Civic Society Organizations Research Articles

Stigmatisation as settler colonialism: designating humanitarian and civic society organisations in Palestine as security threats

ABSTRACT Since Hamas’s 7th October attacks on southern Israel, the Palestinian population living in the Gaza Strip has been subjected to an unprecedented level of destruction that has decimated every aspect of Palestinian life. The ongoing Israeli military invasion has been considered a ‘plausible case of genocide’, and the humanitarian catastrophe has been compounded by major restrictions on access to humanitarian aid. Accusations of supporting ‘terror’ have been levied against UNRWA, the major provider of humanitarian services in Gaza, leading to an initial suspension of donor support to the organisation by many western governments. In this article, we consider the Israeli government’s tactics used to delegitimise those involved in providing humanitarian and lifesaving support for the Palestinian population, concluding that the construction and dissemination of narratives that depict them as being ‘terroristic’ or having ‘terrorist’ connections is a sophisticated additional layer of the settler colonial logic of elimination and erasure.

Interactive influence of house prices and the repo rate on household debt in South Africa

<p><big>The recent interest rate policy decisions of the South African Reserve Bank have been criticized significantly by left-leaning political parties and civic society organisations for being anti-poor, anti-labour, and pro-capital because of their implications for household debt. Existing literature has established that interest rates and house prices are insignificant determinants of household debt dynamics in South Africa. Taking advantage of additional data for the period 2013-2022, and contrary to the previous studies, the paper maintains that house prices and the central bank policy rate play a crucial role in household debt dynamics. Applying a Markov Switching regression to quarterly data for the period 1981Q1 to 2022Q1, the paper finds that house prices and the policy rate have a significant influence on household debt dynamics. It establishes the existence of a ‘house price boom, low policy rate burden’ regime and a ‘high policy rate burden, low house price’ regime. The coexistence of the ‘house price boom’ and the ‘low policy rate’ explains the debt euphoria characterised by significant household leveraging.</big></p>

ANALYSIS OF ELASTICITIES OF HOUSEHOLD FUEL TYPES IN THE NORTHEASTERN REGION OF NIGERIA

Demand for fuel types relies on how low their prices are and the household income. This study used secondary data obtained from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics General Household Survey (2021) to analyze household fuel demand sources in the North-East Zone of Nigeria. The study used the AIDS model. The results showed that all energy sources except kerosene were comfort goods (elasticities = 1). Kerosene was found to be a necessity (elasticity < 1). This means that households will demand more kerosene if its price falls, but they will demand significantly less kerosene if its price rises. All energy sources were also price elastic (elasticities = 1). This means that households will demand less energy if its price rises, and vice versa. Finally, the results showed that all energy sources had a complementary relationship (negative elasticities). This means that if the price of one fuel type rises households will demand more of other fuel sources. The study recommends that there should be Investment in grid expansion, LPG subsidies, and awareness campaigns for clean energy adoption by the relevant stakeholders which includes government, private, non-governmental organizations, development partners and civic society organizations.

How do management in civic society organisations, strategic managers, and policy-makers reason about their own role in collaborative community-based prevention and outcomes thereof, within health and social care in Sweden?

