The purpose of this paper is to examine Communities First, an area‐based regeneration policy in Wales to explore the barriers to community empowerment. Three related research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Communities First, an area‐based regeneration policy in Wales to explore the barriers to community empowerment. Three related research projects provide data to inform the discussion of community empowerment and to consider the implications of delivery of the policy for theorising the relationship between the citizen and the state as mediated through regeneration partnerships.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from three related research projects are discussed. These are an evaluation of local delivery of the Communities First programme, the delivery of technical support to participating communities and a Joseph Rowntree‐funded case study of nine regeneration partnerships. All projects are concerned with exploring the experience of community members within regeneration partnerships.
Findings
The findings identify major barriers to the achievement of community empowerment including issues of community capacity, institutional capacity, organisational cultures and regulatory frameworks. The findings identify mechanisms for improving community participation and empowerment. The findings are also used to identify community actor agency within regeneration partnerships and to argue against an analysis of regeneration initiatives as a mechanism of social control and incorporation of community activism into a state led agenda.
Research limitations/implications
The paper explores one specific policy within a UK devolved region and is not able to comment extensively on similar policy programmes in other areas of the UK. However, it uses this specific experience to comment on generic issues in the community empowerment field and to elaborate theory on the relationship between the citizen and the state.
Practical implications
The paper offers practitioners and policy makers insight into the community experience of participation in regeneration partnerships and proposes methods and policy refinements which can improve empowerment outcomes and assist community participation to achieve higher levels of influence over statutory partners.
Originality/value
While the paper identifies barriers to empowerment that are recognised in the wider literature, it demonstrates that such barriers can prevail even within a highly participative policy framework such as Communities First. The paper also provides evidence of a clear sense of agency on the part of community members of regeneration partnerships and counters models which suggest regeneration partnerships are simple mechanisms of social control which diffuse community activism.
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Roseann Maguire, Carol Pert, Susannah Baines, Amanda Gillooly, Richard P. Hastings, Chris Hatton, Dave Dagnan and Andrew Jahoda
The COVID-19 pandemic meant that it became impossible for many individuals with intellectual disability to access specialist mental health support. The purpose of this study was…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic meant that it became impossible for many individuals with intellectual disability to access specialist mental health support. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a set of guided self-help resources adapted for delivery on an outreach basis.
Design/methodology/approach
The use and impact of the resources were evaluated through: data about downloads and requests for printed materials; interviews with individuals who used the resources; webinars with organisations; family members and support workers who had delivered the resources and an online survey with individuals who had delivered the resources.
Findings
The resources had considerable reach, with over 12,555 printed copies requested from across Scotland. The materials were perceived to be relevant and useful, helping individuals to talk about difficulties and to be aware that others were facing similar challenges.
Originality/value
The findings highlight the potential long-term value of guided self-help resources to help promote well-being that can be delivered on an outreach basis by family members and social care organisations.
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Andrea Giordano and Dave Street
This article considers the interagency challenges to improving provider performance and quality through the development and ongoing implementation of a new Caerphilly Area Adult…
Abstract
This article considers the interagency challenges to improving provider performance and quality through the development and ongoing implementation of a new Caerphilly Area Adult Protection Committee (AAPC) provider performance monitoring process. It details procedures for moving from a reactive to a preventative approach to raise quality and to reduce abuse and neglect, exploring the links between commissioning and protection of vulnerable adults.
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Judy Hutchings, Tracey Bywater and Dave Daley
Both the government and local service providers in the UK are becoming increasingly aware of the possibility of improving child outcomes through the delivery of parenting…
Abstract
Both the government and local service providers in the UK are becoming increasingly aware of the possibility of improving child outcomes through the delivery of parenting programmes. Government initiatives, such as Sure Start, Pathfinders and Flying Start are a positive step forward, yet programmes sometimes fail to work in service settings. This article describes the components necessary to deliver effective interventions, exploring the need to choose an evidence‐based parent programme, implement it with fidelity and evaluate the outcome. It describes the steps taken in North and Mid Wales to do this and reports briefly on the successful outcomes achieved by delivering the Incredible Years Basic Parenting Programme to the parents of high‐risk children in Sure Start areas.
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Helen Sanderson, Edwin Jones and Kathy Brown
Valuing People (DoH, 2001) proposes person‐centred planning (PCP) as a way for service users to exercise more power and control. Active support (AS) is also an approach designed…
Abstract
Valuing People (DoH, 2001) proposes person‐centred planning (PCP) as a way for service users to exercise more power and control. Active support (AS) is also an approach designed to improve the quality of life of people with severe disabilities by enabling them to participate as fully as possible in daily activities. PCP and some of the components of AS are complementary rather than mutually exclusive. While PCP can generate ideas, AS can help implement them, and used together PCP and AS can provide a way to facilitate user participation and improve users' quality of life. This paper uses a case history to illustrate this potential, and describes how a particular form of PCP, essential lifestyle planning (ELP), was used in conjunction with some of the planning and programming components of AS.
Henry Dawson, Nael Alami, Keith Bowen and Diana Maddah
The Syrian refugee crisis is too big and complex for any single country to mount an adequate response. Mitigating the human tragedy, deciphering its root causes, and developing…
Abstract
The Syrian refugee crisis is too big and complex for any single country to mount an adequate response. Mitigating the human tragedy, deciphering its root causes, and developing sustainable solutions require effective international collaboration. To teach collaboration of this kind to university students, researchers in the US, UK, and Lebanon used accessible communication technology in development of a Virtual Exchange in Global Health, connecting students in medical and allied health fields. Through a problem-based learning curriculum, students from Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales and the Modern University for Business and Science in Beirut worked collaboratively to conduct desktop research on the crisis and develop a protocol to interview camp residents about the public health issues affecting them. Students in Beirut then conducted interviews and gathered 360-degree video footage of conditions in the camp, which students in the UK studied using low-cost Virtual Reality (VR) viewers. Student feedback provided preliminary indications that the problem-based learning methodology, including the immersive VR experience, contributed to the participating students’ intrinsic motivation to study the problem. The students collaborated in dividing and distributing tasks as well as in engaging with each other in a Joint Problem Space, and began to build relationships outside class, relationships that will serve them well as practicing professionals in the field of global health. These outcomes create warrant for further development of the program and suggest possibilities for deployment of this high impact model for teaching in other fields where complex problems require international collaboration.