Title

Whitehall's economists are being encouraged to offer free advice to charities as part of an initiative to ease costs and improve third sector skills. Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, head of the civil service, will urge his staff to sign up to volunteer when he helps launch the Pro Bono Economics charity at the Treasury on 29 September. Sir Gus, an economist by training, is a personal advocate for the idea and will argue that the charity sector could gain significantly from advice provided by trained economists. He also believes Whitehall's army of 1,100 economists will gain vital practical experience from outside Whitehall if they participate. One Whitehall finance director, said: ‘We await the full details of the launch later this month, but the idea is already gaining interest from economists. ‘Other professionals in government, such as lawyers and management consultants, have been providing charities and voluntary groups with help for years. In my view, it's high time that a co-ordinated approach to economic advice follows. For a charity, economics expertise is difficult and expensive to obtain, and complex to disseminate. This [programme] could really help them.' Many charities, including those providing public services, have suffered financially during the recession. Interestingly, economists working in the financial services sector – whom many people blame for the deep recession – are also being urged to join the initiative. Discredited "masters of the universe" working in the City will have an immediate role model: PBE will be led by chief executive Martin Brookes, a former economist at Goldman Sachs International who has also worked for charities such as Amnesty International.

Title

WHITEHALL

Charities get free advice

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING