Commentary

Lance Neita, Contributor

Governments across the world are waking up to a new wave of social entrepreneurship knocking on their doors. Just last month the leaders of Britain and the US declared policies of intent to embrace a new and dynamic form of social partnership intended to ease strains on their national budgets.

The programmes are aimed at alleviating social problems which have not been, or cannot be, solved solely by government. They are to be funded by encouraging private-sector and individual input combined with government sponsorship.

President Obama has officially launched a Social Innovation Fund, while Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has outlined his vision of what he calls "the Big Society".

Mr Cameron has summed up the aims of both sides of the Atlantic on this project. His Big Society Bank will help finance social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups through intermediaries.

Similarly, money from President Obama's Innovation Fund will be shared with non-government organisations (NGOs) carrying out work in health care, poverty alleviation, education, career guidance, and other areas.

Rapid deterioration

The Economist magazine, from which much of this information has been gleaned, suggests that political interest in this approach has been sparked by "the rapid deterioration of government's finances". Sustaining public services has become extremely difficult, and fresh ideas for schooling, police work, road work construction, public health, is appealing.

It is still early days for all this to take root, but surprise, surprise, Jamaica has been there and can teach the mega countries a thing or two about successful social intervention.

Inner-city development projects in business and social enterprise have become a habit to Morin Seymour and the Kingston Restoration Company which has founded and funded hundreds of community capacity building, parenting, educational and micro-enterprise projects, working with government agencies, private sector, and international donor agencies.

The United Way of Jamaica and the near 100 organisations listed as members of the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS) can attest to a history of creating sustainable alliances and facilitating mutual support and joint action for community development across Jamaica.

New ideas

The key to the new wave abroad, however, is the push by Government towards utilising these resources as part of the management, and even the ownership, of some key public services.

The big governments are investing with the expectations that some of the most successful NGOs will bring innovation and new ideas on ways to manage public programmes while saving money.

Our government, as well as CVSS agencies, may well want to pursue a deeper partnership for the management of civic projects normally reserved for local and national government authorities.

We can look at the Essex Valley Community and Associates organisation in St Elizabeth which is rapidly becoming a model of social entrepreneurship of the type envisioned by Mr Cameron's Big Society.

After securing a contract to manage the descaling, janitorial and landscaping needs of the Alpart plant during closure, the NGO has, in just one year, funded 19 infrastructural projects in local communities amounting to $1.9 million.

The organisation, at its annual meeting held on July 30, said it believes that this can be replicated across the island with NGOs being given the opportunity to fund and implement their own infra-structural, civic improvement projects like roadwork, for example, in partnership with Government and the private sector.

The Discovery Bay Community Development Council (CDC) in St Ann, headed by Lee Arbouin, is setting the pace for other CDCs by forging partnerships with Government and civic agencies and would be an effective tool for project management if funding were available.

Jamaica has an outstanding record of voluntary and social services, starting with the great work of the Social Welfare movement, pioneered by Norman Manley in the 1930s and '40s.

The big countries can find their model right here.

Comments may be sent to columns@gleaner.com or lanceneita@hotmail.com.