Building the Capacity of Small Voluntary Agencies

'Juggling on a Unicycle'

Running a small voluntary agency is like trying to juggle while riding a unicycle. The task demands both the ability to keep a number of balls in the air at the same time and a highly developed sense of balance in order to cope with the many pressures and pulls on one’s time and energy. And the very limited resources available to the managers of small organisations mean that they have very little room for manoeuvre.

The publications are the final product of a project undertaken during 1997-99 by the staff of what was then the Centre for Voluntary Organisation and funded by the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales. The aim of the Building the Capacity of Small Voluntary Agencies Project was

• to identify the distinctive organisational challenges faced by the leaders and managers of small organisations (those with a paid staff team no larger then the equivalent of four full-timers) and
• to help them develop effective and appropriate ways of responding to these challenges and tackling problems.

The research suggests that:

Small agencies are important: collectively they make a very substantial contribution to meeting a wide range of social need.

Small agencies are vulnerable: internally they are heavily dependent on a small number of very committed individuals while externally their funding is often inadequate and insecure.

Small agencies need to be effective: they need to make the best possible use of their limited resources and they have no margin for inefficiency.

Small agencies are different: much of the advice and support provided by manuals, consultants and trainers does not take account of the distinctive features of small agencies. There is a clear need for a better understanding of the conditions under which they operate and advice, support and training based on that knowledge.

The project team conducted interviews and ran focus groups with the senior paid staff and committee members of a cross section of small agencies in two areas of the country. They also interviewed representatives of funding bodies and other organisations who worked with small agencies. The material collected in this way was fed back to the participants in the project and a small number of organisations were selected for further study. And, with the help of their leaders, a handbook and other publications were developed.

The full set of papers consists of:

A Handbook for Small Voluntary Agencies  

by Colin Rochester. This is the original unabridged version of the handbook aimed at people who manage small agencies and those who provide them with support and consultancy. It sets out four key principles for effective organisation in the small agency and shows how these can be applied to the internal and external challenges of organisation and management faced by those who run them. Click for details of list of contents and full text.

Juggling on a Unicycle: a short guide to organising a small voluntary agency 

by Colin Rochester. This is an edited version of the Small Agencies Handbook abridged by Alan Dingle. It covers the same ground in fewer words and is expected to have a wider readership than the fuller version - including people who are active in a variety of roles in small organisations. Click for details and list of contents and full text.

Case Studies for Small Voluntary Agencies  

by Romayne Hutchison. This collection of eight case studies, complete with notes for trainers, is aimed at those who work with small voluntary agencies in a developmental or consultancy role. They are designed to stimulate discussion on some of the dilemmas and problems facing small agencies and the ways in which they can apply the key principles of effective organisation set out in the handbook. Click for title page and  full text with list contents.

Funding Small Voluntary Agencies 

by Christine Billings. This short guide for charitable trusts and foundations, statutory bodies and companies has two aims. In the first place it sets out provide funders with a better understanding of the reality of life in the small agency. And, secondly, it suggests how the funding relationship can be managed in ways that strengthen the small agency and help it to be more effective. Click for details of contents and full text.

Final Report  

by Colin Rochester, Jane Harris and Romayne Hutchison. This provides a full account of the project’s aims, methodology, findings and conclusions. Click here for contents and text.  

Dissemination

The Centre is keen to ensure that these useful and practical publications are disseminated as widely as possible. The material has been designed to be easy to photocopy and we invite you to disseminate it as widely as possible. All we ask is that you acknowledge the source. 

For further information please contact: Sue Roebuck, Course Administrator, Centre for Civil Society, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE.

Tel: 020 7955 7375/7205 Fax: 020 7955 6039 E-mail: s.roebuck@lse.ac.uk

last updated 27 January 2005

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