Big Society needs to note the corporate citizen

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/407789/building-big-society.pdf
"
Building this Big Society isn't just the responsibility of just one or
two departments. It is the responsibility of every department of
Government, and the responsibility of every citizen too. Government on
its own cannot fix every problem. We are all in this together. We need
to draw on the skills and expertise of people across the country as we
respond to the social, political and economic challenges Britain faces.
"

They've forgotten the corporate citizen. This isn't about making the
bankers sort out the poverty they've caused. It's about them sticking to
their ideals of corporate citizenship.

Blue chip companies seek the most intelligent, talented people. They
careful select using the most advanced psychometric tests, take people
from top universities and with top degrees. They skim the cream of the
nation's talent, train them and give them amazing opportunities. This is
a huge amount of intellectual capital that could be applied to the
problems of poverty, destitutions, homelessness, distress and illness
that the future brings.

I'm not talking about lots more management consultants though. There's a
conversation about Liberating the NHS where I've posted a management
consultant's opinion. He's someone who's worked in a professional role
with the NHS. He's come in from the outside though. He knows nothing
about what it is like working in the third sector or in healthcare. The
problems of people, the different organisational cultures, the fact that
people are there because they give a shit rather than the money, the
entrenched hierarchies outside the organisational hierarchy: the people
factors rather than what can be achieved by logic and analysis alone.

I wish the corporations would make long term donations of their staff.
At the moment companies like Capital One and Goldman Sachs do "green
days" or the equivalent where staff do something for the community.
These are a total fucking waste of talent. Senior execs and analysts
help build a garden. It's fun for them but with the money they make in
that time they could buy ten gardens. If they were willing to donate
staff to work in charities, councils, the NHS and other government and
third sector organisations then there's a hope their talents could be
put to something really useful other than making more money for
shareholders. I'm taking about embedding these people in organisations
so they're not coming from the outside as aliens unaware of the
different environment. 1 day a week for 52 weeks a year. That's the sort
of donation I want to see from the wealthiest businesses. Give their
best staff to help save lives rather than make profit.

That's real corporate citizenship.