Chris Pawson, Richard Bolden, Beth Isaac, Joseph Fisher, Hannah Mahoney and Sandeep Saprai
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study tracking the development and engagement of a group of experts by experience (The Independent Futures (IF) Group) who provided…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study tracking the development and engagement of a group of experts by experience (The Independent Futures (IF) Group) who provided a lived experience voice to the Bristol Golden Key (GK) partnership within the Fulfilling Lives programme. The case study reports the genesis and impact of the group, as well as the facilitators of impact and experiences of the group members and those they worked in partnership with.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted an iterative approach drawing on multiple data sources over an eight-year period. An inductive ethnographic analysis of stakeholder and partnership meetings was combined with documentary analysis and thematic analysis of interviews with experts by experience and service providers.
Findings
The voice of lived experience provided by the IF group contributed to the GK partnership through various channels. Evidence of this contribution and its impact was found at programme, city-wide and national levels of the service ecosystem. Furthermore, IF members recognised the value of the group in contributing to systems change and service improvement, but also for themselves.
Practical implications
This case study serves to illustrate the impact of the lived experience voice on services and systems change, specifically the provision of that voice from a formalised advisory group. The successes and challenges of the group and the experiences of its members are reported with a view to sharing learning that may influence future co-production initiatives with experts by experience and service provision for those experiencing multiple disadvantage.
Originality/value
The insights provided by the longitudinal observation of the group as it was formed and evolved, coupled with insights provided by the experts by experience, have important implications for facilitating and supporting sustainable lived experience input.
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Beth Fouracre, Joseph Fisher, Richard Bolden, Beth Coombs, Beth Isaac and Chris Pawson
The purpose of this paper is to present insights into the way in which system change can be activated around the provision of services and support for people experiencing multiple…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present insights into the way in which system change can be activated around the provision of services and support for people experiencing multiple disadvantages in an urban setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is informed by a thematic analysis of reflections, reports, learning logs, interviews and experiences of those “activating” system change in the Golden Key partnership in Bristol between 2014 and 2021.
Findings
Four themes are identified, including “creating the conditions for change”, “framing your involvement”, “investing in relationships” and “reflective practice and learning”. For each of these, an illustrative vignette is provided.
Practical implications
Practical recommendations and reflective questions are provided with suggestions of further considerations for applying this approach in different contexts.
Originality/value
This paper describes an original approach of activating and supporting people to do system change to improve the lives of people facing multiple disadvantages.
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Kris Deering, Jo Williams and Rob Williams
The purpose of this paper is to outline several critical risk theories and explore their application to risk concerns in mental health care. This will contribute to the on-going…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline several critical risk theories and explore their application to risk concerns in mental health care. This will contribute to the on-going debate about risk management practices and the impact these might have on recovery and social inclusion. Notably, while risks like suicide can be therapeutically addressed, risk management may involve paternalistic practices that exclude the participation needed for recovery.
Design/methodology/approach
A viewpoint of key risk theories will be presented to provide a critical eye about some clinical risk concerns in mental health care. Implications for recovery and social inclusion will then be discussed alongside direction for practice and research.
Findings
Clinical concerns seemed to involve difficulties with uncertainty, holding onto expertise, and the othering of patients through risk. These concerns suggest the patient voice might become lost, particularly within the backdrop of clinical fears about blame. Alternatively, a relational approach to risk management could have merit, while patient expertise may develop understanding in how to improve risk management practices.
Originality/value
Clinical concerns appear more than managing potential harms; it can involve appraising behaviours around societal norms, explaining to an extent why mental illness might be addressed in terms of risks. While the points raised in the paper support existing findings about risk management, the underlying reasons drawing on the critical risk theories are less explored.
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The purpose of this paper is to compare approaches to policing and addressing offending and anti‐social behaviour in public housing in New York City and UK cities and to discuss…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare approaches to policing and addressing offending and anti‐social behaviour in public housing in New York City and UK cities and to discuss whether the different rationales and techniques deployed may be effective in reducing recidivism.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative research undertaken in New York City in 2008 and a series of studies (comprising qualitative and quantitative methods) conducted in the UK for national government departments, local authorities and registered social landlords. The research included analysis of documents and statistics, interviews with policy makers, practitioners, tenants and offenders.