Introduction: From a societal perspective an aging population with deterioration of health contributes to rising costs for social and health care. This project acknowledges health in older adults as a complex matter, that includes physical, social, and psychological dimensions, that needs to be targeted at individual, societal and structural levels. Thereby, we recognize that collaborative efforts by diverse actors are necessary to prevent deterioration of health. Today, however, research-based models for successful collaborative prevention are scarce, and collaboration is hampered by administrative gaps between municipal social care and regional health care. Therefore, this project uses a participatory action research approach and a multiple case study design. Results from a first study will be presented comprising what perspectives management in civic society organizations, policymakers and managers on the strategic level within social and health care have on community-based prevention, collaborative prevention, outcomes thereof, and their own role in facilitating such collaboration in the Stockholm Region, Sweden. 
 Methods: A qualitative interview study design was used. 24 semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with a strategic sample of regional and municipal policymakers, managers involved in decision making related to prevention of deterioration of health within health and social care, and management in civic society organizations. The framework method was used to analyze the data. 
 Results: Preliminary results elucidate policymakers’ and managers’ views on present preventive collaboration, their own role in enabling and facilitating collaboration, and how they see the need for change in the future. The respondents reflect on their role from different perspectives depending on their position, being involved in either administration or management at the operational or strategic level or in politics. In the latter, the collaboration is described as more abstract and of a strategic nature. Several positive examples of collaboration initiated by the different actors in respective organizations are brought up. At the same time, the informants problematize the challenges when others drive the collaborative governance, and one needs to wedge oneself into the context of collaboration. The word ‘collaboration’ is not used by all respondents, instead, some talk about e.g., multi-professional cooperation. Collaboration is discussed from the perspective of the respondents’ own role (I), and from the perspective of the organization (we). Further analysis of the results is needed, but overall, there is reasoning about structural and cultural aspects and prerequisites for collaboration, as well as the need of personal qualities, skills and competence that favor collaboration. Furthermore, respondents’ reason about whether collaboration could be seen as a means or a goal, or both. In the informants’ reasoning about how to evaluate collaboration three main effects are emphasized: 1) improved outcomes for the elderly, e.g., earlier preventive interventions, 2) positive outcomes for the organization, e.g., financial savings, and 3) positive effects for professionals, e.g., competence building, work becomes more productive and creative). In addition, these outcomes and effects are said to not be achieved without collaboration and these effects don’t occur, i.e., have a direct negative impact when cooperation fails. At the conference, the final results will be presented.

Reimagining institutional ethics procedures in research partnerships with young people across Majority/Minority World contexts

ABSTRACT While institutional ethics are crucial, their application on the ground often creates tensions with what is considered ‘ethical'. This paper reflects on the dissonances between formal institutional ethics and community-based research. The focus is on a project involving young people from India and Brazil, where they actively contributed as co-researchers and advisors. The project's international collaboration encompassed partners from Majority and Minority World contexts, including universities, community organizations, and government bodies. The project, initially planned before the Covid-19 pandemic but implemented during it, necessitated adjustments to its methodology. This paper examines the role of institutional ethic procedures in light of power imbalances and tensions within three areas: (1) research co-production with young people, (2) collaborative cross-country research with partners, and (3) the relevance of ethical guidelines in diverse research contexts. We raise concerns about the top-down nature of these procedures and emphasise the significance of reflexivity, conversations, and relationships in ethical considerations. With growing research in the Majority world (funded by the Minority world), there is an urgent need to recognise and build on the expertise of experienced local civic society organisations in ethical research and safeguarding, to work in genuine, respectful partnership with those we do research with.

Conscientious Objection Before the Indonesian Constitutional Court

The issuance of Indonesia’s Law No. 23 of 2019 on the Management of National Resources for State Defense (PSDN Law) sparked a national debate on conscription and conscientious objection. Consequently, a coalition of civic society organizations submitted the PSDN Law before the Constitutional Court for judicial review. They argued that the PSDN Law violates the Indonesian Constitution’s Article 28 on human rights protection. One of the legal submissions is based on the argument that the PSDN Law deliberately ignores human rights in order to provide reserve and backup components to the military. This argument is supported by Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the ICCPR’s General Comment No. 22 of 1993 paragraph 11, justifying conscientious objection as an inherent human right. The analysis in this paper is mainly uses the legal positivism paradigm and the human rights-based approach. This paradigm provides a framework for analyzing how the PSDN Law generates a distinctive legal feature for Indonesia’s legal system. In line with Article 28 of the Indonesian Constitution, the Constitutional Court should explicitly assess the preservation of civil rights. It may be claimed that conceivable legal gaps (norm versus reality) and legal loopholes add to the Constitutional Court’s obligation to consider the omission of conscientious objection recognition. This article argues the Constitutional Court should adjudicate on the issue of citizens being conscripted as reserve and backup components in situations of military threats, hybrid threats and/or non-military threats. This research further maintains that the Constitutional Court should recognize the existence of conscientious objection as an inherent human right, as a form of judicial activism. In accordance with the doctrine of judicial activism, the Court could resolve and offer solutions to the existence of conscientious objection as a democratic civil right. The Court should also determine the area, scope, application and orientation of conscientious objection as a distinct feature of human rights based on Indonesia’s context and perspective on defense required by international human rights treaties, conventions, or general comments on such instruments.

