‘There is a Mantra of: “Community Involvement is Good”, and We All Tick the Boxes and Say We Have Done the Consultation’: Health Action Zones and the Normative Principles of Government

Abstract

This paper explores the interpretation of discursive governmental ‘regimes of truth’ related to accounts of community involvement by personnel involved in a Health Action Zone. It is based upon in-depth interviews and follows the conventions of thematic analysis. The analysis identifies a range of narratives among the respondents that often privilege experience over aspects of governmental discourse that are seen as oversimplified and technical in nature. This points to the challenges involved in transforming governmental discourse related to community into meaningful policy and practice aimed at profoundly socially disadvantaged ‘communities.’ The paper contributes to understanding about the processes that generate and inhibit the success of community involvement for welfare policy. In overall terms, it may serve as a sociologically ‘sensitizing’ and theoretical contribution to debates about community and public policy.