Launch of Institute for Community OrganisingLocality, the organisation commissioned to deliver the Community Organisers programme in England, is planning to set up an Institute for Community Organising. This will be a mutual owned by organisers themselves. The Manager of the whole programme explains that the programme is “about unleashing community resources at a very local level. That doesn’t mean unleashing it to volunteer in the library, or unleashing it to do work the public sector has always done in the past, it is about unleashing it to do the things it wants to do. There are several fundamental principles of community organising, it is truly bottom-up. The idea of the organisers is that they bring no messages.  They do not come from somewhere and tell local people what to do or what to talk about, they come listening.”

Repeal of Duty to Involve

The Government has issued new Best Value Guidance in England which it claims shows that it “is acting in concrete ways to deliver on its commitment to localism, growth and the Big Society.  We are freeing local authorities from targets, guidance and duties”.  This includes revoking the statutory guidance ‘Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities’ and plans to repeal two statutory duties, the ‘Duty to Involve’ and the ‘Duty to Prepare a Sustainable Community Strategy’. There seems to be a considerable debate about the pros and cons, with some seeing the current ‘Duty to Involve’ as merely tokenistic: Guardian MJ Involve.org

‘The Big Society: A View from the Frontline’

‘Government must work with Civil Society’ is the message of a short documentary film, commissioned by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

More Scottish debate

SCVO have published an opinion piece by RNID Scotland’s Delia Hendry who asks what the big society means for us and argues that strong leadership from the next Scottish Government on what this concept actually means for Scotland in this tough economic climate will be required.