realisedevelopment.net

Just another WordPress site

Supply and Demand

March 16, 2008 by admin

Supply and Demand

So David Cameron wants to double the number of Health Visitors. Those tackling the worklessness agenda want to use caseworkers to get people off of benefits and back into work. On the Enterprise agenda we have community motivators, enterprise champions, enablers and streetwalkers – all working in communities to encourage individuals to consider self-employment and starting a business.

Two problems:

  • Service providers on the supply side compete with each other to attract individuals onto their programmes so that they can count them in their outputs. Some can threaten to remove benefits unless individuals from target groups take up their services. Others spend lots of cash on marketing and sales, saturating the marketplace with messages about how their services will transform individuals and communities;
  • There is little or no demand for their services in the target communities. There is no demand side. People are cynical, feeling manipulated, threatened, belittled and demonised. Their communities are saturated with outreach workers from the supply side looking to sign them up to their programmes. They are subject to advertising campaigns, leaflet drops, door knocking and telesales.

Perhaps what is required is a much more client centred (rather than policy led) engagement on the (distinct lack of) demand side – helping individuals to decide for themselves what might constitute progress for them (rather than for the policy makers) – and then helping them to access service providers that can help. Community workers who are not looking to sell policy objectives but just to respond effectively and with commitment to individuals who want to try to make things better for themselves and their families. Workers who are trained to leave people alone unless they ask to be helped. Outreach workers with nothing to sell – just the skills to help and extensive networks into the expertise and infrastructure that has already been developed on the supply side.

This would be a very different model of engagement and one that might just work.

The case workers might just start to help people move forward on agendas that matter to them. To become more enterprising in improving their own circumstances and ability. To start again exploring and developing their own potential

Share this Post

Filed Under: enterprise Tagged With: community, development, enterprise, strategy

Recent Posts

  • Hello world!
  • The Challenges of ‘Engaging Community Leaders’
  • Are rich people less honest?
  • 121s – The single most effective tool for improving performance at work?
  • Wendell Berry’s Plan to Save the World

Recent Comments

  • A WordPress Commenter on Hello world!
  • charles hapazari on Top Down: Bottom Up
  • Marvina Babs-Apata on The Challenges of ‘Engaging Community Leaders’
  • Steve Hoey on The Challenges of ‘Engaging Community Leaders’
  • Philippa on An imaginary open letter: To those who would ‘engage’ us…

Archives

  • November 2018
  • March 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007

Categories

  • Community
  • Development
  • enterprise
  • entrepreneurship
  • Leadership
  • management
  • Progress School
  • Results Factory
  • Training
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2023 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in