Other sectors want charities to ‘speak up’ in public debates, report says

Public and private sector leaders want charity chief executives to become more vocal in public debates, according to a new report by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK).

Other sector leaders want charity CEOs to “bring their unique perspective to important issues” by speaking out on topical agendas, not just “their core issue”, it said.

The report, published today for the Charity Reform Group (CRG), said there was “a clear gap for civil society” to “join the dots” on disparate policy initiatives.

It said currently charity leaders were underrepresented on current affairs programmes like Question Time, Peston, and the Andrew Marr Show, with just 2% of guests from civil society, compared to 10% from academia and journalism and 4% from business.

‘People outside the sector want charity CEOs to speak up’

The report’s findings are based on a series of conversations between charity CEOs and leaders from the public sector, politics, media, business, and wider civil society held last year under Chatham House rules.