Ride London 100 calls supporters of World Child Cancer

As the new ceo of World Child Cancer I have learnt an awful lot about challenge events this week. I had no idea how valuable the fundraising fit folk do is, and what a difference it makes to small charities like World Child Cancer, where a few hundred pounds will save a child's life.

The work World Child Cancer does is unique in that we get cancer diagnosis and therapy to children in parts of the world that are so poor, without us there is next to no chance of survival. Each of the 9 countries in which we work now have sustainable projects supported by bringing together cancer specialists from the developed world with local health care professional to establish oncology units with the latest treatments.

To do this we need money, and challenge events are a big part of how we got the funds to support cancer care for over 1, 700 kids last year.

So I am surprised to learn that even though you can't get places now in the Ride London 100, set for August 4th where cyclists can follow the historic ride Bradley Wiggins took at the 2012 London Olympics, and even though there can be no better cause than World Child Cancer, we still have 5 places left. Go figure.

So cycle don't walk and get in contact with us on 0203 176 4491 or joe.fitzpatrick@worldchildcancer.org and sign up now. To have your place in this historic event you will need to give us a registration fee of £25 which tells us your serious and we ask that you undertake to fundraise £595 which is only fair as the places in the event cost us and the kids need that money! Please help us and be a part of something really special.

UPDATE: We now have 2 places left so be quick! allison.ogdennewton@worldchildcancer.org

Twitter's top trumps: are you the Lady Gaga of social enterprise?

I have lifted this piece written by the Guardian's Joe Jervis that has created a league table of active twitterers in the social enterprise world. As the top ranking women (coming a lowly 72) he might be concluding that I am the Lady Gaga of social enterprise. Somehow this seams improbable, unless the emphasis was on the gaga bit, but its a fun piece and I agree about the importance of social media in terms of message, for those of us who love to communicate - you can't beat it! Over to Joe.......

Ever wondered how influential you are in the world of social enterprise? Find out whether you've made our list of the top 50 most connected tweeters

Of all the pieces of advice I received at university, as I prepared to enter the competitive world of journalism, one rather hyperbolic statement has stayed with me: "If you're not on Twitter, you don't exist".

Two and a half years on I've sent more than 2,000 tweets and amassed the huge total of 390 followers in the process, including influential social enterprise figures such as SEUK's Peter Holbrook and David Floyd ofSocial Spider CIC.

Yet despite my best efforts, I've failed to make a newly released list of the top 50 most connected tweeters in the world of social enterprise. Research commissioned by the Guardian Social Enterprise Networkfrom social media consultancy Tweetminster shows us which Twitter players packed the most punches during a three-month period ending earlier this year.

Tweetminster sought to identify the 1000 most active social enterprise Twitter accounts by searching for the tweeters who tweeted most about relevant terms such as #socent and social investment. These 1000 accounts were then analysed, with the "most connected" accounts being the ones with the most followers out of this group of 1000.

Using that methodology, here are the top 50 most connected organisations and individuals on Twitter in social enterprise – the Lady Gagas and Justin Biebers of the socent world.

1. Skoll World Forum @SkollWorldForum (452 followers from within Tweetminsters top 1000 most active social enterprise tweeters)
The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship takes place each year in Oxford, hosting nearly 1,000 distinguished delegates from the social, finance, private and public sectors. The Skoll World Forum website is now a year-round platform where executive audiences can learn about the latest news and innovative approaches in a variety of focus areas from deforestation to healthcare.

2. Ashoka @Ashoka (448)
Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 countries. Founded in 1980, Ashoka has provided start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network across the business and social sectors, and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world.

3. Skoll Foundation @SkollFoundation (423)
The Skoll Foundation is the body behind the most connected Twitter player, the Skoll World Forum event itself.

4. School of Social Entrepreneurs @SchSocEnt (416) 
The School for Social Entrepreneurs provides learning and support to social entrepreneurs in UK and around the world. SSE has branches around the world including offices in London, Sydney and Ontario.

