In conversation: with Richard Hawkes
Richard Hawkes' term of office as the Bond
Chair ended this week, and his contribution to Bond over the last four years
has been significant. Indeed, Bond would
not be where it is today without the vision, commitment and determination of
Richard and the rest of the Board. Here
he reflects on his time on the Bond Board.
Bond has experienced many changes and much progress during your time as Chair. Which moments spring to mind as being particularly significant, and of which are you most proud?
I was very fortunate to be elected Chair one month before the start of MakePovertyHistory. Playing a central role in that campaign created the platform upon which the Board could drive substantial change. That change involved responding to members' wishes for a stronger, bolder Bond; convincing members that being a part of the network was worth paying more for; transforming what was an Executive Committee into a proper Board playing an appropriate governance role; securing increased funds from DFID; and, overseeing fundamental change within the Bond secretariat, in particular the introduction of a stronger management team.
I think the whole Board can feel really proud that we had a clear vision and we stuck to that, however difficult the journey was at times.
What have you enjoyed most about being Chair of the Board?
It is great being Chair of Bond. I have loved the challenges, the variety and the opportunity to work so closely with so many people across our sector. Without wanting to sound too clichéd, it has pushed me personally and professionally and without question both Sense International and VSO have benefited enormously from my involvement with Bond.
What position does Bond hold in the international development sector, and how has this developed over recent years?
The power of collective action is something that all of us involved in development must recognise and support - and that applies to us as a UK development sector too. The sector needs a voice and I think it has been tremendous to see the extent that the larger agencies have increasingly recognised the need for the whole sector to be heard, through Bond, at almost all high level meetings. For organisations such as Christian Aid and Oxfam to insist that their representations at Ministerial level will be stronger by ensuring a perspective representing the full diversity of the sector is of real credit to them and to where Bond is now.
Throughout DFID, and across Europe, Bond now has a credibility that we only aspired to 5 years ago.
Within the sector we need to network, to learn from each other, to improve ourselves and to keep ourselves informed of trends and issues of relevance to internationals NGOs - and Bond now plays a far stronger and more effective role in all of these areas.
We need to be braver in some of the positions we need to take, getting angrier about the world's failures to address poverty and recognising that we have a clear mandate to take decisive action without having to seek consensus on absolutely everything.
What do you see as the main challenges for Bond, and the sector we work in?
All NGOs are facing serious challenges in the coming years - the global financial crisis, fundraising challenges, increased donor support directly to the South, measuring impact, quality standards, decentralised structures, where next with Accra and the MDGs, a new new government in the USA and a potential new government in UK, climate change. All of this will have a huge impact on the role of UK NGOs, our funding and the nature of the way we work. Most NGOs will need Bond to be ahead of the game, thinking about these issues, leading advocacy and campaigns where necessary, influencing donors and governments and grasping nettles that will be too difficult for individual organisations to touch.
A strong Bond can stand up to governments and donors - and can also tell the sector itself when we need to get our act together, for example in consolidating the number of networks many of us are involved in, or the undoubted urgency of bolder work on quality standards.
Have you got any advice for your successor?
They don't need advice from me!
