This short think-piece explains how the public sector is in a unique situation to foster, nurture and build up the stock of social capital in communities and that it needs to make better investment and funding decisions to make this happen. Public Sector Professional Work and Social Capital2 was inspired by the amazing practitioners that the researchers met who are building social capital. So the big question is – ‘How can we get better outcomes for public spending?’ Well part of the answer is about better public ‘investment’ that nurtures social capital and community action rather than thwarts it.
Other related tools and papers are below.
The list is completed by a new public management paper drawing together themes has been published and well read in the Communities of Practice for Public Service Websites (previously IDeA).
Diagnosing Where Power Lies in the Public Domain Where Power Lies in the Public Domain WEB
Empowerment Tools 1 – Healthy Partnerships Checklist
Consumer or Citizen: the difference in theory and practice
Also these materials are reflected upon in a paper that develops a new and more effective approach to managing public resources and services: