Big Society

This essay explores the British Government’s keenness on ‘localism’ and the ‘Big Society’, and the semi-invisibility, in relation to policy and local government terms, of England’s small towns.

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Building on the work of previous Governments, the UK Coalition has set about a bold programme of public service reform. From free schools to neighbourhood planning, service commissioning and the involvement of private and third sector providers - no citizen or public servant is immune to the Coalition’s agenda. Driven by Localism and the devolution of power the reform programme promises a dramatically different system of public services.

Reform on this scale requires that we review our assumptions about public services, and, crucially who should influence them or has a right to them. At the same time longer term trends indicate increasing demands on public services and finances, challenging us to rethink and reshape established approaches to what we deliver and how.

Guided by its expert Commissioners from the worlds of academia, policy and practice, and working in collaboration with the think-tank Demos, the University of Birmingham Policy Commission examined the potential impact of a localist reform agenda, drawing conclusions and making recommendations to inform current debates and offering longer-term proposals for the future of local public services. Four key questions shaped the Policy Commission’s work:

 How will public service roles and relationships be redesigned and what are the implications for citizens, service users and providers?
 What contribution can behaviour change approaches and techniques make to proposals for the future design of local public services?
 How can we reproduce success and mitigate failure in a localist system?
 What will local government’s role be?

Young people were a key focus for the Policy Commission. They are an important constituency likely to be affected in multiple ways by the current reforms but their voice in public policy debates is not as strong as others’. The Policy Commission drew directly on  young people’s experiences as service users, volunteers and citizens and explored their views about public services, Localism and the Big Society. It was advised by the National Youth Reference Group and worked closely with Envision – a youth empowerment charity.

This report outlines the findings of the Policy Commission. It proposes a blueprint for a new system of Local Public Support' able to draw on a wide range of resources - public, private, civic or personal. It identifies four conditions for success: citizens as co-authors of their well-being; 21st C public servants; a connected and connective local government; and a new national government/community settlement.

En este texto damos un bosquejo del cómo la musicología ha estado directamente vinculada a la comprensión de los fenómenos musicales de la sociedad y su desarrollo, o evolución, intentado llegar a dar una visión de una nueva musicología de acuerdo a la sociedad actual y los nuevos fenómenos musicales.

In this paper we give an outline of how musicology has been directly linked to the understanding of musical phenomena of society and its development, or evolution, tried to get to give a vision of a new musicology according to today’s society and new musical phenomena.

In the UK, the current Coalition government has introduced an unprecedented set of reforms to welfare, public services and local governance under the rubric of localism. Conventional analytics of neoliberalism have commonly portrayed the impacts of these changes in the architectures of governance in blanket terms: as an utterly regressive dilution of local democracy; as an extension of conservative political technology by which state welfare is denuded in favour of market-led individualism; and as a further politicised subjectification of the charitable self. Such seemingly hegemonic grammars of critique can ignore or underestimate the progressive possibilities for creating new ethical and political spaces in amongst the neoliberal canvas. In this paper we investigate the localism agenda using alternative interpretative grammars that are more open to the recognition of interstitial politics of resistance and experimentation that are springing up within, across and beyond formations of the neoliberal. We analyse the broad framework of intentional localisms laid down by the Coalition, and then point to four significant pathways by which more progressive articulations of localism have been emerging in amongst the neoliberal infrastructure. In so doing we seek to endorse and expand imaginations of political activism that accentuate an interstitial political sensibility that works strategically, and even subversively, with the tools at hand.

This paper draws upon the research presented to PSA last year in which I outlined the basic structure of Cameron’s rhetoric regarding the need for a/the ‘Big Society’, what I called the Underpants Gnomes” line of argument. This paper focuses in on one of the key rhetorical motifs to emerge from that analysis – the central role played by the concept of ‘responsibility’.

