Office of the Third Sector Homepage
Last updated: 25 June 2009
25 June 2009
Charities that receive public funding have to account to government funders for how they spend it and should show the impact they have achieved with it. But the cost of producing this information must be proportionate to the risks and benefits involved. Cutting unnecessary red tape can free up time and money that would be better spent focusing on the key services charities and others provide. The term for achieving this balance and avoiding poor practice is ‘intelligent monitoring’.
The NAO guidance, Intelligent Monitoring – an element of Financial relationships with third sector organisations, provides practical, step-by-step help for government funders. Alongside this, OTS has launched its Principles of proportionate monitoring and reporting. The aim of the principles and guidance is to lessen the unnecessary burden of monitoring on charities and voluntary organisations. The OTS' principles commit Government departments to understanding the cost of reporting for third sector organisations and to working closely with them when establishing monitoring requirements. The principles will apply to all new funding streams.
Angela Smith, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“Across public services, we are sweeping aside the barriers that hold back the third sector's potential to play a central role in modern public services that respond to the needs of individuals. The new monitoring principles and guidance will save charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises time and money that can be spent on doing more good for those who need support.
Charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises have particular strengths like reaching out to the most disadvantaged people, taking risks and finding new innovative ways of doing things. This announcement is one step in a programme of reform to bring the third sector's strengths into public services.”
The Principles of proportionate monitoring and reporting were produced as a response to a report by New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), funded by OTS, called Turning the Tables: Putting Charities in Control of Reporting in September 2008.
Intelligent Monitoring – an element of Financial relationships with third sector organisations www.nao.org.uk/intelligentmonitoring
Principles of Proportionate Monitoring – [PDF 64kb, 2 pages]