Third Sector Enterprises 'Leading the Way' in Local Management

Organisations in the third sector are ‘leading the way in management best practice’, according to the head of Northern Ireland’s umbrella body for third sector chief officers.

Launching the CO3 leadership awards, Majella McCloskey, Chief Executive of CO3 - a membership organisation for leaders in the third sector - said: “These awards are about more than recognising good work in the voluntary and community sector; they show exactly how the leaders of  charities, social enterprises and community groups are at the very forefront of best-practice in broader management skills.”

The awards will celebrate the innovative and progressive ways that leaders in the third sector are meeting the needs of their service users at a time when budgets are tight and organizations in the sector are expected to conform with a tighter regulatory framework. The biennial leadership awards were first presented in 2010 with over 300 people attending a gala awards ceremony in the City Hotel, Derry~Londonderry.

Laura O’Brien, Marketing Manager for Ecclesiastical –  chief sponsor of the awards – said: “The reason we were so keen to sponsor the CO3 awards is that, as an organisation, CO3 mirrors our own commitment to supporting leaders and social enterprises that really deliver for their communities. For 125 years now, our business has focused on providing insurance cover to organisations that care and show ethical best practice. We feel it’s a natural fit for us to stand with CO3 to celebrate the development of third sector leaders who are head and shoulders above the rest in providing excellent value for their service users.”

Majella continued: “Ever-increasingly, the third sector is becoming a cornerstone of our social infrastructure, supplying vital services to compliment public sector. When you look at the draft Programme for Government, you see how crucial voluntary and community bodies already are, and will continue to be, to hundreds of thousands of people across Northern Ireland. We need to make explicit what is already obvious to many working in the sector; that leadership of these organisations is making huge efforts to fill the gaps left by public sector funding cuts.”

“Good management is a crucial commodity for charities to be able to draw upon to ensure that they’re making the best use of scarce resources and these awards are designed to reinforce the key message that just because an enterprise is ‘not-for-profit’ doesn’t mean that its chief officers don’t have to worry about many administrative and personnel challenges.”

Running in conjunction with the event will be the CO3 Leadership Conference, which will enable executives from a diverse range of not-for-profit bodies to share ideas and best-practice techniques.

Awards open for nomination include ‘Third Sector Chairperson of the Year’, ‘Leading Growth and Innovation’ and the ‘Leading on Political Impact’ award. Nominations close at noon on the 3rd January.

Majella concluded: “This year, we’re extremely keen that the Conference and Awards represent a great climax to a strong social media campaign, where we hear the views and stories of previous winners and other organisations that are blazing a trail. On our newly launched blog (www.co3livefeed.wordpress.com) you’ll be able to find up-to-date news, interviews and photos in the build-up to the conference.”