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Policy and Research Perusal (PARP) – April 2008

 Time for New PARP?

It occurred to me this morning that I’ve been sending out PARPs for a whole year this month – it’s our anniversary! But I’ve got to face facts - I’m never going to be taken seriously in policy land with an ebulletin called a PARP. It’s surely time for an expensive rebranding exercise, and we must start with the name. Here are my current favourite alternatives – I think either would give me tons more gravitas:  

·    Beth’s Update of Research and Policy (BURP)

·    Serious Consideration Of Noteworthy Emergings (SCONE)

 Any thoughts? 

But down to business - time for Policy Associated News To Share:

 Feeling empowered yet?

The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) is currently drafting a White Paper on empowerment, which is expected to be published in the summer. They have produced a launch document, ‘Unlocking the talent of our communities’, which has four sections:

·    improving deprived areas through regeneration and promoting work and enterprise

·    encouraging active citizenship and reviving civic society and local democracy

·    improving local public services

·    strengthening local accountability

 Unfortunately for a paper on empowerment, only the first of these has any detailed proposals… But I’m giving CLG the benefit of the doubt and assuming it’s because they’re doing their best to consult early, before their thinking on empowerment is fixed. The response from CDX, drawing on member experiences and community development perspectives on empowerment, will be added to the CDX website this week. There are also opportunities to discuss your views on empowerment at the CDX Regional Roadshows: http://www.cdx.org.uk/cdx-regional-events-2008

 You can read the launch document from CLG at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/712089

 Power pack

You can’t blame them for trying – CLG have also commissioned an information pack to help people organise discussions in their communities on the subject of empowerment, to help feed into the White Paper’s development. This ‘Power pack’ was developed by Involve and is available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/powerpack

 But on the other hand…

Research just published by Urban Forum shows that up to 40% of Community Empowerment Networks are set to lose funding. A quarter of CENs are doing less empowerment work at the same time as empowerment is rising to the top of the Government's policy agenda. Read the research at

http://www.urbanforum.org.uk/pdf_files/community%20empowerment%20network%20cen%20research%20report%202008%2004%20.pdf

 More mixed messages?

Following weeks of uncertainty, CLG suddenly announced that its funding programme for national third sector organisations – the Strategic Partners programme - has been dropped. The decision has ‘deeply disappointed and frustrated’ members of the Community Sector Coalition, which include CDX. The Coalition has written to Hazel Blears expressing concern about the mixed messages coming from her department about community empowerment. Read the letter and more about the Community Sector Coalition at http://www.communitysectorcoalition.org.uk/

 Threats to independence met with complacency

The voluntary sector is "shockingly complacent" about threats to its independence, according to Matthew Smerdon, deputy director of the Baring Foundation. Speaking at the NCVO annual conference, he said that charities were subject to ever-more closely prescribed contracts that limit their ability to act freely. He added that he was left shaking with frustration at the ignorance displayed towards the sector by members of the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee. Also at the NCVO conference, small charities voiced their concerns about the threat posed by collaborating with the state. Hal Hewitt, director of Ipswich Housing Action Group, said the sector was getting "massacred by competitive tendering". He said: "Our influence on what's happening around us is getting less and less. The more the Government talks about embracing civil society, the more it destroys it."

Learning for democracy

The Learning for Democracy Group has produced two important publications for community development and learning:

·    Learning for Democracy: Ten propositions and ten proposals

·    Reclaiming social purpose in community education

These publications have emerged from concerns among Scottish practitioners and academics about the way in which community development and learning is being regulated and its focus narrowed to delivery for policy. As the Group states:

 “We see our work in community-based education as part of a broader democratic process. This is about enabling people to demand social justice and equality for themselves and others… yet we are beginning to feel a profound sense of disappointment about the way in which both our own work and the lives of people in communities are being managed, regulated and controlled.”

 In the ten proposals, the group argues that democracy is about: freedom, equality, justice, solidarity, diversity, accountability, dialogue (and the possibility of dissent), responsibility, participation and sustainability. Learning for democracy means taking sides, acting in solidarity, taking risks, developing political literacy, working at the grassroots, listening to dissenting voices, cultivating awkwardness, educating for social change, exploring alternatives and exposing the power of language.

 Learning for Democracy: Ten propositions and ten proposals: http://www.scutrea.ac.uk/library/Wallchart%20pdf.pdf

Reclaiming social purpose in community education: http://www.scutrea.ac.uk/library/TheEdinburghPapers%20pdf.pdf

For more information contact Mae Shaw at mae.shaw@ed.ac.uk or David Wallace at david.wallace@strath.ac.uk

 Small community groups voices 'still not being heard'

“Local people and organisations are not being supported to speak out despite numerous government policies that encourage them to do so.” That’s the finding of research carried out for bassac by the Institute of Voluntary Action Research (IVAR). It builds on previous research which found that local organisations are finding it hard to call for change because advocacy is being swallowed up by the need to run services that provide an income.

 The new research was carried out with community anchor organisations (multi-purpose community organisations) and senior staff in local authorities. It found that despite the ‘seismic shift’ in policy calling for power to be devolved away from the state so that local people can have a say, there is a ‘serious mismatch’ happening on the ground. The research concludes that local people have:

·    less opportunity to have their say

·    more regulations that stipulate how they are able to speak out

·    less and less funding available to support this work

 You can download a summary report or full report of the original research here:

www.bassac.org.uk/pages/voicepr.html

 How to measure ‘a thriving third sector’?

Two aspects of performance which local authorities will be responsible for delivering, either alone or in partnership, are:

·    National Indicator 6: participation in regular volunteering

·    National Indicator 7: an environment for a thriving third sector

 The mere mention of ‘national indicators’ might send you into a stupor (I couldn’t possibly comment), but they’re key tools that will be used to assess local authorities and LSPs and hold them to account. It’s worth getting to grips with the indicators most relevant to CD, including these two.

 NI7 will be measured by a new, specially designed national survey of third sector organisations. All third sector organisations included in the survey will be asked ‘how do the local statutory bodies in your area influence your organisation’s success?’ Unregistered and unincorporated organisations will not be included in the third sector survey. But OTS is keen to look for ways of including these smaller organisations.

NI6 will be measured in the new ‘Place Survey’, currently being developed by CLG.

 Guidance notes on each of these indicators are at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/080404_ni_six.aspx

 Want to see into the future?

NCVO’s Third Sector Foresight team have produced a new guide which outlines “the most important drivers that we believe will affect where power lies and how local decisions will be made in five years’ time”. Interesting reading (without being ‘heavy’) for those of you who want to think more about the social and political environment you’re operating in. The guide identifies six key drivers including the complexity of governance structures and more citizen engagement, and considers three types of democracy:

·    Representative – where a few individuals are elected to represent a community and make decisions on its behalf

·    Participatory – where more members of the community are invited to participate directly in decision-making

·    Deliberative – where citizens play a more active role in controlling services and budgets

 Pocket guide at:

http://www.3s4.org.uk/news/how-is-local-democracy-changing-new-future-focus-pocket-guide

 More info about other factors affecting the sector at: http://www.3s4.org.uk/drivers

 Get in touch! If you:

·      no longer want to receive this ebulletin

·      have any comments or suggestions about anything in this ebulletin

·      want to contribute to the lavish rebranding of PARP

Beth Longstaff
Research and Policy Officer
Community Development Exchange