All Change? Surviving Below the Radar: community groups and activities in a Big Society

McCabe, Angus and Phillimore, Jenny (2012) All Change? Surviving Below the Radar: community groups and activities in a Big Society. Working Paper. University of Birmingham, Birmingham.

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Abstract

Over late 2009 and early 2010 the Below the Radar work stream at the Third Sector Research Centre undertook a range of interviews with national network groups, practitioners and academics to explore the role and nature of small community groups (Phillimore and McCabe: 2010). These sessions also examined the contexts in which ‘below the radar’ groups became established and their perceived role in the delivery of Government policy. Following the general election in May 2010, further work involving workshops, focus groups and seminars explored the impact of the change in administration on community groups and activities. At this point, prior to the implementation of the Localism Act and the Open Public Services White Paper, the conclusion was that, whilst the emergency budget of June 2010, and subsequent Spending Review in October, raised concerns over funding for the voluntary sector as a whole and community groups in particular, it was ‘too early to tell’ what the full impact of change might be.
The following working paper draws on a second round of interviews and focus group activity between February 2011 and January 2012 to essentially explore ‘Big Society – a further year on’: how has policy towards ‘community’ changed? What have been the impacts of change? How have below the radar groups and community sector network organisations responded? What might be the implications of current trends for the future?

Type of Work:

Monograph (Working Paper)

School/Faculty:

Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Social Sciences

Department:

Third Sector Research Centre

References:

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Date:

01 September 2012

Series/Collection Name:

TSRC Working Paper Series

Keywords:

Big Society, localism, community groups and activities, equalities, below the radar.

Subjects:

H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)

Related URLs:

URL	URL Type
http://tsrc.ac.uk	Organisation

Funders:

Economic and Social Research Council, Office for Civil Society, Barrow Cadbury Trust

Third Sector Research Centre

ID Code:

1784

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