We distinguish between social capital theory and social capital political discourse in order to reflect upon their relation with one another and neoliberalism. We claim this analytical distinction is useful to understand the existence of a feedback effect between theory and political discourse. During the 1990s, the connection between social capital theory and neoliberalism has been transposed from academia to political discourse, thus contributing to popularise social capital within the public sphere. Over time, however, rising economic inequalities (exacerbated by the recent economic crises) have demonstrated that the neoliberal political agenda is incompatible with the aim to generate social capital. Focusing on the critical case of Britain, we argue that the rapid demise of the Big Society idea might signal a corresponding decline of social capital theory within academia.

"The increasing prominence of faith-based organisations (FBOs) in providing welfare in the UK has typically been regarded as a by-product of neoliberalism, as the gaps left by shrinking public service provision and the contracting out of service delivery have been filled by these and other Third Sector organisations. In this way, FBOs have been represented as merely being co-opted as inexpensive resource providers into the wider governmentalities of neoliberal politics. In this paper we critically question how the concept of neoliberalism has been put to work in accounts of voluntary sector co-option, and argue instead for a recognition of different manifestations of secularism and religion, and their connections to changing political–economic and social contexts. Using the illustration of one particular FBO in the UK, we trace how neoliberalism can be co-constituted through the involvement of FBOs, which can offer various pathways of resistance in and through the pursuit of alternative philosophies of care and political activism.

Keywords: governmentality, neoliberalism, faith-based organisations, resistance, care"

Michael Oakshott described conservatism as a non-ideological preference for the familiar, tried, actual, limited, near, sufficient, convenient and present. Historically, conservatives have been associated with attempts to sustain social harmony between classes and groups within an organic, hierarchical order grounded in collective history and cultural values. Yet, in recent decades, conservatism throughout the English-speaking world has been associated with radical social and economic policy, often championing free-market models which substitute the free movement of labour and forms of competition and social mobility for organic hierarchy and noblesse oblige. The radical changes associated with such policies call into question the extent to which contemporary conservatism is conservative, rather than ideological. This book seeks to explore contemporary conservative political thought with regard to such topics as, ‘One Nation’ politics and Big Society, sovereignty, multiculturalism and international blocs, paternalism and negative liberty with regard to narcotics, pornography and education, regional and international development, and public faith, establishment and religious diversity.

... moving beyond simple targeting 97 Dominic McVey and Lynne Walsh 8 Commissioning social marketing 123 Jeff French 9 Ethical issues in social marketing 139 Aiden Truss and Paul White 10 The Total Process Planning (TPP) Framework 151 Denise Ong and Clive Blair ...

Self-organization is an idea whose time has come. As an explanatory concept, self-organization is central to complexity theory, which is quickly becoming a powerful and perhaps even dominant paradigm in both the natural and social sciences. As a political ideal, self-organization is filling the void that is opening up as both the state and market are increasingly perceived as undemocratic, unjust and inefficient. Drawing on observations from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, this paper argues that self-organization indeed is an inspiring ideal but that it is often misunderstood and may produce adverse consequences when used as a policy guide. While self-organization is too inspiring to abandon, its harsh realities need to be accounted for if we want to think and work with it.

The United Kingdom is at the forefront of a global movement to establish a social-investment market. At the heart of social investment we find finance-and finan-cialisation. Specifically, we find: a financial market (the social-investment market); a series of financial institutions (Big Society Capital, for example); a financial instrument (the social-impact bond); and a financial practice (social investing). Focusing on the UK, given its pioneering role, this paper first provides a brief history of social investment, tracing its development from the politics of the 'Third Way' to the social-impact bond. It then maps the terrain of the social-investment market, explaining the main institutions and actors, and the social-impact bond. Finally, it proposes a framework for analysing the disciplinary logics of finance, which it uses to understand the promise or threat (depending on one's perspective) of social investment and the social-investment market.

