Democratic renewal in Civil Society Organisations

人们经常认为，公民社会组织(CSO)是一个充满活力的民主社会的核心。慈善机构、志愿团体、社区协会和志同道合的非正式个人网络因比政党和政府组织更具响应性和更具亲和力而受到赞扬，并能够清楚地表达当地社区的需求，特别是那些缺乏影响力和不能自己说话的人。民间社会组织受到价值观的驱动，在其社区内产生社会变革。因此，它们可以创新地设计和提供人们真正需要的服务，并且通过积极参与，民间社会组织可以培养“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、热情和想法来建设一个充满活力的公民社会。总而言之，这些特点意味着，公民社会组织有潜力促进公民民主的更新，并支持由地方社区积极运营并为地方社区服务的公民服务，而不是受中央政府或受利润和市场力量驱动的私营企业的支配。在过去30年里，历届政府都试图利用公民社会组织顺应民意和民主的元素，提供以前由国家提供的服务。例如，本届政府的一项书面目标是“支持创建和扩大互助社、合作社、慈善机构和社会企业，并使这些团体能够更多地参与公共服务的运行”(内阁府，2014年)。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由民间社会组织或私营组织经营。到目前为止，已有100多项公共服务被“剥离”在“公共服务互助”中，政府宣称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服务(互助工作组报告，2015)。由于民间社会被要求提供公共服务，有人担心这可能会对一个健康的民间社会的不可衡量的民主职能产生影响。作为与私营企业竞争的服务提供商，它们受到国家和市场力量的监管，限制了成员促进和回应社区和成员需求的能力。颇具影响力的巴林基金会报告最近辩称，民间社会组织正在失去他们的民主传统(2015)，强调了2014年的游说法案，该法案对公民社会组织的竞选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，CSO实际上已成为“封口条款”的受害者，现在可以被视为国家的合同部门，提供服务而不是宣传。也有越来越多的人担心，这加剧了民间社会组织的不民主，集中了权力，并可能腐败他们及其最初的独立性和意图。这一系列研讨会探讨了这些问题，并提出问题：促进和削弱公民组织在民主公民更新中所起作用的特征是什么？来自绿色和平组织、教科文组织和英国合作社等主要民间社会组织的发言者、包括地理学、商学、经济学、社会学、和平研究、哲学和政治理论以及政策制定者在内的跨学科学者参加了系列研讨会，从多个角度探讨了这些问题。它还将借鉴英国和欧洲各地正在进行的实验的现有例子，这些国家目前正在开发新形式的民间社会组织。六个研讨会将审查民间社会中民主的含义、条件、可能性和承诺。通过将学者、政策制定者和实践者组成的跨学科网络聚集在一起，它将在民间社会和民主方面发展长期的共同利益。

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.