Rainwater harvesting as a solution for mitigation and adaptation to flood disasters (study case: Cisurupan)

To strengthen the protected area function of the Cisurupan urban village, which is upstream of the Cinambo river, and reduce the flood risk surrounding Gedebage its downstream, Bandung City Public Works Department has attempted four green open spaces in Cisurupan since 2018 that also involve cross-actor. However, there are no studies on the positive impact of green open spaces in mitigating and adapting to flooding. This study aims to provide innovation and collaboration regarding flooding mitigation and adaptation in Cisurupan. This study uses a quantitative, qualitative approach or mixed method, while the analysis is spatial analysis for quantitative and descriptive analysis for qualitative, while the data collection method uses semi-structured interviews and participatory observation from February to May 2022. The result shows four green spaces as the mitigation and adaptation are innovative efforts to collaborate with communities, government, civic society organizations, and academics. However, there is still a lack of existing mitigation and adaptation forms, which rely only on pore drums, retention ponds, and growing media. It is possible to urge rainwater harvesting programs not only for flood risk reduction in the rainy season and clean water crisis in the dry season but also as a long-term disaster risk reduction and water resource independence.

The political economy of public research, or why some governments commit to research more than others

• Public research exhibits significant different patterns across countries. • We investigate investment in public research as a choice shaped by the political institutions of countries in 41 countries. • Public R&D is higher in parliamentary forms of government and proportional electoral rules. • Encompassing civic society organizations increase public research. • Political economy perspective helps explaining different patterns of public research. Despite a generalised consensus about its economic benefits public research exhibits different patterns across countries. Why do some governments invest in public research more than others? By relying on political economy literature we investigate investment in public research as a choice shaped by the political institutions of countries. Studying a sample of 41 countries we find a robust relationship between public-funded research and parliamentary forms of government, proportional electoral rules, bicameral legislatures, and the presence of encompassing civic society organizations. The political economy perspective helps explaining the different patterns of public research observed in advanced countries and increases the understanding about how research is affected by the civil society.

Preventing Violent Extremism and Social Work: Recent US History and Prospects.

Anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim violent extremism is on the rise in Western nations while jihadist terrorism continues throughout the Middle East and Africa. Despite significant efforts by governmental, non-governmental, and civic society organizations to address violent extremism, little progress has been made to prevent it. White supremacist organizations are now organizing globally through a variety of next generation communication networks using techniques developed by ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Throughout, relatively few social work academics have engaged in preventing violent extremism (PVE) scholarship. Though the profession is referenced frequently in the PVE literature, it is dominated by those in psychology and political science. Few articles in major social work journals have discussed social work’s role or advanced PVE research. What has been published has mainly been critical of social work in this arena for legitimate fears of securitization, lack of resources/training, and the potential to discriminate against particular groups. The profession has a long history of impactful work in violence prevention in a myriad of practice areas. Given this wealth of experience and focus on social justice, social work should be a leader in this field. Areas of potential engagement in practice and research are discussed.

Ecologized Collaborative Online International Learning: Tackling Wicked Sustainability Problems Through Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is increasingly embedded in higher education (HE) due to the current emphasis on tackling the environmental crisis. Similarly, Civic Society Organisations are expanding their mobilization and practical action in communities. These approaches can reach almost all people on the planet and open avenues for effective global action around sustainable development. It is important to connect both learners and develop agents of change in society. In this paper, we focus on how digital resources can support democratization of knowledge production and improve equitable citizen participation in ESD and practical action at the local and global levels. The paper investigates structures, processes and components that support transnational collaboration in digital spaces, particularly, around the enhancement of sustainable environmental attitudes. We use Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as a basis to develop EcoCOIL as a versatile model for expanding coalition building tools and principles, to promote environmental citizenship and develop multi-layered communities of practice. Stakeholders include university students and staff, technical experts, business leaders and entrepreneurs, social innovators, policy makers, Community Social Organisations (CSOs), etc. EcoCOIL focuses on co-created wisdom sharing across intercultural, intergenerational and transdisciplinary actors; it brings an innovative, participatory angle to curriculum development by integration of lifelong learning principles and practical facilitation of sustainable behavior within communities in real time.