De transformatie van de verzorgingsstaat naar een participatiesamenleving en de zogenaamde drie transities, 1 hebben consequenties voor participatie van- en zorg voor mensen met een lichamelijke, psychische, verstandelijke of sociale beperking. Nieuwe arrangementen worden minder zorgend en meer activerend, gericht op zelfredzaamheid, participatie en ‘volwaardig burgerschap’. Tijdens de transformatie is er veel discussie. Er worden vragen gesteld over de balans tussen zorg en participatie, over de grenzen van zelfredzaamheid, over de werkwijzen van professionals en de mate waarin organisaties in staat zijn hun institutionele logica´s en hun belangen te verlaten en daadwerkelijk mee te werken met nieuwe participatieve praktijken. Doet de participatiemaatschappij voor burgers met een beperking wat ze beoogt te doen? Dit rapport bevat de resultaten van een participatief & etnografisch onderzoek naar vier initiatieven in de gemeente Maastricht waarbij participatie en zorg op nieuwe manieren invulling krijgen.
Dit onderzoek heeft drie doelen:
1. inzicht geven in de sociale dynamiek van nieuwe zorgzame participatiepraktijken. De notie participatiepraktijken verwijst naar de gezamenlijke inspanningen van mensen om meedoen voor iedereen mogelijk te maken, door in woord en daad verschillen in capaciteiten en beperkingen te erkennen, en daarbij belemmeringen zoals institutionele logica’s terug te dringen. 2. bijdragen aan gezamenlijke leerprocessen over zorgzame participatie praktijken 3. ingrediënten aanreiken voor ontwikkeling van een verantwoordingscultuur die past bij het karakter van zorgzame participatie praktijken en een beleidsinstrument voor ‘vertrouwen en afstemming’.

... This is the most traditional approach. ... Report on the contributions to the Green Paper “Promoting healthy diets and physical activity: a European dimension for the prevention of over-weight ... Partnering For Success: Business Perspectives on Multi Stakeholder Partnerships. ...

Born of the Mining Industry Act of 1920, the Miners' Welfare Fund (MWF) continues, under the charitable auspices of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation, to provide an extensive array of welfare for employees in the coal mining industry, former employees, the wives/widows of such individuals and their children.

This this paper is no more than an introduction to the origins and creation of the MWF, its operation, and the various aspects of ‘welfare’ it supported. The main focus is upon sport, but it also highlights the opportunities the MWF provides historians in relation to health, health & safety, education, the arts and how David cameron's notion of the 'Big Society' has been successfully carried out in the past.

Focusing on the domestic violence sector as a case study, this article examines how the Big Society agenda, coming alongside public spending cuts, is affecting the independence and ability of women’s organizations to engage in progressive policy shaping. By situating the analysis of the Big Society agenda within the broader context of international civil society strengthening programmes, the article considers how the processes currently unfolding in England, share certain similarities to what has happened globally wherever neoliberal policies aimed at instrumentalizing civil society for service delivery have been implemented. It contends that the policies of the Big Society agenda, which are aimed at strengthening the ‘capacity’ of civil society, are instead creating a situation where the independence and ability of civil society organizations to engage in progressive policy making is weakened.

Abstract: This article argues that New Labour's reliance on a'social inclusion through employment'approach is problematic-especially when applied in lower income areas. This is due to the significant gap between actual employment rates and a full-employment scenario in such areas, its unidimensional view that equates social inclusion with having a job, and its failure to recognise and value forms of work beyond employment.

The United Kingdom is at the forefront of a global movement to establish a social-investment market. At the heart of social investment we find finance – and financialisation. Specifically, we find: a financial market (the social-investment market); a series of financial institutions (Big Society Capital, for example); a financial instrument (the social-impact bond); and a financial practice (social investing). Focusing on the UK, given its pioneering role, this paper first provides a brief history of social investment, tracing its development from the politics of the ‘Third Way’ to the social-impact bond. It then maps the terrain of the social-investment market, explaining the main institutions and actors, and the social-impact bond. Finally, it proposes a framework for analysing the disciplinary logics of finance, which it uses to understand the promise or threat (depending on one’s perspective) of social investment and the social-investment market.

