Letters | Society | The Guardian

As Phil Hope says, small is beautiful. But if rhetoric is to become reality, government and many third-sector organisations will need to make changes.The government must address the unintended consequences of its efficiency drive. The reality is that commissioners of services are being driven towards fewer, bigger service contracts. If services are to be competitively tendered, we have to find ways to assess service providers based on real long-term outcomes - for users and the wider community.The London borough of Camden awarded a mental health service contract using a sustainable commissioning model that does just that. A shared bank of indicators demonstrating outcomes could go some way to enabling the third sector to provide positive change by making the process simpler, easier and cheaper.Toynbee Hall, a charity based in east London, is piloting the approach. But the burden can't rest with the third sector alone; funders and infrastructural bodies need to work together to create this kind of common resource. Ultimately, government must ensure that its zeal for the third sector, when mixed with its obsession with efficiency and competition, doesn't inadvertently destroy what makes the sector unique.Lisa Sanfilippo and Josh Ryan-CollinsNew Economics Foundation

Letters | Society | The Guardian