Institutional Imperfections and Buyer-Induced Holdout in Land Acquisition

Imperfect institutions, particularly in developing economies, encourage bureaucratic corruption and outside interference by political parties or civic-society organisations, thereby distorting property rights for land. We characterise conditions when an industrial buyer’s optimal design to acquire land strategically involves holdout as a response to these imperfections. We propose testable hypotheses suggesting that such form of holdout increases (i) with a reduction in corruption if the current imperfections are significant, (ii) with an increase in ease of political opposition, and (iii) during elections. We also study welfare implications and discuss the relevance of the framework and the results for advanced economies.

TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC POLICY IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION OF NURSES ON QUESTIONS OF HELP AT THE END OF LIFE IN THE CONTEXT OF UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN UKRAINE

Possible directions of transformation of the state policy in the field of education of nurses in a narrow issue of end-of-life nursing care in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals are identified. The 70th UN General Assembly where civic society organizations actively participated adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as part of the Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015, which included 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals. Global Goal 4.7 stated: «By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development». This Goal also applies to medical education (in particular, for nurses). The improvement of the content of this education is actual in the context of the implementation of medical reform in Ukraine. A content analysis of the international curriculum for nurses and its comparison with teaching documents implemented in medical colleges in Ukraine has been made. The program developed in the United States with active participation of civil society organisations has been found to be consistent with UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7. Comparing these documents, we can easily see Ukrainian curricula inconsistency with both international standards of nursing training and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These curricula form only a generalized understanding of the value of cultural diversity and human rights and do not include issues of social justice, inclusion, multidisciplinary cooperation etc. A content analysis of the Strategy for the Development of Medical Education in Ukraine, approved by the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 27th February, 2019, № 95-r, revealed that the document does not provide for the inclusion of aspects set out in Global Goal 4.7. Participation of citizens in development of national educational policy is the obligatory precondition for forming of the democratic society and encourages better compliance of educational programs with the needs of the population. It is argued that in the context of medical reform, it is necessary to change the approach to the content of medical education and the formation of the competence of nurses, in particular, in the field of end-of-life care in undergraduate education. Cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary cooperation is needed to develop quality training programs for nurses in line with international standards; this could be done in particular by involving civil society institutions in the process.

Social Innovation Promoting Policy and its Implementation in the European Union

Social Innovation Promoting Policy and its Implementation in the European Union

Communicative Ecology of Moscow Residents

This exploratory research questions communicative patterns of Moscow metropolitan area residents: practices, attitudes to the city and technological tools used for information search and communication matters. Applying communicative ecology concept on the city level, author analyses data collected by an online survey (N = 200) to distinguish key communication patterns within three dimensions: social, technological and discursive. Among the major communication patterns, we identified significance of the strong ties among residents, relatively low level of membership in social and civic society organizations and exceptionally low level of involvement in local community problem-solving. The study delineates several problems of communicative ecology and prospective directions on urban communication research in Moscow.

Risk discourses and governance of high-level radioactive waste storage in Taiwan

Policy scholars have indicated that the quality of the solution to a perceived social problem depends on the adequacy of its framing. This paper examines how policy stakeholders and local residents frame the issue of the radioactive waste storage facility in Taiwan, the limits of institutional mechanisms in decision-making processes, and the implications of the deliberative forums undertaken by the national Stop Nukes Now organisation. The controversy illustrates the problems of a knowledge gap and the top-down procedures as well as the challenges that Taiwan faces in becoming a nuclear-free country. This case demonstrates civic society organisations’ efforts to challenge the ‘social–technical divide’ and technical experts’ prior definition of the ‘problems’ and selection of a ‘solution’. Deliberative forums enable the participation of affected communities to shape public discourses, which helps to strengthen public communication, improves citizen consciousness of nuclear waste issues, and attempts to link wider communities and public interests.

Interventions to mitigate the effects of poverty and inequality on mental health.