This paper introduces Open Marxism as a critical Marxist school of thought to a wider readership and constructs an Open Marxist theoretical framework to understand contemporary political economy. This paper argues that Werner Bonefeld's Open Marxism is a beneficial tool to understand contemporary political economy. It offers three distinct theories of the Big society, economic freedom, and the strong state. Bonefeld addresses the vitality of these three concepts in his critique of political economy, offering theoretical terrains for 'human agency' and rejecting determinist and positivist conceptions of society. He posits that society should be a 'subject' of human social life and humans need to be the subject of their own conceptions of human social, economic and political destinies. For Bonefeld, society is the analytical point of departure. The economy and the state together play important roles in creating the human economy, a system that attempts to liberate humans from existing capitalist social relations, and achieving that aim is the task of ordinary human agencies, like us all.

Background: outline of the policy context
Within a policy context, volunteers are presented as playing a vital part in the staging of the Olympic Games. The economic dimension of their role is invariably played down, with an emphasis instead on the rewards of making a contribution. The London 2012 volunteers, known as Games Makers, were recognised with a Big Society award by the UK Prime Minister and by a mention in the Queen’s Christmas address, while being expected to pay their own way.   
Theoretical orientation informing the research
This paper explores the position of the Games Makers within the social space of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games. It draws particularly on Bourdieu (1998), who suggests that the social world may be understood through the examination of relative positions in a space of relations, dispensing with the need to focus on social class.  Bourdieu explains that in some fields, including those where volunteers play a role, economic capital is masked with an economy of symbolic capital. Symbolic work such as names, acronyms, rallying signs and public demonstrations constitute the differentiated nature of social groups in these spaces, according to Bourdieu.
Methodological approach
Twenty diaries, kept by London 2012 volunteers during the time of the Games, are used as sources to investigate the social world of the Games Makers. Fairclough’s (2003) approach to critical discourse analysis is used to explore the differentiation of the Games Makers in the social space of London 2012.
Significance: description and application of the original research findings reported in the paper
The results show that, on the whole, symbolic capital does indeed obscure economic capital for the Games Makers, although not completely. Pride, patriotism, the role of the uniform as a public demonstration of commitment, and the sense of the Games Makers being a social group separated symbolically from the economically rewarded workers were all discovered in the texts. However, there were also hints that economic capital was a necessary enabler of being a Games Maker, suggesting that social class still plays a role.
Bourdieu, P. (1998) Practical reason: on the theory of action. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (2003) Analysing discourse: textual analysis for social research. Abingdon: Routledge.

Policing does not exist in a social, political or economic vacuum. The change of Government in the UK and the current global economic situation has brought about the publication of several major official reports and media announcements concerning a shift in policing priorities and the delivery of policing services in England and Wales. Such changes, combined with other events has allowed those who wish changes to be introduced to the accountability and governance process of policing throughout England and Wales much more momentum, more general support than hitherto seen coupled with a more robust licence to implement reforms. Discussion surrounding the proposed reforms allows for deeper explanation and understanding of their impact, in particular the way in which such changes may impact on wider society. This may affect the way the police organisation operates and provides service to its customers, In turn influencing the sometimes delicate balance in relationships between community...

With the election in May 2015 of the first Conservative majority Government since 1992, attention is firmly fixed on new rounds of austerity. Gone are the references to the ‘well-being agenda’ and claims of social progress being devolved to civil society through ‘Big Society’. The Government’s ideological commitment to a stripping back of the state, the fetishisation of certain forms of life, and the reluctance to uphold and promote broader social goods, have highlighted the need for a more thorough examination of the value of grounding public policy in ‘good culture’.

