LOCALISM AND THE BIG SOCIETY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR TENANT AND RESIDENT Angus McCabe Third Sector Research Centre North West Tenants and Residents Assembly 7th December 2011
Thursday, 8 December 2011
A STARTING POINT • Cameron’s Big Society “A mystery to most” (Harris InteracEve Survey April: 2011) • “Big Society: it’s the only game in town” (Development Agency Interview) • “Bo8om-‐up and community-‐led ac=vi=es which so o?en bubble along under the radar are receiving new public recogni=on. This is in part because we are on the threshold of poli=cal change and deep economic restraint…” (Oppenheim et al., 2010: 2). • Tenants and Resident’s OrganisaEons – below or ‘under’ the radar? Thursday, 8 December 2011
DEFINING BELOW THE RADAR • Unregistered groups (unincorporated associaNons not on charity of other regulatory registers) • Income thresholds: under £10k (NCVO), under £25k (Thompson) under £35k (CEFET) • Below other ‘radars’: local directories, web, policy, funders etc • Issue of ‘fuzzy’ boundaries and definiNons • Below the radar is not a deficit model Thursday, 8 December 2011
POLICY CONTEXT QUIZ 1 • “It is my belief, a?er a century in which to tackle social injus=ce the state has had to take power to ensure social progress, that to tackle the social injus=ces that s=ll remain the state will have to give away power.” • Who said this? • And for a bonus point: When?
Thursday, 8 December 2011
POLICY QUIZ 2 • This is not just devolu=on that takes power from central government and gives it to local government, but power that goes from local government down to local people, providing a cri=cal role for individuals and neighbourhoods, o?en through the voluntary sector.” • Who said this? • Which one? (a clue) Thursday, 8 December 2011
‘CIVIL SOCIETY’ POLICY; CHANGE OR CONTINUITY: 1? • Key service provider • Big Society, localism – double devoluEon and ‘CommuniEes in Control’ (2008) • ParEcipatory budget seXng • Asset transfer – The Quirk Review (2007) • NaEonal CiEzen Service – Building Britain’s Future (2009) • PromoEon of social enterprise • Social Investment Bank – Big Society Bank • CommuniEes as ‘change agents’ Thursday, 8 December 2011
‘CIVIL SOCIETY’ POLICY; CHANGE OR CONTINUITY: 2? • ConNnuity with a ‘new language’? From pathfinders to vanguards and kick-‐starts etc • ‘Freedoms’ rather than targets • De-‐regulaNon • Speed of cuts/deficit reducNon strategy • Change of ‘tone’ – from ‘nudge’ to ‘push’? • From community development to social acNon, but……… Thursday, 8 December 2011
RESPONDING TO THE NEW POLICY ENVIRONMENT • • • • • • •
No single ‘sector’ response: Enthusiasts PragmaNsts ‘Bi-‐polar’: depending on role/posiNoning Reluctant followers Opponents The two ‘O’s: opportunity versus opposiNon
Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR • Localism Act o Right to challenge o Right to buy o Right to manage
• BUT o Placing localism within the welfare reform agenda…….
Thursday, 8 December 2011
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR? • Voluntary sector: larger role in delivery of public services – funding assumpNons? • Community sector: voice and influence – but management and responsibility? • Government: a ‘big society’ and social acNon: what kind of acNon? • Tenants and Resident OrganisaNons…….?
Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE IMPACT OF CHANGE 1: THE FORMAL ‘THIRD SECTOR’ “Policy rich: resource poor” TescoisaNon? Centralised stock transfer? LidlisaNon: public services ‘on the cheap’ Mergers and consorNa or the end of solidarity? “Now I know my enemies.” • Advocacy or service delivery? • Rights versus responsibiliNes? As tenants – as residents….. • • • •
Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE IMPACT OF CHANGE 2: BELOW THE RADAR • Too early to tell – but early indicaNons: • For many below the radar groups: no impact: receive no funding/not linked to governmental policy agendas • Loss of small grants/pro bono support for groups with wellbeing agendas (pensioner groups, mental health support groups etc.) • The ‘compound effect’? • And for Tenant and Resident OrganisaNons…? Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE CHALLENGES OF DELIVERING THE NEW AGENDA 1 • Engagement of whom – and for what? CommuniEes or the formal voluntary sector? • Outcome funding: payment on results • What is the payback? • The tendering process: from PQQ to ITT • Social return on investment (SROI) • Skills base: levels of complexity: a new model of capacity building? • From grants to contracts to loans and venture capital Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE CHALLENGES OF DELIVERING THE NEW AGENDA 2 • Rates of community acNon; staNc over last decade; concepts of a ‘civic core’ • Understanding moNvaNons: good ciNzens, social ciNzens or angry ciNzens? • Public percepNons of policy shihs • Change in role at a community level: – From acEve ciEzen to big ciEzen – From influence to management and responsibility
Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE CHALLENGES OF DELIVERING THE NEW AGENDA 3 • AspiraNons or assumpNons around philanthropic or corporate support for the delivery of public services • Social acNon versus individual rights: consumerism or ciNzenship? • The need for a ‘new public/civil servant’: from manager to ‘storyteller, architect or bricoleur’ • Local freedoms versus ‘central influence/ control’ Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE CHALLENGES OF DELIVERING THE NEW AGENDA 4 • ‘Scaling up’ or ‘replicaEon’? • The nature of contracEng: fewer and bigger? • Trickle down? • Risk averse commissioning • ‘Barrier busEng’ but barriers to community acEvity beyond government influence? • Funding and the ‘funding gap’ between ‘old’ and ‘new’ money • The private sector role: not bio-‐diversity? • Other????? Thursday, 8 December 2011
FUTURE GAZING • New alliances? TRO’s, youth, Trade Unions, others • Thriving community acEvity ‘beyond the state’: s%ll below the radar • Struggling groups offering services to the public but not (statutory) public services • Increasing gap between have’s and have not’s • Public percepEon of government, local government and the formal voluntary sector – social housing? • Freedoms versus ‘checks and balances’ • Equali%es……the impact of changes to Local Housing Allowance Thursday, 8 December 2011
FURTHER INTO THE FUTURE? • “I don’t want to predict what the future, say in five years, will look like for voluntary never mind community groups. There may be a leaner but more efficient and effec=ve sector, a more entrepreneurial and business like sector – or just a leaner one. What we will see played out in some form is a profound change in the rela=onships between people, government and the sector.” (Development Agency Interview) Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE FINAL QUIZ • What might be wrong with the Commission on Big Society statement: • Powerful People, Responsible Society • SuggesNons please………
Thursday, 8 December 2011
THE ROLE OF TENANT AND RESIDENT ORGANISATIONS IN…. • Places • Spaces • Faces • Time
Thursday, 8 December 2011
CONTACT
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Thursday, 8 December 2011
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