Findings
The research established that, in addition to some similarities in approaches, there were significant differences in the policing of public housing and the role of housing in reducing recidivism between New York and UK cities. These included the stronger identification of housing as an element in influencing offending in the UK, key roles for social landlords and housing‐based techniques of governance aimed at intervening in offending households.
Practical implications
The research suggests the need to retain a focus on housing circumstances as a key determinant of both offending behaviour and as a mechanism for reducing recidivism.
Social implications
The research indicates that reducing recidivism within public housing populations requires the provision of intensive interventions and support services.
Originality/value
The paper provides an original international comparative analysis of public housing‐based approaches to addressing offending and recidivism.
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The chapter considers the change of position of the Home Office on the value of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in England and Wales which took place around 2003 after the end…
Abstract
The chapter considers the change of position of the Home Office on the value of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in England and Wales which took place around 2003 after the end of the Crime Reduction Programme (CRP). Before the CRP Home Office researchers had shown little interest in RCTs; after it, they came close to arguing that no other kinds of evaluation research were worth doing. This represented a reversal of a position that had dominated Home Office thinking on the issue for almost 30 years – that RCTs were in general impractical and unlikely to produce clear-cut results. This view was based in part on the experience of RCTs in the 1970s, which led influential researchers to conclude that the method could not be transferred from medicine to criminal justice. But, disappointed with the lack of definite results from the CRP, the Home Office turned back to RCTs as a potential source of certainty about what works. The chapter considers two recent scholarly exchanges on the question, in relation to an evaluation of a community crime reduction programme, for which an experimental design was attempted but not achieved, and to Lawrence Sherman's recent advocacy of RCTs and his use of research on restorative justice as an example of the successful use of the method. The chapter argues that the restorative justice research, while of very high quality, does not provide as clear an example of the use of an RCT as Sherman claims, and concludes with some reflections on the inherent difficulties of criminal justice evaluation, and on the lack of a predictable, rational relationship between research quality and policy influence.
Alice Mills, Dina Gojkovic, Rosie Meek and David Mullins
The aim of the paper is to examine the contribution made by housing‐related third sector organisations (TSOs) in assisting ex‐prisoners to find housing, and the barriers they face…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to examine the contribution made by housing‐related third sector organisations (TSOs) in assisting ex‐prisoners to find housing, and the barriers they face in doing so.
Design/methodology/approach
An offender survey was used to measure awareness of and engagement with TSOs in eight prisons, alongside qualitative interviews with prisoners, criminal justice staff and TSO representatives.
Findings
Despite the involvement of TSOs, securing accommodation for ex‐prisoners remains complex and difficult, largely due to high service demand, housing shortages, budget cuts, and needs assessment and allocations systems which reduce the responsiveness of housing providers to the reducing re‐offending agenda.
Research limitations/implications
The research benefited from a mixed‐method approach which captured the perceptions of service users and professionals. The response rate for the offender survey was low (12 per cent), and the survey findings should be treated with caution.
Practical implications
Local authorities and other housing providers need to be more willing to accept ex‐prisoners as potential service users, and better links need to be made between local homelessness strategies, choice based lettings systems and prisoner resettlement programmes. Providing support services to ex‐offenders may encourage such acceptance and help to maintain the motivation to desist from crime.
Originality/value
Previous research has paid little specific attention to the role of TSOs in (ex)offender housing. This paper addresses this omission by drawing on original empirical research to examine the value of their work in securing accommodation for ex‐prisoners and helping to reduce re‐offending.
