Active Governance: the value added by community involvement in governance

Abstract

Wider community engagement in governance is frequently argued, across the political parties, to be vital to improving public services and tackling the ‘democratic deficit’. Future Perspectives Co-operative Ltd has looked at participant experience of value added by community involvement in governance through Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). The benefits, costs and difficulties identified hold lessons for community engagement in other governance structures, particularly those also including professionals and multi-agency groups. [...]