While clear lines of accountability are normally considered a sine qua non of any modern democracy, this article argues that too much accountability can be as problematic as too little. Through the application of a number of analytical ‘hooks’ drawn from the accountability studies literature, it argues that if the coalition government’s rhetorical commitment to a shift from a ‘Big State’ to a ‘Big Society’ is implemented, it may well flounder due to its inability to reconcile the centrifugal forces of devolution and localism with the centripetal forces of political accountability and public expectation. Indeed, without a more aggressive, sophisticated and indeed honest approach to accountability, the ‘Big Society’ is unwittingly likely to forge an even ‘Bigger State’.

In the UK the current Coalition government has introduced an unprecedented set of reforms to welfare, public services, and local governance under the rubric of ‘localism’. Conventional analytics of neoliberalism have commonly portrayed the impacts of these changes in the architectures of governance in blanket terms: as an utterly regressive dilution of local democracy; as an extension of conservative political technology by which state welfare is denuded in favour of market-led individualism; and as a further politicised subjectification of the charitable self. Such seemingly hegemonic grammars of critique can ignore or underestimate the progressive possibilities for creating new ethical and political spaces in amongst the neoliberal canvas. In this paper we investigate the localism agenda using alternative interpretative grammars that are more open to the recognition of interstitial politics of resistance and experimentation that are springing up within, across, and beyond formatio...

The United Kingdom is pioneering a new model for the delivery of public services, based around the device of a social investment market. At the heart of this social investment market is an innovative new financial instrument, the social impact bond (SIB). In this paper we argue that the SIB promises (partial) solutions to four aspects of the present multifaceted crisis: the crisis of social reproduction; the crisis of capital accumulation; the fiscal crisis of the state; and the crisis of political legitimacy. In this sense, we conceive the social investment market as a crisis management strategy. We draw on evidence from the world’s first SIB, the Peterborough SIB, launched in 2010, as well as from other SIBs, in order to assess the extent to which the social investment market delivers on its four promises. In doing so, we argue that the crisis of neoliberalism and the social investment market are not only in historical correspondence, but in a relation of causality to one another....

Rod Morgan's interesting account of the application of 'Big Society thinking' to crime and justice policy focuses on a number of key issues, but devotes surprisingly little space to discussion and analysis of what much of the political rhetoric identifies as the true embodiment of the concept – the enhanced contribution to criminal justice services anticipated from voluntary (or 'third') sector organisations (TSOs) and those who work for them, with or without payment.2 The nearest he comes to this is in his discussion of 'justice reinvestment', where he cites the examples of social impact bonds, the devolution to local authorities of the costs of youth remands in custody, and 'youth justice pathfinder' grants aimed at improving community provision for young people at risk of offending. Such initiatives encourage partnership with TSOs, but as Morgan makes clear, they are primarily mechanisms for persuading local government and public sector agencies to work together better and to use their resources more effectively by investing in 'up-stream' preventive provision. In this short contribution, I aim to focus more directly on the third sector – in particular, on debates around policies aimed at giving it a prominent role in the delivery of mainstream criminal justice services, which in turn link to broader concerns about the growing 'marketisation' of public services and the advent of a major private sector presence. Illustrated by brief discussions of specific policy initiatives, including the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the competitive commissioning of probation services and the spread of Payment by Results arrangements, I shall argue that, while what is happening undoubtedly has its attractive aspects, much of it is also unproven in terms of effectiveness, raises questions about principles of justice, and contains substantial risks for all parties concerned. It would therefore be unwise to plunge much further into unknown territory without very careful piloting, evaluation and consideration of possible negative consequences.

This briefing paper draws on presentations given across the ESRC seminar series The Big Society, Localism and Housing Policy (2013-14). It explores the possibilities, opportunities and challenges localism offers to community-based and non-profit housing in the UK, whilst highlighting the nuances and subtleties that exist in different jurisdictions according to the devolved nature of policymaking and local contexts.

This paper evaluates critically the current UK policy approach that seeks to cultivate voluntary work through the'third sector'route of developing voluntary groups. To do this, first, the results of recent nationwide surveys of volunteering are analysed.