Jim Mullan: NFP partnerships with corporate organisations are not always positive
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Jim Mullan moved to Australia last year September and has quickly found himself a new position as the CEO of SecondBite, an organisation that redistributes surplus fresh food to community food programs around Australia.
Mullan is no stranger to the NFP world and worked for many years in the UK’s NFP sector, including being the CEO of The Big Issue UK.
SecondBite Chairman and Founder Ian Carson said Mullan’s appointment heralds the start of a new chapter in the growth of the organisation.
Third Sector spoke to Mullan about the differences between UK’s NFP sector and Australia’s NFP sector, corporate partnerships and food wastage in Australia.
You have worked in the NFP space for a very long time- what are some changes you have seen throughout your NFP career?
I think the most significant change has been around the professionalisation of charities and the emergence of social enterprise models. I think organisations in the NFP space now are more business-like in their approach and have become more enterprising. The best operations have managed to make this change without undermining their relationship with their mission or sacrificing their responsibilities around campaigning and advocacy.
How did you become the CEO of The Big Issue UK and what made you take on this new role as the CEO of SecondBite?
I took on the role of CEO of The Big Issue UK because I had a personal relationship with the Chair of The Big Issue. I had been considering a move to Australia but my visa application fell between government spills and a general election. The Big Issue UK was at a point where it needed significant change, I was losing hope on the visa front and Lord (John) Bird asked me if I was up for the challenge. However 18 months into my role, my Visa for Australia came through. [I left my role early] and then I arrived in Australia in September last year. I had a period where I worked privately for some NFPs in Victoria whilst waiting for the right opportunity to come along. I was aware of the work of SecondBite and, when the opportunity came along, I felt like this was the kind of role and confronting challenge that would make me jump out of the bed in the morning.
Is there a large difference between the UK and Australia’s NFP sector?
Yes there is. I think there is a different level of maturity in the UK’s NFP sector. I think this probably reflected in relationship with government, influence on policy, funding and finance, social impact, corporate engagement and the support structures in place to support the development of an enterprising third sector.
Tell us about SecondBite’s relationship with Coles and the Coles Community Food initiative?
The relationship with Coles is at the heart of our organisation. A lot is made of the sustainability element of our work with Coles and, make no mistake about this, food recovery is our core competence, however, the real value comes in the sharing of capacity, access to organisational intellect and intelligence, support at every level of the Coles organisation and, most importantly, the commitment of staff in stores and distribution centres to our cause. These are the guys who keep our promises to the individuals and organisations we support year in and year out.
Do you think it is important for NFPs to have partnerships with for-profit businesses?
Yes, however the answer comes with a caveat. For NFP’s who have a relationships with major organisations a degree of diligence is required. If the relationship is based upon shared value then it probably makes enormous sense and can be both productive and benign. Not everyone’s experience in these matters however has been as positive as ours. In some cases- the relationships between NFPs and some corporate entities hasn’t been very positive bordering on the abusive. My advice, beware your hearts desire…
Is there a lot of food wastage in Australia? Are you able to tell us some statistics?
There is an estimated $8 billion worth of food wasted in Australia annually. Two million Australians are food insecure, that’s about 8 per cent of the population. The most recent food bank statistics show that one in six people will occasionally experience food insecurity.
Other NFPs in this space such as FoodBank and OzHarvest are also trying to solve the issue of food wastage / insecurity in Australia. We seem to work together wherever it is possible but I wouldn’t like to give the impression that this is a co-ordinated action across Australia- at this point I don’t think it is. I think that greater cohesion is something we would all like to work towards. At the moment however, even with our collective efforts, we don’t lay a glove on the demand.
What are your ambitions for SecondBite?
My ambition for SecondBite is that it does begin to address the challenge of food insecurity in a much more significant way and that we become an integral presence in this space.
