MS Society excels at Third Sector Awards
19 Nov 2008
The MS Society pipped other organisations to the post when it won the Accountability and Transparency award at last night's prestigious Third Sector Excellence Awards.
The award was handed to the organisation deemed to have established the most effective channels of communication with and feedback from stakeholders, allowing them to gain a more comprehensive and clear account of what the organisation achieves.
Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society, said the award reflected the importance of openness to the Society as a membership organisation and a determination to put people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) at the centre of everything the charity does.
He added: "This is a tremendous achievement in these high profile UK-wide awards. The judges recognised a number of aspects of the way the Society now operates, including the consultation on our new strategy, 'Putting the pieces together to beat MS', which sought the hopes and aspirations of people living with MS.
"In particular, we showed clearly how people's contributions were incorporated into the strategy. The result was near unanimous support for the strategy from our members and we are now working hard to turn these hopes and aspirations into practice."
The Society went up against finalists Kent Union, the School Governors' One-Stop Shop and Zurich Community Trust.
The judges also recognised the impact of the decision to make Society Board meetings more open by encouraging staff attendance and communicating papers and outcomes clearly to key stakeholders.
The MS Society website was acknowledged as a striking aspect of the entry and the way in which the charity communicates with its supporters by using audio visual content and social networking sites.
The unusual practice of giving organisational email addresses to trustees, making it easier for stakeholders to contact them, was praised by judges, with one describing it as 'a model of transparency'.
Simon added: "These are important examples of the Society's culture of engaging effectively with stakeholders, communicating clearly, and being accountable for everything we do.
"Changing culture in this way is a genuine team effort with staff and volunteers working effectively together and the Society's achievement is well-deserved."
Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society, said the award reflected the importance of openness to the Society as a membership organisation and a determination to put people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) at the centre of everything the charity does.
He added: "This is a tremendous achievement in these high profile UK-wide awards. The judges recognised a number of aspects of the way the Society now operates, including the consultation on our new strategy, 'Putting the pieces together to beat MS', which sought the hopes and aspirations of people living with MS.
"In particular, we showed clearly how people's contributions were incorporated into the strategy. The result was near unanimous support for the strategy from our members and we are now working hard to turn these hopes and aspirations into practice."
The Society went up against finalists Kent Union, the School Governors' One-Stop Shop and Zurich Community Trust.
The judges also recognised the impact of the decision to make Society Board meetings more open by encouraging staff attendance and communicating papers and outcomes clearly to key stakeholders.
The MS Society website was acknowledged as a striking aspect of the entry and the way in which the charity communicates with its supporters by using audio visual content and social networking sites.The unusual practice of giving organisational email addresses to trustees, making it easier for stakeholders to contact them, was praised by judges, with one describing it as 'a model of transparency'.
Simon added: "These are important examples of the Society's culture of engaging effectively with stakeholders, communicating clearly, and being accountable for everything we do.
"Changing culture in this way is a genuine team effort with staff and volunteers working effectively together and the Society's achievement is well-deserved."
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