Charities do good work but ...

Changes happen after crisis, but crisis is not a good time to deliver sustainable changes. I wanted to write this blog just immediately after Oxfam and few other charities were in the British media. I stopped myself, because the danger was that I may be seen as someone jumping on the opportunity to push my 'agenda'. However, I kept thinking about the events, the statements, the media extremism in some cases and the reaction from the politicians. I kept supportive to those staff in charities who deliver good work and will continue to do so. On the whole, my view has not changed about the important and urgent work charities do. There are thousands of cases when charities provide healthcare, education and livelihoods when nobody is doing this, including national governments and UN agencies. Majority of charity staff are committed, down to earth and work in very tough conditions. They do this because of one common reason, they love what they do. I will continue to support good work of charities and continue to work with committed staff in charity organisations. But I also feel that some changes are now overdue.

Charities need to take some of the issues raised very seriously. First to reflect and to understand the underlying causes of those issues. To me the most central to this is strengthening accountability and a culture change for this. Downward or beneficiary accountability is the biggest need, but there is also a need for internal and external accountability. Accountability culture across the charitable organisations is over due, which has many dimensions. Production of reports, data or papers may not bring those changes. I also think that a crisis like the Oxfam crisis will also not bring a sustainable change. The change can only come through people and their leadership. The change leaders to me are young persons in charities. The change leaders to me are charity trustees and senior management. The change will and should come from inside the organisations. Donors or regulatory forced changes may only be a single pathway or just a direction to a larger purpose and goal. Only a full change of culture towards accountability will deliver this change.