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| Why can’t the Government use a calendar and stick to deadlines just like the rest of us asks DSC's Director of Publishing, Policy and Research Ben Wittenberg. |
Are you finding the Winter a bit too cold and dark? Are you longing for the warm sunny days of summer? Well good news everyone, it’s actually July. Even in these hard days of austerity, it seems the Government can afford the luxury of time travel.
I mean, it must be true, because the National Audit Office (NAO) has just published its report on the government’s implementation of the Compact, which was due for publication in July 2011. But I’d brace yourself, as we move into spring and the days start drawing out, you’ll be instantly transported back to mid-winter when the Office for Civil Society (OCS) holds its Giving Summit – originally scheduled for autumn 2011, then ‘early in the new year’, then…oh who knows.
Confused? If you have any dealings with central government projects, policies or events then you probably won’t be. You’ll be only too aware that most of government couldn’t hit a deadline if it was a barn door and they were holding the proverbial shovel. Even the amazing practice of giving a whole season as a target for implementnting policy is miss-able.
This isn’t a new phenomenon by any means. Back in 2003 we were funded by the (then) Active Communities Unit to develop www.governmentfunding.org.uk, with the deadline of ‘summer 2003’. When I asked for clarification of exactly what that meant I was told ‘October 31st at the latest.’ This kind of government space-time elasticity sort of worked for us - in this case we only got the grant at the end of July, halfway through ‘summer’…
Now ok, government is tricky, and complicated policy proposals take time to formulate and implement. It’s also a good thing if during implementation, new information or evidence comes to light which requires a new deadline, or even a new objective to be agreed. Involve the voluntary sector in that process and it gets even messier – for all the right reasons. But there are two big frustrations that stem from the consistent missing of deadlines by government.
Firstly, who do they think they are?! Try telling your statutory funder that you’ll get that report to them in “Summer/Autumn”. In fact, try not telling them anything until you’re already 3 months overdue, and then tell them it’ll be another 3 months! You’ll be replaced by a bond-funded-quasi-private-employee-led-spinout-mutual-enterprise in a flash. Probably.
More importantly though, these delays kill momentum. Take the idea for a Giving Summit that was supposed to take place last year. There were big gaps in the Giving Green/White papers that needed discussion, and a summit enabling debate around what those were and how the inherent challenges could be overcome was the right thing to plan. Delaying it a season, means a further three months before those discussions, and the window of opportunity to improve and build momentum for action narrows.
What’s the solution? I’m not sure there is one unfortunately. Government delays seem to be kind of an immutable natural law. Politicians will always overpromise and underdeliver. Civil servants will always drag their feet for a million, often reasonable, reasons. The voluntary sector will always be the awkward squad, throwing wrenches in the machinery, coming at any issue form a multitude of perspectives and interests (a good thing too). At least maybe until some clever soul invents a real time machine.