Sustainable Paths to Community Development: report launched
Sustainable Paths to Community Development published by the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) on Tuesday 9th September, argues that the gap between rich and poor is widening and that this has led to social fragmentation and isolation of poorer communities. It calls for a radical re-thinking of the way we approach regeneration and community development.
The authors, SSE Chair Charlotte Young and her husband Don, argue that top-down government attempts at regeneration such as the New Deal for Communities have inadequate impact because they over-emphasise democratic and bureaucratic concerns and don’t make use of local talents, knowledge and resources. Central to this problem is the fear of officialdom in handing over control.
The report points to small-scale, community-based initiatives, which focus on individual and community learning through experience, as the best way to break the deep-rooted cycle of deprivation and exclusion and outlines successful examples.
The monograph's origins lie in the work and experience of SSE, but have far-reaching implications about how government sets regeneration policy, about the role of the third sector in reducing inequality, and about the need for genuine devolution of power.
In the publication's foreword, Greg Clark MP, Shadow Minister for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering, says that this report outlines something daring: "an attempt to give communities control of the resources allocated in their name. It is a simple idea, but one with the power to transform the development of individual communities and, as a result, the public life of a nation."
Alastair Wilson, SSE Chief Executive, says: "This timely and important monograph makes clear that social entrepreneurship from the bottom-up has the potential to break entrenched cycles of deprivation and exclusion. The School for Social Entrepreneurs welcomes its emphasis on investing and supporting people at the grassroots as the best route to sustainable change, rather than on complex top-down initiatives or governance structures. This reflects our experience from over a decade of working to provide tailored support and learning to such individuals."
Sustainable Paths to Community Development is available in hard copy for £5 (inc. p&p) from the School for Social Entrepreneurs (call 020 8981 0300 or e-mail office [at] sse.org.uk). Or download the executive summary (pdf)
Sustainable Paths to Community Development published by the