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Capable communities

发布时间:2018-02-23
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The piece of research entitled “Capable Communities. Public service reform- the next chapter” belongs to Price Waterhouse Coopers Company and the Institute for Public Policy Research and was published on 4th of February 2010.

This critique on the research mentioned above will first try to establish the starting point and the aim of the research and also the main question of the research. Moreover, the critique will look at what topics do the authors approach in order to find an answer for the main question of the paper and it will outline the methodology employed, the way it is conducted and to what extent is it appropriate to the research question. Finally, the following issues will be identified: the main assumptions of the research, the recommendations made by the authors in terms of future action and the conclusions, strengths and weaknesses of the research.

According to the authors of “How to research”[1], besides having a linear structure, with a clear start and end, any research should firstly specify what type of issue is investigating and what are the general topic and the purpose of the research. From this point of view the research “Capable Communities. Public service reform- the next chapter” benefits from a clear and well structured introduction, which includes all the three issues mentioned above. Consequently, as stated in the introduction, after a wider description of the investigated issue, what determined this research was the identified need to improve public services in the changing British society. Moreover, the authors clearly specify that what they are trying to do is to establish the role that citizens and communities can play in directly producing services, by looking at the changes that have affected the relationship between citizens and state, in terms of public reform evolution. This intention of the authors can be regarded as being both the aim and the main question of the research, as the topics approached within this paper are trying to explain the relationship mentioned above and to establish if empowering citizens and communities can be seen as the best solution for public service reform.

The main sections of the research firstly deal with the benefits of community empowerment and with co-production as a solution of empowering citizens and communities in order to achieve public services reform. Moreover, the authors identify some of the challenges that the government has to overcome during this process and analyze the role that state, civil society, citizens and professionals have in this process and to what extent they are willing to participate in the reform of public services. The research also includes a set of recommendations and conclusions from the authors and some of the surveys used in the analysis of the identified topics. Overall, the research has a linear and logical structure, with clear explanations from the authors in terms of what is the starting point, aim, the research question or the issues approached.

As stated by the authors of “How to research”[2], in order to realize a suitable analysis of the investigated topic, a research paper should use a variety of sources for obtaining the necessary information. Moreover, any data used in the analysis should be based on social environment and the reactions that people have on different actions taken by the government, according to the positivist view identified by Tim May[3]. From these points of view, the authors of the paper in question use both valid and appropriate methods when conducting their research. For example, their affirmations are based on quantitative analysis of a specially created poll which tried to establish people's attitudes towards greater responsibilities in delivering public services, but also on the indicators resulted from a set of online qualitative interviews showing to what extent people believe that state should get involved in creating public services in certain fields. And, as “research should never be conducted without reference to other studies”[4], case studies in fields like health, justice or social care represent another method used by the authors in order to “illustrate problems or indicate good practices”[5] of different action taken by the government in the process of reforming public services. In addition to that, the research is also informed by other components, such as official declarations from the Cabinet Office, reviews made by other institutes such as Young Foundation and by both old and new surveys belonging to the Intitute for Volunteering Research or initiated by other institutions.

Consequently, in order to provide a general picture of the investigated issue and to get a more detailed perspective on it, as affirmed in “How to research”[6], the authors of “Capable Communities” combine, although on a small-scale, quantitative and qualitative research and use different sources and documents to complement their poll. Overall, in terms of the methodology and methods used, it can be said that, in this research, the approach is determined by the nature of the research, as stated by the authors of “How to research”[7], as, according to the same authors, the most suitable way of illustrating if people are willing to support an action is to ask people themselves using proper methods, like qualitative polls and surveys for this particular piece of research.

When talking about a research, specialists claim that its authors should firstly identify the problem that determines the research and then suggest what may be done in order to find a solution. This statement, which belongs to Nigel Gilbert, the author of “Researching social life”[8], can be discovered within any type of research, although varying from topic to topic. Generally, research authors start their analysis from different assumptions determined by the real context of the issue investigated and end their papers by making a set of recommendations, “in the likelihood that future actions will result from their work”[9].