5. UnLtd @UnLtd (415)
UnLtd is the leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs in the UK and offers the largest such network in the world. UnLtd invests directly in individuals and offering varied packages of resources; from awards of funding, to ongoing advice, networking and practical support.

6. Acumen @Acumen (388)Acumen (formally Acumen Fund) is a non-profit that raises charitable donations to invest in companies, leaders and ideas that are changing the way the world tackles poverty.

7. Nesta UK @nesta_uk (385)
Nesta describes itself as an independent charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. It does this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills.

8. Ashoka Changemakers @changemakers (383)
Ashoka Changemakers' tools and resources service aims "to empower everyone to contribute to a better world".

9. GOOD @GOOD (381)
Good describes itself as a global community "of people who give a damn", working towards individual and collective progress.

10. Unreasonable @BeUnreasonable (380)
Unreasonable helps ventures and entrepreneurs scale their impact. Each year, Unreasonable invites 10-30 entrepreneurs to live together and receive customised training and support from 50 world-class business mentors. Unreasonable'a goal is to bring all the resources to accelerate these 50 social ventures so they can scale to meet the needs of at least one million people each.

11. Echoing Green @echoinggreen (353)
Echoing Green is a global non-profit that provides seed funding and technical assistance to emerging social entrepreneurs with ideas for social change.

12. Guardian Social Enterprise Network @GuardianSocEnt (352)

13. Social Enterprise UK @SocialEnt_UK (341)
Social Enterprise UK is the national body for social enterprise. SEUK represents its members in order to support and help to grow the social enterprise movement.

14. Social Enterprise @PioneersPost (335)
Pioneers Post is an online newspaper that connects social innovators across the globe.

15. Social Earth @SocialEarth (323)
SocialEarth is a source for news and information about social entrepreneurship. The company has more than 170 contributors in 25 countries.

16. Young Foundation @the_young_fdn (320)
The Young Foundation is a London-based thinktank which takes practical action on the issues it researches, specialising in social innovation and social enterprise.

17. ClearlySo @ClearlySo (317) 
ClearlySo connects social business and enterprises with potential investors and corporations looking to engage with the social economy.

18. Skoll Centre @SkollCentre (316)
The Skoll Centre, based at Said Business School in Oxford, aims to advance the field of social entrepreneurship "through education, research and collaboration".

19. Social Enterprise London @SocEntLdn (313)
Social Enterprise London works to unite, inspire and lead London's social enterprise movement.

20. Kiva @Kiva (301)
Kiva is a non-profit organisation with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

21. Nathaniel Whittemore @socialentrprnr (300)
22. The Big Society @thebigsociety (297)
23. Beyond Profit @beyondprofit (291)
24. Social Investment @TheSocialInvest (285)
25. SOCAP Markets @SOCAPmarkets (278)
26. Third Sector @ThirdSector (275)
27. Case Foundation @CaseFoundation (270)
28. Next Billion @NextBillion (268)
29. Rodney Schwartz @RodneySchwartz (267)
30. Social Enterprise Blog @socialbusiness (265)
31. Social Enterprise Mark @SE_Mark (260)
32. Jonathan Jenkins @j0nathanjenkins (257)
33. Kevin Doyle Jones @Kevindoylejones (256)
34. Social Innovation @SSIReview (254)
35. Martin Montero @Montero (251)
36. Nick Temple @nicktemple1 (249)
37. PopTech @poptech (249)
38. Joey Shepp @SocialVenture (239)
39. Cliff Prior @CliffPrior (235)
40. Skoll World Forum @SkollWF (230)
41. Society Guardian @SocietyGuardian (229)
42. Liam Black @LiamABlack (227)
43. Dan Lehner @danlehner (226)
44. New Economics Foundation @nef (226)
45. Social Innovation Camp @sicamp (225)
46. StartingBloc @StartingBloc (225)
47. NCVO @NCVO (223)
48. Ben Metz @benmetz (215)
49. Peter Holbrook @peteholbrook (210)
50. Social Citizen @socialcitizen (209)

Those who missed out on the top 50 but feature in the top 100 includedThe Grameen Foundation, Ogunte, Big Society Capital and Oxford Jam. The individual woman with the highest score – at number 72 – is Allison Ogden-Newton, formerly of Social Enterprise London and now heading up the Transition Institute.