To review psychosocial and policy interventions which mitigate the effects of poverty and inequality on mental health. Systematic reviews, controlled trials and realist evaluations of the last 10years are reviewed, without age or geographical restrictions. Effective psychosocial interventions on individual and family level, such as parenting support programmes, exist. The evidence for mental health impact of broader community-based interventions, e.g. community outreach workers, or service-based interventions, e.g. social prescribing and debt advice is scarce. Likewise, the availability of evidence for the mental health impact of policy level interventions, such as poverty alleviation or youth guarantee, is quite restricted. The social, economic, and physical environments in which people live shape mental health and many common mental disorders. There are effective early interventions to promote mental health in vulnerable groups, but it is necessary to both initiate and facilitate a cross-sectoral approach, and to form partnerships between different government departments, civic society organisations and other stakeholders. This approach is referred to as Mental Health in All Policies and it can be applied to all public policy levels from local policies to supranational.

Reducing Disaster Risks to Urban Cultural Heritage: Global Challenges and Opportunities

Historic urban areas are becoming increasingly vulnerable to natural as well as man-made hazards such as earthquakes, floods, fires, cyclones and vandalism. In the absence of any comprehensive legal framework for protection, historic urban areas are vulnerable not only to impending disasters but also during emergency and post disaster recovery phases. The major underlying causes for their increasing vulnerability are population growth, urbanization and poverty, especially in developing countries. However these should not be seen merely as a passive victim of disaster. In the face of disasters, traditional communities in historic cities often develop a vocabulary of resilient features in the urban environment that intentionally or unintentionally contribute towards prevention and mitigation, emergency response and recovery. The article will describe these systems in detail through various examples. The article will further elaborate on the key challenges and priorities for disaster risk reduction of historic urban areas. The main goal is to reduce risks to the population and physical fabric in historic urban areas through use of sustainable conservation and development practices and raising awareness among all stakeholders including public agencies, civic society organizations, private sector as well as local communities. The article will further outline the agenda for action for risk reduction and highlight some of the recent national and international initiatives undertaken so far.

EL PROGRESIVO ENCANTO POR LA GESTIÓN PRIVADA: ANÁLISIS DE LOS MODELOS DE LA GESTIÓN PÚBLICA-PRIVADA EN ENSEÑANZA MEDIA EN URUGUAY (2002-2013)

RESUMEN: El objetivo del artículo fue analizar tres experiencias de los modelos de gestión pública-privada en la enseñanza media, desarrolladas en las últimas décadas en Uruguay. Particularmente se presentarán el Programa Aulas Comunitarias y los liceos Jubilar e Impulso. El primer programa constituye una experiencia particular, en tanto articula una gestión compartida entre el Consejo de Educación Secundaria y las diversas Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil. Los otros dos liceos se inscriben en los modelos de gestión privada con financiamiento público, característicos de las formas de privatización en el campo educativo. Interesa especialmente contextualizar dichas experiencias en el marco de la disputa en el campo simbólico en torno al papel que el Estado, las Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil y las empresas ocupan en el ámbito de la educación pública. Asimismo importa identificar el proceso de retracción de la educación como un derecho universal y el surgimiento y progresivo asentamiento de la educación como un producto susceptible de ser comercializado que se está produciendo en las últimas décadas en Uruguay. Se propuso realizar el análisis en torno a tres ejes: contextualizar y analizar la configuración que el valor de lo público ha tenido en el sistema educativo uruguayo; ubicar el contexto de surgimiento y las características de cada una de las experiencias educativas señaladas, apreciando las particularidades que asumen estas modalidades; analizar las tensiones y las disputas simbólicas en torno a las vinculaciones entre lo público y lo privado así como las resignificaciones del sentido de la educación pública, con los riesgos que ello comporta.

Moving ahead: what will a renewed Countdown to 2030 for Women and Children look like?

