Broad-based organizing in the UK: reasserting the centrality of political activity in community development

Abstract

Bunyan, Paul (2010) Broad-based organizing in the UK: reasserting the centrality of political activity in community development. Community Development Journal, 45 (1). pp. 111-127.Downloaded from: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3889/ Usage of any items from the University of Cumbria's institutional repository 'Insight' must conform to the following fair usage guidelines.Any item and its associated metadata held in the University of Cumbria's institutional repository Insight (unless stated otherwise on the metadata record) may be copied, displayed or performed, and stored in line with the JISC fair dealing guidelines (available here) for educational and not-for-profit activities provided that• the authors, title and full bibliographic details of the item are cited clearly when any part of the work is referred to verbally or in the written form• a hyperlink/URL to the original Insight record of that item is included in any citations of the work • the content is not changed in any way• all files required for usage of the item are kept together with the main item file. You may not• sell any part of an item• refer to any part of an item without citation • amend any item or contextualise it in a way that will impugn the creator's reputation• remove or alter the copyright statement on an item.The full policy can be found here. Alternatively contact the University of Cumbria Repository Editor by emailing insight@cumbria.ac.uk. Broad-based organizing in the UK: reasserting the centrality of political activity in community development Paul Bunyan AbstractThis article examines the emergence of broad-based organizing in the UK and the importance given to political activity within community development. Popularly associated with Saul Alinsky and the work of the Industrial Areas Foundation, the translation from the USA has been problematic. With the emergence and sustained growth of 'London Citizens', now one of the largest citizen-based organizations in the country, a firmer foothold has been established. The article examines the central concepts underpinning the political and philosophical basis of broad-based organizing and explores some of the challenges involved in developing and sustaining an approach that is overtly political and utilizes conflict and direct action to engage and negotiate with established power. At a time when the neo-liberal agenda has had a depoliticizing effect upon community development, this provides a model that challenges current orthodoxy associated with 'partnership' and 'empowerment' and reasserts the centrality of power and politics in promoting change and social reform.

Delivering on the Big Society? Tensions in hosting community organisers

“…This historical placing of the movement in the US, with its radically different welfare system, does not articulate a clear delineation from community development as such. Indeed academics and commentators have argued that there are overlaps between community development and organising (see for example Bunyan, 2010;Chanan and Miller, 2011;Taylor, 2012).…”

“…However, the Big Society programme that we discuss in this paper is not without historical antecedents in the United States and South America as we consider. The origins of community organising in the UK can be traced back to the practice of Neil Jameson, a Quaker social worker who was influenced by Alinsky, and established Citizens UK (see for example Bunyan, 2010). Citizens UK's approach is centred around employing collective power for social change and justice (Chambers, 2003;Furbey et al, 1997), and they work with faith-based organisations and communities across the UK including Manchester.…”

Governing at arm’s length: eroding or enhancing democracy?

“…A growing body of work has drawn attention to the role played by intermediaries in mobilising communities to organise around new forms of arm's length governance (Newman, 2012). Historically, this work has been associated with community organisers (Alinsky, 1989a, b;Jamoul and Wills, 2008;Warren, 2009;Bunyan, 2010) and community development workers (Craig, 1989;Banks and Orton, 2007). But as front-line work in the public sector is increasingly focused on engaging with communities, greater emphasis has been placed on the facilitative role of practitioners in local government and other public bodies, for example, as 'civic entrepreneurs' (Durose, 2009(Durose, , 2011van Hulst, et al, 2011van Hulst, et al, , 2012.…”

Re-gilding the ghetto: community work and community development in 21st-century Britain

“…While the tradition of community organising has never been strong in Britain, in the last decade peoples' organisations have been developing in several urban areas, often with major input from faith-based organisations and many under the aegis of the Citizen Organising Foundation (Bunyan, 2010). The most well-established is London Citizens, comprising three broad-based organisations: The East London Communities Organisation, South London Citizens and West London Citizens (www.cof.org.uk).…”