Are you surprised by those at the top of the list? Is there anyone missing from the list who you thought would be on there? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more Guardian #socent on Twitter follow @GuardianSocEnt – or@joejervis89

Would we have had social enterprise without Margaret Thatcher?

Thatcherism taught us that a mixed market in the public sector is the future, and that a 'state or market' debate is outdated

Margaret Thatcher – a key figure in the history of the social enterprise movement? Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd./Graham Whitby-Boot/Allstar

There probably aren't many Margaret Thatcher fans among social entrepreneurs, with most attributing the growth of market economics in social arenas to the measures introduced by Tony Blair. But would we have had the Right to Request without de-nationalisation or the Right to Buy?

As Ed Miliband said during parliament's tribute sitting, Thatcher was right to recognise that our economy needed to change. In 1982, she said:"How absurd it will seem in a few years' time that the state ran Pickfords removals and the Gleneagles Hotel."

Thatcher introduced the idea that government should stop being the default employer and that the public sector needed mixed models of delivery – thinking that has been shared by successive governments ever since.

Looking at public sector reform through the point of view of theTransition Institute, set up to promote increased social value in public service created through non-public sector providers, we can see two major spikes in change; the first when Thatcher allowed the private sector to enter the domain of public services such as in municipal maintenance and waste collection; and the second when Blair introduced the concept of social enterprise into education, health and the then Department of Trade and Industry.

At my organisation, the Transition Institution, we know that the market economy drives down costs but can also fail if equal priority is not given to the needs of service users and the wider community, termed social value. Our work shows what can be achieved when the priority of cost effective services are shared with the needs of those that rely on services. We promote the work of co-operative schools, staff-led community interest youth services, and mutual delivery of community care.

The Transition Institution calls for plurality, a drive for an increase in social and economic value, demonstrating the coexistence of free market forces and social responsibility. The introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and the support of the cabinet office, led by Francis Maude, for the promotion of mutuals within the public sector have encouraged those seeking change in this field, but progress is slow.

Thatcher was perhaps the great advocate of the free market, even though employment in the public sector was 3% higher when she left office than it is now. She undoubtedly questioned the monopoly of the state and did not limit her introduction of market forces to the nationalisation of British Airways, British Gas and British Telecom, but went on to assert that the state can not commission, deliver and appraise every service without the emergence of a conflict of interest that does not serve the wider public, an idea continued under Blair.

In 2011, David Cameron said: "The Blair government took some good steps, like foundation hospitals and academy schools, but they were too tentative … The public already benefits from services delivered by private and third sector providers, from running walk-in clinics to providing school caretakers, and the government is right to recognise that there is scope to do more."

Yet even with that commitment and other stated aims to grow mutualism, social value and community engagement, we have yet to see a third spike. Many prospective and new public sector spin-outs continue to be confronted by sceptical parent authorities and voracious private sector competitors with the advantage that they can get in quick. As in Thatcher's era, it is money that counts: then inflation hit 21% and drove the government to think the unthinkable. Today, it's the deficit and, with banks limiting borrowing, those with access to capital are moving faster. I do not have the results of the 2013 national Transition Institute surveyyet, but I am willing to guess that access to capital is a big issue for today's independent public service providers.

Margaret Thatcher introduced an idea that continues to grow, that of a mixed market in the public sector. Her scepticism about the public sector led to a deep-seated faith, shared by some in government today, that only unfettered competition can give us quality and affordability. In contrast, some on the left maintain that only the state can care for its citizens.

This is 2013 not 1983 and if the banking crisis and subsequent recession have taught us anything, it is that it may be hard to describe and tricky to measure but what the public sector needs is a mixed approach – only a combination of competition tempered by social value can create affordable and sustainable world-class public services.

