The theme of collaboration and partnerships, and how different charities can work together and with other organisations, has continued to emerge in discussions with charity trustees and leaders, in a local, regional, national and international context.
While there are positive signs, in a turbulent economic climate, it is even more important for a charity to focus on where it makes a distinctive difference, particularly where it has limited resources.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the UK economy grew by 0.1% in February 2024, following growth of 0.3% in January 2024 (which was revised up from 0.2% growth).
Headline inflation also took another small step on the path back to the Bank of England’s target as it declined from 3.4% to 3.2% in March 2024. Lower food inflation, which is now at 4% and down from 19% last year, was a particularly key factor, although oil prices have picked up in response to concerns over supplies and increased geopolitical risks.
The annual growth in regular pay from the ONS continued a move downward to 6.0% in the three months to February 2024. While unemployment remained relatively stable, the number of vacancies for which employers are actively recruiting has continued to fall in the quarter January to March 2024.
Future of government
The latest research as part of PwC’s Future of Government research programme is called Rethinking the Architecture of Government. It points to a need to improve the user and citizen engagement experience, establish a new deal between central and local agencies of government, foster cross-organisational collaboration to tackle critical challenges and address capacity and capability.
Charities are integral to our society and are well-positioned to work with government and the wider public sector to deliver a better end-to-end experience for citizens, service users and communities. It is important that their voices are heard if there is to be a step-change, including for service provision to be more inclusive.
Many of the issues facing society are multi-faceted in nature. Robust partnerships, including across government, businesses and the charity sector, are critical to navigating the cross-cutting strategic challenges facing the UK. In particular, charities have important expertise and experience.
These partnerships can sometimes be short-term for specific initiatives whereas building strategic longer-term relationships will help to provide more sustained outcomes and impact.
Daniel Chan is a director at PwC
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