The Countdown to 2015 initiative (Countdown) represents a remarkable consortium of academicians, UN agencies, and development partners, which over the past decade, has focused its attention on tracking and analysing coverage of key interventions for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) across 75 high burden countries that account for more than 95% of global maternal and child deaths. Initially started to ensure follow-up on the landmark Lancet Child Survival series, with innovative consolidation and presentation of coverage data on key interventions by country and regions, Countdown rapidly evolved with an expansion of its mandate to include reproductive and maternal health indicators across the continuum of care and more recently, analysis of nutrition trends and health policies. Countdown is also an example of the collective power of champions, innovative scientifi c and collaborative work across academic groups, civic society organisations, and UN agencies and partnerships across various sectors. Elements that have worked include strong buy-in from the UN and development agencies and the legitimacy of Countdown analysis by countries. Important strengths of Countdown have included multidonor support, relatively fl exible governance and technical structures, strong links to the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health, and more recently to the independent expert review group (iERG) of the UN Secretary General for monitoring MDGs 4 and 5. Countdown’s core work on monitoring and measuring coverage of key interventions to aff ect MNCH interventions across the continuum of care represents one the major sources of consolidated information that governments, development agencies, civic society organisations, and the iERG have used in their work. Some aspects of Countdown’s work have also been challenging especially fi nancial dependence on a limited set of donors, perceptions of independence in view that much of its core funding fl owed through UN agencies, slow devolution of technical work to the regions, and relatively low-key advocacy. The latter is also evidenced by a gradual transition from standalone Countdown meetings as was the case in 2005 and 2008 to more limited sessions and visibility in other global MNCH meetings since. The release of its fi nal report and the adoption of a new set of global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) invoke the question of what next for the Countdown? There are several core features of Countdown that should be preserved as we move into the SDG era. The collation, presentation, and analysis of a core set of metrics centred on the coverage of crucial lifesaving interventions remains pertinent and critical to continued monitoring of SDG 3 (ensuring healthy lives and promotion of well being for all at all ages). Countdown further developed a range of equity measures across wealth quintiles and other markers such as geography, sex, and ethnicity that will be important to retain and link to assessments of equitable impacts of universal health care on MNCH. Of late, the group’s foray into geospatial analysis of inequities represents a powerful set of instruments to aff ect policies and investments. These must underpin any future monitoring of progress and accountability. A core working group on health fi nancing has monitored global resource fl ows with a specifi c focus on overseas development assistance for RMNCH and sequential assessments of fi nancing. Additional analyses of health systems and policies have allowed insight into awareness within countries of evidence-based key interventions for RMNCH and subsequent policy development and implementation at scale. A major development in recent years has also been the conscious move to analyse factors determining RMNCH progress at national or subnational level. Examples of these Countdown country case studies include insightful analyses of progress in child survival in Niger, maternal health in Bangladesh, and progress across RMNCH in Tanzania. At least six further case studies are underway in a range of countries including Peru, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, and Malawi and have engaged local experts and institutions as well as regional collaborations. Despite other similar exercises more recently, Countdown remains the dominant global group making available to countries a wide range of technical, fi nancial, and political support for multistakeholder capacity development for monitoring and evaluation. In view of Countdown’s regular inputs to the iERG in monitoring global progress in relation to Milennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, it should continue with support to the newly proposed independent accountability panel for RMNCH. Multistakeholder partnerships, RMNCH focus, shift to regional and national support, and continued development of improved scientifi c methods will, we believe, keep the Countdown process relevant for the forthcoming SDG era. There is clear recognition of the need to address issues that go beyond mortality. The challenge would be to link the Countdown process to emerging issues, such as adolescent health and noncommunicable diseases without sacrifi cing the core mission of addressing RMNCH. The new global strategy Lancet 2016; 387: 2060–62

A Big Society in Yorkshire and the Humber?

This paper explores three themes central to the Coalition Government's agenda for a 'Big Society'': power and empowerment; participation and involvement; and civil society. The paper draws on national datasets to explore the variation in these themes across the local authority districts of Yorkshire and the Humber, and as such presents a baseline assessment against which to measure change as policies underpinning the Big Society are rolled out. Unsurprisingly, the paper highlights significant variation across Yorkshire and the Humber, and in particular the lower levels of civic involvement in poorer districts. Two central points shape the conclusion: firstly that public expenditure cuts will lead to a loss of civic society organisations, to job losses in the sector and a withdrawal of services and with this the possibility for opportunities to participate; and that current policy design places too much emphasis on the contribution civil society can make to improving policy outcomes.