Democratic renewal in Civil Society Organisations

人们常常认为，公民社会组织（CSOs）是一个充满活力的民主社会的核心。慈善机构、志愿团体、社区协会和由志同道合的个人组成的非正式网络受到赞扬，因为它们比政党和政府组织反应更及时，联系更紧密，能够明确表达当地社区的需求，特别是那些缺乏影响力和无法为自己说话的社区的需求。公民社会组织在价值观的驱动下，在其社区内产生社会变革。因此，他们可以创新地设计和提供人们真正需要的服务，通过积极参与，公民社会组织可以培育“社会资本”：发展合作和社会参与所必需的网络、规范和信任。这不仅增加了社区凝聚力，而且利用当地社区资源、基层能量、热情和想法，建立一个充满活力的公民社会。综上所述，这些特点意味着公民社会组织有潜力促进公民民主的复兴，并支持由当地社区积极经营和为当地社区服务的公民服务，而不是由中央政府或受利润和市场力量驱动的私营企业支配。在过去的三十年里，历届政府都试图利用民间社会组织的反应迅速和民主因素来提供以前由国家提供的服务。例如，现任政府的书面目标是“支持互助、合作社、慈善机构和社会企业的创建和扩展，并使这些团体更多地参与公共服务的运行”（Cabinet Office, 2014）。因此，越来越多的学校、图书馆、保健和社会保健服务以及许多以前提供的公共服务正在由民间社会组织或私人组织管理。到目前为止，超过100项公共服务已经在“公共服务互助”中“分离”出来，政府的目标是让五分之一的公共部门工作人员经营自己的互助（互助工作组报告，2015年）。由于民间社会组织被要求提供公共服务，人们对这可能对一个健康的民间社会的不可衡量的民主功能产生的影响表示关切。作为与私营企业竞争的服务提供者，它们受到国家和市场力量的监管，限制了会员促进和回应社区和会员需求的能力。颇具影响力的巴林基金会报告（Baring’s Foundation Report）最近认为，公民社会组织正在失去他们的民主传统（2015年），并强调了2014年的《游说法》，该法案对公民社会组织的活动和委托施加了新的限制，不支持该行业的独立性和多样性。他们认为，公民社会组织实际上已经成为“限制条款”的受害者，现在可以被视为国家的合同部门，提供服务而不是倡导。人们也越来越担心，这加剧了民间社会组织的不民主，使权力集中，并有可能腐蚀它们及其最初的独立性和意图。本系列研讨会探讨了这些问题，并提出了以下问题：在民主公民复兴中，促进和破坏公民社会组织作用的特征是什么？来自绿色和平组织、联合国教科文组织和英国合作社等主要公民社会组织的发言人，来自地理、商业、经济、社会学、和平研究、哲学和政治理论等跨学科学者以及政策制定者的系列研讨会从多个角度探讨了这些问题。它还将以英国和欧洲正在进行的实验中的现有例子为基础，这些实验目前正在开发新的公民社会组织形式。这六个研讨会将审查民间社会内民主的意义、条件、可能性和前景。通过汇集学者、决策者和实践者的跨学科网络，它将在公民社会和民主方面形成长期的共同利益。

It is often argued Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are central to a vibrant, democratic society. Charities, voluntary groups, community associations, and informal networks of like-minded individuals, are praised for being more responsive and in-touch than political parties and governmental organisations and able to articulate the needs of local communities, particularly those who lack influence and cannot speak for themselves. CSOs are driven by values to produce social change within their community. Therefore, they can be innovative in designing and delivering services that people actually need and, through active participation, CSOs can foster 'social capital': developing the networks, norms and trust, necessary for cooperation and social engagement. This not only increases community cohesion but harnesses local community resources, grassroots energy, enthusiasm and ideas to build a vibrant civil society. Together, these features mean that CSOs have the potential to facilitate civic democratic renewal and support citizens' services that are actively run by and for local communities, rather than being dictated to by central government or private enterprises driven by profit and market forces.Over the past three decades successive governments have tried to capitalise on the responsive and democratic elements of CSOs to provide services previously delivered by the state. For instance, a written aim of the current government is to "support the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises, and enable these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of public services" (Cabinet Office, 2014). Consequently, in increasing numbers, schools, libraries, health and social care services, and many previously delivered public services are being run by CSOs or private organisations. To date, over 100 public services have been "spun out" in "Public service mutuals" and the government's stated aim is for 1 in 5 public sector workers to run their own mutuals (Mutuals Taskforce Report, 2015). As CSOs are called upon to deliver public services, concerns have been raised over the impact this might have on the less measureable, democratic functions of a healthy civil society. As service providers, competing with private businesses, they are subject to regulation by both state and market forces, limiting members abilities to promote and respond to community and membership needs. The influential Baring's Foundation Report has recently argued CSOs are losing their democratic heritage (2015), highlighting the 2014 Lobbying Act which places new restrictions on CSOs campaigning and commissioning that does not support independence and diversity of the sector. CSO, they argue, have in effect become victims of a 'gagging clause' and can now be viewed as the contractual arm of the state, providing services rather than advocacy. There are also growing concerns this is accentuating the undemocratic of CSOs, centralising power and potentially corrupting them and their original independence and intentions.This seminar series explores these issues and asks: what are the features that promote and undermine the role CSOs play within democratic civic renewal? With speakers from leading CSOs such as Greenpeace, UNESCO and Co-operatives UK, inter-disciplinary academics including from geography, business, economics, sociology, peace studies, philosophy and political theory and policymakers the seminar series investigates these issues from multiple perspectives. It will also build upon existing examples from the experiments that are occurring throughout the UK and Europe where new forms of CSOs are currently being developed.The six seminars will examine the meaning, conditions, possibilities and promises of democracy within civil society. By bringing together an inter-disciplinary network of academics, policymakers and practitioners it will develop a long-term shared interest in civil society and democracy.