Equipping the civil society leaders of the future

As you read this, civil society organisations and their leaders are fighting fires on all sides. In some cases, a desperate battle for survival is being waged in the face of funding cuts and rising demand for services. Even the most secure of organisations are confronted by radically changing environments, and those of you from civil society organisations need no reminding of this. However, as much as we might be caught in an unprecedented moment, the world is still turning. The current tranche of challenges will in time be replaced by new ones, as will today's civil society leaders, and someone needs to stand in the eye of the storm to look at what these future leaders will need to fight their own fires. This is why NCVO set up the Leadership 20:20 Commission . In 2007 a founding group of 20 emerging leaders met to begin discussing the issues and needs of emerging leadership in the sector, and took these conversations up and down the country through a series of "Curry Clubs". Today, the commission represents a wide range of emerging and emerged leaders as well as experts, coaches and commentators; all with a commitment to growing, developing and supporting emerging civil society leaders. We are investigating four areas in particular: identifying and developing pathways into civil society leadership, how to attract and retain the most influential leaders, how to connect and grow emerging leaders and addressing the challenges they face. The report published by our pilot group commented that a lack of challenging entry-level placements, career progression and recognition among peers were often inhibitors to leadership development from within the sector. This could be correlated to the figure identified by ACEVO that 80% of its members who responded to their pay survey did not emerge from within the sector, but came from outside. Could it be that the sector is not resourced to provide the skills and leadership development needed to take on the big jobs? Or maybe the networks that exist for emerging leaders in civil society are less developed than they are in other sectors? Many emerging leaders I speak to suspect the culture of networking and communicating among young professionals in other sectors is more openly encouraged and accepted than it is in our own. The present condition of leadership development in civil society is in spite of having proportionally the most qualified employees of any sector in the UK. NCVO's 2010 Almanac identified, albeit marginally, higher levels of further and higher education qualifications compared to the public sector, and significantly higher levels compared to the private sector. Wherever tomorrow's leaders come from, and however they connect and develop, they will be charged with tackling enormous challenges in both society and the sector. They will be responsible for safeguarding independence while ensuring financial security, at the same time as being accountable. Many believe that transparently addressing the needs of a more diverse and demanding society, increasingly marked by the divide between haves and have-nots, will be their agenda. Civil society needs bold leaders to give direction and drive change in wider society for the better, and now is the time to empower them. Our online consultation is open until the end of March. You can contribute your thoughts at ncvo-vol.org.uk/leadership2020 , and help us to create the greatest generation of civil society leaders Britain has ever known. Richard Doughty is the chair of the NCVO leadership commission This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To find out about forthcoming Q&As, sign up to the voluntary sector network .