International

Government departments have been moving to introduce 'Payment by results' into their purchasing of frontline services.

Ken Clarke at the Ministry of Justice has said that payment-by-results will be used in the rehabilitation of offenders, and it is being looked at for use in children and young people's services - Civil Society Media news item http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/finance/news/content/6928/.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charity behind the AlertNet website, has launched TrustLaw, providing an online matching service for pro bono legal work around the world and also "the first international information hub on anti-corruption and governance issues".

TrustLaw Connect will put NGOs or social entrepreneurs in touch with leading law firms with specialist skills which are prepared to give pro bono advice. http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/home/.

The international online information and resources services of US-based TechSoup Global and UK registered charity GuideStar International are to combine their operations. Guidestar International will continue to operate as a UK registered charity focusing on its sector reporting services, currently in six countries.

See Civil Society Media news item at http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/it/news/content/6470/.

(Additional info from UKFundraising)

The annual SMK (Sheila McKechnie) Campaigner Awards provide a support programme for emerging and grassroots campaigners.

Details of how to apply for the awards for 2010 are now available, with categories in Consumer Action, Environment, International, Local, London Social Justice, Shout Out! (for young campaigners), Social Inclusion and Transport.

A conference of the European Network of National Associations in London in March (11th to 13th) agreed the management of the new network and also discussed how to create a pan-Europe Charter, The Charter would be an agreement like the English Compact, aiming to improve the way the EU works with voluntary organisations. See NCVO news item.

This blog post gives the low down on the plug-ins (extensions) being put to use in a new website for one of the poorer national Red Cross Societies.

WordPress has made it much easier that it once was to keepg plug-ins, and the core software, up-to-date and solid for security purposes, http://sm4good.com/2010/03/01/nonprofit-website-scratch/.

A new series on social entrepreneurs worldwide is being fronted by TV business guru Alvin Hall. The eight-part Alvin's Guide to Good Business is currently on BBC World News and is also available online on Rockhopper TV, http://www.rockhopper.tv/tv/.

Italian Filippo Addarii, now resident in London, has a blog piece based around the recent Capacitybuilders publication, 'Alternative approaches to capacity building - emerging practices abroad', available from http://www.capacitybuilders.org.uk/node/294.