Community Democratic Governance: Evidence Synthesis and Advice
This Briefing Note, commissioned by the Welsh government, focused on three research questions:
- What roles and functions should or could a tier of community democratic governance fulfil?
- How do the potential roles and functions of community democratic governance contrast with the roles and functions currently performed by town and community councils, and what do we understand about the factors that shape and influence those roles and functions?
- What can we learn about effective approaches to community democratic governance, such as area committees and neighbourhood management approaches both within the UK and elsewhere in the world, which might be of interest to Wales?
This involved a thorough search of the literature to find publications relevant to these research questions. Second, we contacted a range of colleagues, across UK and international universities, research institutes and think tanks to identify further research not yet published. In the literature, two approaches to involving communities in governance can be distinguished: governance through policy or issue communities (or ‘communities of interest’) and governance through communities of place, including governance by neighbourhood communities. This Briefing Note focuses mainly on community governance through communities of place. It provides a taxonomy of options for community governance and a conceptual framework for choosing between these options.
Cite as: Tony Bovaird (2014), Community Democratic Governance: Evidence Synthesis and Advice. Research Report 109/2014. Cardiff: Welsh Government.