be a once in a thousand years event. Many have been through and survived equally challenging times.

For the brave and visionary this period represents a time for change, renewal and innovation but most importantly it is a time to prepare for the approaching storm. However, some seem content to plough ahead and ignore the inevitable, let change happen to them and risk being washed away in the torrent.

During recent discussions on improving partnership working between local authorities and the voluntary sector in the South West there was a tacit understanding in the room that, despite what is agreed today, there will be change tomorrow. The scale and impact of that change is of course impossible to predict but some parts of the sector will struggle and be hit hard, while others will notice the change and ruminate on it but may be largely unaffected. Beyond the capital and the nationals, much of this uncertainty is manifesting itself in a fog of inertia that is engulfing the voluntary sector, government and civil servants alike.

However where there is change there is choice. In Bernard Burnes’[i] paper on organisational change he argues that “managing change is not about managers adopting the “best practice” laid down by the latest expert. Nor is it about mechanically adopting an approach which matches their circumstances”. Instead, “it is about the exercise of choice: choice in terms of what to change, choice in terms of circumstances under which change takes place and choice of the approach adopted”.

Put simply there is no easy step-by-step guide to tell organisations what to do or how they should be preparing. Whatever the context, the fundamental questions still remain the most relevant. Who are we, what do we want to achieve and what do we need to do to achieve it?

It is a simple proposition; does the voluntary sector wait for change and react after the event (putting sand bags in front of doors after the flood has done its worst)? Or does the sector invest the time now to prepare and start thinking about what the landscape may look like once the flood waters have subsided?

I guess the people of Cumbria would advise that the latter is the more prudent course of action. 

[i] Burnes, B., No Such Thing as… a “one best way” to manage organisational change, Management Decision 34/10, 1996, p11-18