How ready and willing are people to get involved?
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Transcript of How ready and willing are people to get involved?
Where next for localism and co-production?
15 March 2012
St Bride’s Foundation, London
#nextlocalism
Hands up and hands on Pathways through participation
Hands up and hands on
Liz Coll, Consumer Focus 15 March 2012
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Aim of research
“to determine the preparedness and capacity of citizens across England to engage with, and respond to, the anticipated challenges relating to the provision of community and public services”
Hands up and hands on
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Research objectives
• What does localism mean to people in practice?• How aware are citizens of opportunities for
participation?• What are the triggers and barriers to participation?• Do citizens have the capacity and willingness to
participate in challenging decisions about local public services?
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Research methods
• Quantitative: telephone survey of 1,001 adults, weighted for representation
• Qualitative: deliberative citizen forums at 4 locations
– Keynsham (Bristol)– Timperley and Wythenshawe (Greater Manchester)– Hereford– Tower Hamlets (London)
• Facilitated, in depth discussions and mock exercises in participatory budgeting.
Hands up and hands on
Tim Hughes, Involve
How and why does participation begin and continue?
Research questions
Can trends and patterns of participation be identified over time?
What connections, if any, are there between different forms and episodes of participation and what triggers movement between them?
Approach
3 field work areas:
LeedsEnfieldSuffolk
Individual at the heart
Qualitative research
101 in-depth interviews
Participation as ‘situated practice’
Stakeholder engagement
Life stories
What is participation?Social participation: the collective activities that individuals are involved in
Public participation: the engagement of individuals with the various structures and institutions of democracy
Individual participation: people’s individual actions and choices that reflect the kind of society they want to live in
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A picture of participation
• 82% agree we should have more say in local matters
• But only 28% would like to actually have an input (38% for parents of under 18 year olds)
• Quantitative survey showed 31% had actually participated, from neighbourhood watch to running sports clubs
Hands Up and Hands On
Why participation starts
An emotional reactionA personal life event
•An external influence
Practical resourcesLearnt resources
•Felt resources
Groups and organisationsLocal environment and place
Helping othersDeveloping relationships
•Exercising values & beliefs•Having influence•For personal benefit•Being part of something
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Why people don’t participate
• Lack of information: “there’s nothing advertised about where and how you can get involved. I think people like to keep it to themselves”
• Lack of time: “it starts as ‘can you help out?’ and it ends up as ‘we’re relying on you’. That’s too much”
• Lack of faith in local authorities: “quite often they ask our opinion then just ignore it” “you see them…at election time. The next time you see them is the next election”
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Why people don’t participate
• Fear of the usual suspects “you always get the same people going to the meetings, it can be quite cliquey and it puts people off”
• Lack of return on investment “I feel it’s easy to say but there’s a bit of ‘once bitten, twice shy’ about all this local stuff”
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Perceptions and experiences
Other participantsPolitics
Public organisations
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Participation needs to be...
• Personal• Social• Meaningful
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Recommendations
Understand what policy interventions can and cannot achieve
Develop realistic expectations of participation
Improve participation opportunities
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Ways forward...
• Influence, Involvement, In Control: find the right level. • Focus effort on the right people: reach out to the ‘willing but
waiting’• Be open and realistic: don’t shy away from difficult
conversations, be prepared for complexity of localism.
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Critical issues
• Power and inequality• Conflict• The usual suspects• Efficacy and trust• Defining a community