GuideStar UK Director to Tour Australia
17 August 2009 at 4:24 pm
The Centre for Social Impact and Pro Bono Australia are hosting forums in Sydney and Melbourne in August featuring the Director of GuideStar UK Data Services, Les Hems.
Hems is one of the world’s leading experts on Third Sector information and measuring impact in the Not for Profit sector; the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Economics has recommended that the GuideStar system, which he helped develop, be investigated for use in Australia.
The Sydney and Melbourne forums will address the topic ‘Third Sector transparency, accountability and performance measurement in the 21st centrury’ with Hems drawing parralells to the increasingly sophisticated analysis used by the business sector.
His long-time research colleague Mark Lyons has been instrumental in bringing him to Australia to share his knowledge.
In 1994, Les established and then managed the research team at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and initiated a number of landmark projects such as the annual Civil Society Almanac and an annual survey of charitable giving. Between 1998 and 2000, Les was the Principal Researcher on the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Project and led the impact measurement component of the project.
On returning to the UK, he was appointed Director of Research in the Institute for Philanthropy and from that position Les was integral in establishing GuideStar UK, recognised as being at the forefront of developing publicly available information on Third Sector organisations.
In 2008 the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Economics recommended that ‘a GuideStar-type system’ be investigated for Australia. Current issues around transparency, accountability and performance measurement are hotly debated in the Australian Third Sector.
The Sydney (24th August) and Melbourne (27th August) Forums will address the issue of "Third Sector Transparency, Accountability and Performance Measurement in the 21st Century".
Contact the Centre for Social Impact for further information on Les Hems events in August at csi@unsw.edu.au
