Mike Tricker

Researching non-profit organisational effectiveness: A comment on Herman and Heimovics

ConclusionsThis brief paper has both welcomed the work of Herman and Heimovics on the criteria of organisational effectiveness of VNPOs, and provided a critique of it. In doing this it has presented an alternative approach developed from the work of these authors and situated it within the evolving critiques of the rationalist tradition of organisation management.The intention, however, has not been to provide a final codification of organisational effectiveness. Rather, it has been to stimulate further debate on this important issue. Only through such a dialogue can we hope to develop truly representative and robust frameworks within which to situate the evaluation of the organisational effectiveness of VNPOs and its definition by key stakeholders. The alternative approach offered eschews normative propositions about the implicit or assumed effectiveness of VNPOs and rejects a wholly quantitative approach to its analysis. Instead, it provides a framework within which to situate and debate the differing criteria, perceptions and loci of effectiveness within such organisations.

Power to the Parishes: A (missed) opportunity

Parish and town councils form the lowest tier of local government in England, but have been left out of government proposals for a new duty for local authorities. The proposed new duty will give local authorities wide‐ranging power to promote economic and social well‐being. Unlike principal authorities, it is likely that these grass‐roots councils will have to rely on their power under s.137 to spend on activities outside their specific powers. This article reviews the findings of a recent national survey which was designed to assess the extent to which parishes are constrained by current s.137 arranagements.

Village appraisals. A tool for sustainable community development in rural areas in the UK

This paper evaluates the contribution that village appraisals can make to sustainable development in local communities in rural areas. Based upon an evaluation of the JIGSO initiative, it both outlines the strengths of this approach and argues for the necessity of proper community infrastructure if most benefit is to be gained from it.

Good Dog SPOT? Single Pot Funding of Local Voluntary and Community Groups

This paper reports on a recent pilot project by the English government aimed at introducing ‘single pot’ funding for local voluntary and community groups. It finds that implementation difficulties undermined the success of the scheme. Moreover, whilst local voluntary and community groups were initially enthusiastic about the scheme, this was eroded both by the shortfall in funding for the initiative and by conflicting priorities for it from its national and regional flinders and from local groups.

Local-Authority led Economic Regeneration Strategies in the Aftermath of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Crisis of 2001

The Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak of 2001 in the UK was completely unprecedented in its scale and severity, with over four million animals culled and a cost to the Exchequer of over £4 billion. Local authorities were at the front line in dealing with the outbreak, in coordinating the cull of livestock, the disposal of carcasses as well as attempting to deal with its aftermath and, in particular, the impact on the wider rural economy. This article examines the impacts of this crisis on three local authorities, Devon, Herefordshire and Cumbria. It examines how far the crisis acted as a catalyst in developing strategies to deal with a future outbreak as well as new local initiatives to promote regeneration in the areas most adversely affected. It focuses on developments that can be directly attributed to the crisis and shows that FMD had a considerable impact on communications and ‘joined-up’ activity within local authorities and with local stakeholders.