In recent years, the charity sector has undergone significant turmoil. And as the media increases its scrutiny of the third sector, charities all across the UK have undergone a crash-course in learning how to grapple with ramped-up regulations and cuts to government funding.

An increasing number of charities are now looking to outsourcing as a means to tackle shrinking budgets and meet new regulatory requirements. Hence why the NOA, in partnership with DDC Outsourcing Solutions, deemed now the perfect time to launch its brand new series of Charity Sector Special Interest Groups.

The round table discussion

The first round table of the series took place on 10th May at Freeths, the UK-based law firm. DDC OS attended, and were accompanied by a charity sector-based client; the two having experienced a highly successful outsourcing partnership over the past couple of years, a case study that served to exemplify many necessary components of successful charity outsourcing.

Unsurprisingly, supplier-buyer relationships were at the core of the discussion. Trust and good communication were singled out as two of the most important priorities if the third sector’s outsourcing is to work well in the long term.

Those around the table felt that reputational risk looms very large for charities, especially after the recent media coverage of mismanagement on the part of some charities – the death of Olive Cooke in 2015 and other cases have caused concerns for how charities use their data. Accordingly, it is important that charities work with service providers they can trust their brand with, who put particular effort into understanding and carrying out the charity’s mission. On the other hand, it was agreed that a carefully chosen third party specialist could minimise the risk of charities misusing their own data.

Communication was seen as key here - DDC OS and the client charity shared how their own experience of how regular and open discussion were vital to the thriving relationship they’d built.

To read the full blog post here.

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Related: Event Launched to Help Charities Outsource Effectively