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The SCA Institute of Social Enterprise has launched a radical new paper suggesting that we should all contribute more of our time and money to help charities weather the recession.

The pamphlet was launched in the presence of the Bishop of Winchester, The Right Reverend Michael Scott-Joynt, at a breakfast meeting at Wolvesey in Winchester today (Thursday 24 June 2010).

Steve Brine, the newly-elected MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford was also at the meeting and said that the new Coalition Government and Prime Minister David Cameron would be "very excited" to see what the pamphlet contained.

The pamphlet, ‘The Big Society: A View from the South' has been produced by the SCA Institute of Social Enterprise, based at the Fenwick2 Health and Well-being Centre in Lyndhurst.

It was written by the Institute's Director of Policy Francis Davis and SCA Executive President and founder Rev Brian Strevens.  Francis Davis is also an Oxford University Fellow.

Drawing on the Prime Minister's idea of the Big Society, the authors argue that the south should take a more radical lead in tackling the crises facing the public and voluntary sector in the current economic downturn.

They argue for radical and innovative new ways of tackling social inequality, with all citizens more involved in giving time and money to support those who need help and a change in attitudes and social norms.

The pamphlet, strictly non party political, suggests that:

~Everyone should be encouraged to swap one night's TV watching for four hours per week of volunteering - if only 0.5% of the south's residents took up this challenge it would add the equivalent of 25,000 full time staff to community and voluntary organisations
~Every citizen in the south should review and increase their giving to charity - this could add millions to the region's sources of social venture finance
~New kinds of community hubs or ‘local civic service' centres should be developed, where public servants, entrepreneurs and members of the public can come to give their ideas, skills and time, enabling the work of volunteers to be matched more closely to their skills
~A community ‘ideas bank' should be created, where people can contribute ideas and suggestions to improve the effectiveness of local organisations or help the most vulnerable
~More social enterprises should be created where businesses and the public sector have failed to deliver
~Innovative ways of funding social projects should be developed, such as Social Impact Bonds, where charities are rewarded for doing preventative work and for saving the public sector money
~Flexible models of ‘social franchising', such as those developed by SCA Group, should be used to help organisations and communities set up social enterprises of their own.

Social innovation is a highly effective way of meeting unmet social needs, argue the authors.  Action by local government can sometimes be slow and unwieldy and is often hampered by excessive bureaucracy and complicated decision-making processes.

Similarly, third sector organisations are sometimes held back from being innovative by the constant struggle to obtain funding.

"The time has come for [people in the south] to become the social innovation pioneers of the UK," says the pamphlet.  "A region which has resources, networks, history and beauty ought to respond to its social needs equally creatively.  If we are to be the social innovation capital of the country we must set out to create new and enhanced social norms of compassion, civic participation and social change."

The Government's ‘Big Society' idea aims to give power to neighbourhood groups and boost social action through breaking state monopolies and allowing charities, social enterprises and companies to provide public service.  It also involves devolving power down to neighbourhoods and making government more accountable.