Saving the Big Society From Itself: Power is Shifted by Working Together, not 'Taking Over'

ASCOT, England, May 24, 2010 - The coalition government is bringing in a range of measures to 'give more
power and responsibility to people and communities'. This is a promising
agenda, but it would be a dangerous mistake to see this as 'communities
taking over public services'. Communities cannot take over public services -
they have no corporate existence or accountable structure. Community
organisations sometimes can - representing usually a small fraction of the
local population. But they face just the same problem of how to serve the
wider population as public authorities or private contractors do. And it
still needs to be the public authority that makes sure the necessary
standards are met.

What can work on a far larger scale is public authorities and community
organisations working together to improve services and neighbourhoods, says
PACES, a new online initiative launched to guide citizen involvement and
community empowerment in the new political era. Joint work between community
organisations and public authorities is where the real potential lies for
economies and improvements combined with participation and democratic
accountability.

The Big Society: How Could it Work? by Gabriel Chanan and Colin Miller
proposes 22 ways in which the Conservatives' flagship policy needs to be
tweaked in order to achieve its intention of strengthening communities whilst
making services more efficient.

Other freely available products on the PACES site include:

    - The Hidden Economy of the Third Sector. Why community groups are the
      most economical part of the sector, and twelve ways to boost their role
    - Practical Standards for Community Development and Empowerment. A
      shorter and more transparent guide to this occupation than the
      overcomplicated National Occupational Standards.
    - Challenging Community Development. Overcoming the aura of exclusiveness
      associated with community development so that this occupation can play
      its full role in meeting the challenges of contemporary society.
    - Empowerment Skills for All. The HCA report on how the skills of
      boosting resident participation can be spread throughout front-line
      occupations

PACES Empowerment is at www.pacesempowerment.co.uk

PACES Empowerment is at www.pacesempowerment.co.uk, +44(0)7533-958805 / +44(0)79844-33473