Collaborative Governance Meets Social Commons: at the Frontiers of Scottish Public Service Reform

The Christie Commission (2011) generates a rich picture of options, practices and policies for a ‘Scottish Approach’ to public service reform. Its narrative fits comfortably with aspirations for a collaborative governance (Bryson et al., 2014; Escobar, 2017): local government coordinating a diversity of partnerships and participation; commitment to working on ‘wicked’, complex social problems in search of a more equitable society; an eclectic, pragmatic approach to public service management and local democratic leadership. In the process, ‘Christie’ also generates legitimised policy spaces for discussion of community empowerment, community resilience and the roles of independent community organisations. What Works Scotland has been funded by an academic research council and the Scottish Government to support and explore critically this developing collaborative governance on the ground. One key line of inquiry has been as discursive policy (and practice) analysis with community sector organisations and policy-makers as to the potential roles of multi-purpose, local community-led anchor organisations (Hutchison & Cairns, 2010; Henderson & McWilliams, 2017). These organisations can support locally-led engagement with the multi-agency public service partnerships (community planning partnerships) that are central to the Scottish public service reform (Henderson, Revell & Escobar, forthcoming). Yet, they also offer an alternative vista of the future as a ‘social commons’ where natural, cultural, political and economic resources are shared and sustained for future generations (Coote, 2017). Here the community sector, social economy and state could build complex, multi-layered democratic networks – a participatory governance (Escobar, 2017) – concerned for locally-led sustainable economic and social development, service delivery and deepening dialogue and deliberation. By drawing from this inquiry, and from other current projects – including discussions of emerging issues of policy and practice for collaborative governance within a community planning partnership (Henderson & Bland, forthcoming); a national survey of public participation officers (Escobar et al., forthcoming); and discussions of community resilience (Revell & Dinnie, forthcoming) – we will identify and explore key current challenges for those seeking synergies between the emerging paradigms of collaborative governance and the social commons. In particular, we will provide empirical examination of the role of community anchors in supporting networks of participatory governance; in providing a counterbalance and alternative narratives to the power of the local and regional state (Ansell et al., 2017); and, in sustaining a committed longer-term focus on wicked social issues (e.g. inequality, sustainable development) in the context of public services challenged by austerity policies and traditional local government cultures.