From Governance to Ground

Welcome to our first Issue for 2016 which comes to you as the seasons change from summer to autumn and from winter to spring – a time when we move away from extremes of heat or of cold, of flooding or of droughts. In a sense, it is the need for change from the extremes to something more moderate that underpins the topic of this editorial, which I dedicate to those who, despite their expertise and commitment to the delivery of human services, have found themselves unwanted due to management and governance processes. Indeed, this editorial commentary has been inspired by the story of a man who, after more than 30 years of dedicated and innovative work in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, was declared redundant just prior to Christmas. It is not the particularities of his treatment that are important here, though many were disgusted by the process. Rather, it is the flow-on effects of governance within the managerialist, neoliberal environment that are my concern – especially their impacts on the ground. My commentary is in two parts: the first summarises the changes in our sector over the last 15 to 20 years with which most of you will be very familiar; the second draws attention to the processes that translate into less than optimum conditions for staff and clients.