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Community organising for the Big Society

11 January 2011

Community organising – the Government’s vision

• To create a “Neighbourhood army” of 5,000 full-time, professional community organisers

• The role will be to:o Identify gaps or failings in services provided by the state o Mobilise community support to tackle these gaps or failings

locally o Help people to start groups and charitieso Enhance social capital and strengthen interactions between all

parts of the communityo Liaise with civil society organisations, the state and the

community o Help to secure funding for local activities and their own work

• National partner is being recruited to train and support organisers

Broad concepts

• The concept of community organising is not new! It draws upon the thinking of radicals from well over 50 years ago (Alinsky and Friere)

• While distinct, there are overlaps between community organising and other other approaches and interventions (community development, community empowerment, action research, community building, community activism)

• Defining features:- Collective action to influence decision making - Empowering those who don’t have a voice - Provision of independent voice - Change may require conflict

Organising in disadvantaged communities

• Lower levels of volunteering in some communities

• Low levels of social capital• Lack of social cohesion – fragmented and

polarised communities • Local voluntary and community sector may

struggle to support organising • Some people face multiple disadvantages in

becoming organisers: confidence, language, disabilities, financial support, literacy, age etc

Ways forward

• Mapping and understanding communities • Recruitment needs to be multi channel

and sophisticated, with outreach • Training needs to reflect the variety of

starting points that people will have • Building a respective, open and engaging

leadership culture, e.g. elected members • Sustained and intensive support is

essential • Monitoring and evaluating impact

Challenges facing organising

• What are they going to organise – big society is a hugely fragmented and complex picture

• Managing accountabilities, e.g. elected members, organisers and existing neighbourhood structures

• Managing conflict – community organising has a long history of protest

• How can equalities be assured?• How do we ensure that organisers are credible at the

local level? • Local fundraising - avoiding conflicts of interest

Community organising

• Hashtag: #communityorg

• Our blog: http://opmblog.co.uk