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Sunday 8 June 2008

Off with the pixies

HT: Dave Briggs

Here's Phil Hope MP - no, it says here that's his real name - who is allegedly 'Minister for the Third Sector', babbling away at some conference.



OK Mr Hope, if that is indeed your real name: How do the great British public find all this stuff? How much use do these fabulous 'initiatives' actually get - I believe you may understand this in your language as 'take-up'? What happens when the funding runs out? How does this play against your government's underfunding of UK Online Centres? Shall I go on? Would you like a moment to answer questions 1,2,3 and 4?

This sort of excited waffle has been going on for years. Give me a grounded-in-reality politician any day of the week. The Phil Hope's are ten-a-penny. The good ones vis egov are thin on the ground to non-existent.

nb: Don't get me wrong, most of the people doing this stuff, these initiatives, are great people trying to do good works. They're ill-served.

2 comments:

  1. hi paul

    as the guy with the job of delivering the uk catalyst awards, i'd of course prefer to take more optimistic view.

    But i agree that the critical thing is to move from excited blah blah to real impact. I'm trying to bring to catalyst as much grit as i can from my experience in co-founding social innovation camp.

    We'll have to wait and see whether catalyst phase 2 can produce the kind of mentoring, incubating and financing that will deliver dynamic social startups.

    Keep up the attitude

    dan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cheers Dan. I'll try :}

    ... and keep up the 'grit'!

    ReplyDelete