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Chris Brown, Ruth Luzmore, Richard O’Donovan, Grace Ji and Susmita Patnaik
Educators need to engage in continuous learning to ensure that their knowledge and practice responds to the changing needs of society and students. Collaborative approaches, in…
Abstract
Purpose
Educators need to engage in continuous learning to ensure that their knowledge and practice responds to the changing needs of society and students. Collaborative approaches, in which social capital resource is exchanged, can serve as an effective way of facilitating such learning. With this systematic review, the authors identify the opportunities and benefits inter-school social capital networks might bring by exploring: (1) what inter-school networks are available internationally for primary and secondary schools, (2) the features and activities present within inter-school networks and (3) evidence of impact of inter-school network activities.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, the authors employed a systematic review methodology. The review comprised the five stages of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: PRISMA, 2021) protocol. The study findings derived from 111 research outputs (from a total of 1,221 originally identified).
Findings
The review highlights a number of different inter-school networks and their diverse purposes as well as key network features, such as the actors present in networks and the activities network participants engage with. At the same time, however, the authors only identify limited reliable evidence of the impact of inter-school networks.
Originality/value
The study fills a knowledge gap by exploring, for the first time, the presence, features of inter-school social capital networks available to school leaders as well as investigating the impact of these networks.
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Chris Mason, Michael J. Roy and Gemma Carey
This paper aims to explore how social enterprises are treated in scholarly research on quasi-markets. In so doing, the paper aims to show that a number of critical knowledge gaps…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how social enterprises are treated in scholarly research on quasi-markets. In so doing, the paper aims to show that a number of critical knowledge gaps persist which require deeper engagement from researchers, practitioners and policymakers alike.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a conceptual analysis of the existing literature concerning social enterprises and quasi-markets.
Findings
The paper finds that there are four main knowledge gaps in this area. First, there are moral dilemmas created by boundary shifts, arising from the development of quasi-markets. Second, the phenomenon of “tactical mimicry” (Day and Teasdale 2016) represents a key theoretical platform not yet fully explored. Third, the lack of clear, comparative assessments of social enterprises across quasi-markets, and other types of service providers is also apparent despite offering a significant methodological opportunity for scholars. Fourth, there is the issue of how social enterprises engage in, and resource the operational functions that will support their management of conflicting logics, especially rigorous impact measurement.
Originality/value
This paper uses a synthesis of key social enterprise and quasi-market studies to extend current debate in this area, which tends to be diffused and complex. By focussing on critical knowledge gaps, the paper contributes a meta-level appraisal of the key areas for future research, providing a focussed agenda for scholars to target their efforts in growing this important body of knowledge.
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In March 2014, the minister responsible for public housing in the state of New South Wales in Australia announced that all 600 public housing tenants living in the historic…
Abstract
In March 2014, the minister responsible for public housing in the state of New South Wales in Australia announced that all 600 public housing tenants living in the historic heritage-listed adjacent inner-city neighbourhoods of Millers Point and The Rocks in Sydney were to be moved and the homes sold to the highest bidder on the open market. There were to be no exceptions, and the last public housing resident was moved from the area in July 2018. A common view is that public housing areas in countries with a residualised welfare system are characterised by attenuated social ties, anomie and bleakness. This chapter examines neighbouring, social ties, mutual assistance and sense of community among public housing tenants in Millers Point and demonstrates that this is not always the case. Drawing on 48 in-depth interviews with residents, plus observation, I show that the social connections among public housing tenants in the area were unusually strong and enduring. I argue that in order to understand why this was so, we need to look at the physical and social features of the area. Following on from the seminal work of Jane Jacobs, the New Urbanism movement argues that compactness, mixed land use and walkability are crucial enablers of social interaction and neighbourliness. These physical features were present in Millers Point. There is now a recognition by New Urbanism scholars that physical elements in themselves rarely create community and that the social features of neighbourhoods also have to be taken into account. In the case of the public housing tenants in inner Sydney, the key social features were longevity of residence and homogeneity. Another crucial aspect was a strong sense of social obligation. This was partially due to the presence of strong trade unionism in the area historically and the intermittent nature of employment at certain periods, which ensured neighbours rallied round to help those who were less fortunate.