Allison Ogden-Newton is chair of the Transition Institute.

Expert round up: how to make the most of city deals

Share in the advice of our expert panel on how cities can best use new powers over transport, education and infrastructure

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• Sarah Marsh
• Guardian Professional, Saturday 23 March 2013 10.28 GMT
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Salford, Greater Manchester – one of the first eight core cities to sign a city deal in 2012. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Neil McInroy is chief executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies

Whitehall needs to be straight: What powers is it willing to devolve? Central government need to cut the process, horsetrading and lay down their red lines. Then cities can have a proper debate on whether they agree with the possibilities or want to play along.

Favouratism must be addressed: City deals need to be underpinned and hooked back into a new national economic narrative. The treasury needs to do things which favour a variety of localities. We've had decades of treasury policy which has favoured the city. Whitehall needs to be more committed to re-addressing this.

Adam Bryan is senior policy manager at Essex county council

Build a relationship between private and public sectors: It is about involving the private sector at the fulcrum of a reformed skills system, where they make the decisions to ensure that provision is driven by employer need. It's about them co-leading the decision making around the major infrastructure investments which will catalyse growth.

Lorna Gibbons is economic development officer at the Borough of Poole

Does competitive bidding help? It depends what the funding is intended to achieve – who and where can deliver the greatest impact. The second wave of city deals was a competition but in the end the government decided to accept all offers for delivery of growth.

Allison Ogden-Newton is chair of the Transition Institute

Geographical boundaries are a concern: Looking at areas of European growth, success stories cannot be captured with the use of city boundaries or terms like urban or rural. It's the magic of what will work that has captured local imagination and the vision of successful leaders.

Tom Stannard is director of policy and communications atBlackburn with Darwen borough council

We need strong partnerships: There's a stronger recognition now that local growth is best driven by meaningful local partnerships that know their areas. I think, irrespective of boundaries, the debate is there to be won on the proper local settlement that should come from this in the medium term.

Darryl Eyers is deputy director and head of economic planning atStaffordshire county council

Do we risk less innovation in the next round of city deals? It will utlimately come down to the appetite of the area for innovation and how compelling a case you can make to government. The cabinet office is very supportive and the first wave has shown that if you have a good enough idea then ministers will want to support it – whether it fits neatly into a core package or not. However, I think the real proof will be seen in November.

Genuine commitment is needed: Leaders of local areas (beyond the city) at a political and business level must be able to work collaboratively, identify genuine priorities, and be ready to challenge the status quo. They must be clear on what is required of government to make the deal work. Genuine commitment from government is also needed to back local areas to make the right decisions.

Lord Shipley is adviser to the minister for cities, Greg Clark

Cities must demonstrate that devolution is sustainable: The truth is that England is hugely dependent on London. The question remains, how do we drive growth outside London? If accountabilities are 'multiple, complex and overlapping' we need to work out how to make them work, as opposed to being barriers.

Phillip Woolley is a partner at Grant Thornton

Let's reward good investment: The initial round of city deals were in my view, perhaps with the exception of Manchester, missing the underpinning of a robust and flexible resourcing model that rewarded good investment decisions and growth performance.

David Marlow is director of Third Life Economics

It's a matter of faith: The faith in local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and the faith in national agencies seem to be real issues that need further work in putting government's response to Heseltine into practice

Giles Rocca is head of policy and strategy at Westminster city council

Powers need to be fully devolved: I think that there is a risk that governance can be used as a tool for central government to decide how quickly and how far it will go around devolving powers. There are caveats in Heseltine's report about this. In a sense it turns into another bar to jump through.

Tom Bolton is senior analyst at the Centre for Cities thinktank

What happens next is important: Post budget, decisions on whether the single pot will include skills and employment funding are important. We won't know this until the spending review in June. It's a big test for Heseltine implementation.

Businesses can help to get local economic policy right: LEPs need to show that they can represent the wider business constituency in their areas, small or medium enterprises as well as the big employers, for a true picture of business needs and priorities.

You can read the discussion in full here

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