The two institutes that conducted the research “Capable Communities” also start their analysis from several clearly outlined and evidence-based assumptions. After evaluating the general context of British society and reaching a set of conclusions about its situation, the authors start their paper from the following assumption: public services in Britain cannot keep up with the changes of the contemporary world therefore the public service reform requires a new approach. Moreover, in their main parts of the research, the authors also assume that public services function better when citizens are involved in producing them, that co-production is the best solution for public service reform and citizens and communities are the missing link in public service reform. Although these hyphoteses derive from recent evaluations of public services real situation, from results following the analysis of different programmes already implemented and, furthermore, from concrete examples of everyday life, the conclusions of the research reveal the fact that the assumptions made are questionable and not entirely truth.

Therefore, as a consequence of their analysis of different case studies, programmes, polls and surveys, the authors of the research conclude, at the end of their paper, that, although public services reform do need a new and more suitable approach, this not necesarrily means that people and communities are willing to accept increased responsibilities and participate more in the production of public services. On the contrary, they discover that figures from the surveys and polls show that people do not consider themselves the missing link in public service reform and that they are still expecting a higher level of state involvement in proving efficient public services. On top of that, research results also indicate the fact that co-production can work only in some areas of public services and hence is not the solution for all problems. To sum up, the authors of the research base their affirmations and conclusions on clear evidence revealed by polls, surveys, case studies and even on the impact that different implemented programmes had on public opinion.

In addition to that, the research also includes clear and evidence-based recommendations in terms of future actions. For example, each main section is followed by a set of specific recommended questions meant to contribute to further research. Moreover, by analysing the results of their research, the authors consider that government should firstly improve public understanding of what reform really means and, secondly, should better study the field before implementing co-production and empowering citizens.

Overall, this research has a clear and linear structure, benefits from additional explanations such as definitions and comparative analysis of results and outcomes of different case studies or programmes and also uses a great variety of sources and concrete examples. Nevertheless, the research also has its limitations. For example, one of the disadvantages of surveys and polls, according to “How to research”[10], is that the data becomes the main focus, thus the research lack in wider theories. Moreover, as surveys and polls “rely on breadth rather than depth”[11], it is clear that the analysis of the topic is not yet completed. And, on top of that, the “holistic nature”[12] of case studies makes the analysis even more difficult. Finally, although it uses the proper methods for a small-scale research, according to specialists[13], the research rely more on other institutes polls and surveys rather than its own.

But, despite these limitations, the research is very accessible, through the examples it uses, which are strongly related to people's experiences and attitudes, and it provides a clear understanding of the topic, along with evidence-based recommendations and conclusions.

Bibliography:

1. Blaxter, Loraine, Hughes, Christina, Tight, Malcolm, How to research, Open University Press, Second Edition, 2001

2. Dye, Thomas R, Understanding Public Policy, Pearson Education, Eleventh Edition, 2008

3. Gilbert, Nigel, Researching social life, Sage Publications, Second Edition, 2001

4. May, Tim, Social Research. Issues, methods and process, Open University Press, Third Edition, 2001

[1] Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, Malcolm Tight, How to research, Open University Press, Second Edition, 2001, pp. 34-35

[2] Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, Malcolm Tight, How to research, Open University Press, Second Edition, 2001, p.55

[3] Tim May, Social Research. Issues, methods and process, Open University Press, Third Edition, 2001 p. 11

[4] Nigel Gilbert, Researching social life, Sage Publications, Second Edition, 2001, p. 25

[5] Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, Malcolm Tight, How to research, Open University Press, Second Edition, 2001, p. 71

[6] Idem, p.85

[7] Idem, p. 80

[8] Nigel Gilbert, Researching social life, Sage Publications, Second Edition, 2001, p. 36

[9] Thomas R. Dye, Understanding Public Policy, Pearson Education, Eleventh Edition, 2008, p. 65

[10] Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, Malcolm Tight, How to research, Open University Press, Second Edition, 2001, p.79

[11] Ibidem

[12] Idem, p. 71

[13] Idem, pp. 77-79

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