Big Society survey analysis Methodology The LGC Big Society Survey was designed to gather for the first time the thoughts, attitudes, concerns and expectations of the three core local partners that will deliver the Big Society. A total of 342 people took part from principal, 344 from voluntary organisations and 369 from town and parish. A further 142 did not classify their organisation type, taking the total to 1206. Responses were gathered online between 23 September and 8 October. LGC invited senior local authority officers and members to take part. The survey was run in association with in association with Third Sector magazine, which invited its readers, voluntary leaders, to respond. Several organisations also kindly sent the survey to their members: the National Association of Councils, Urban Forum, the Association of Chief Executives of Organisations, and the National Association for and Community Action. The research report provides the answers of principal (referred to here as and including answers from senior officers and members from unitary, county and district, and metropolitan and London boroughs), local (also referred to here as parish, including answers from clerks and members of town, parish and community ), and voluntary groups (including answers from staff, volunteers and trustees of voluntary groups, charities, social enterprises and community groups). LGC would like to thank Stephen Cook from Third Sector and Toby Blume from Urban forum for their contribution to writing and developing the survey questions. A research briefing and an excel sheet with the full results is available at LGCplus.com/BSS2010 Number of responses (9% members) Other 342 344 369 142 1206 Theme 1: understanding Not that many respondents across all groups thought either the government was clear about the Big Society or really knew what it was all about, with local having the least understanding. When asked how clear government had been, the response from all three groups was broadly similar. Across the board 20% thought the government had been clear, while 76% thought not. Q1: Has the government been clear about what it means by the Big Society? Yes 19 17 23 20% No 79 80 73 76% Don t know 2 3 3 5%
However, despite thinking the government had been unclear; some respondents have filled in the gaps for themselves. While about a fifth of and 17% of voluntary organisations thought the government had been unclear, a third said they had a good understanding of the concept. Parish professed to have the lowest awareness, with almost three quarters saying they did not have a clear understanding. Q2: Do you have a good understanding what the Big Society is? Yes 34% 33% 24% 30% No 60% 60% 73% 65% Don t know 6% 7% 3% 5% All three group agree that, from a list of six options provided, the main element of the Big Society will be an increase in social action among individual citizens, though (61%) and voluntary groups (50%0) more certain than their parish council colleagues (35%). Councils and voluntary groups agree that a greater role for the established voluntary and a reduction in council services are the most significant elements. Parish are more optimistic about their role, with a third saying it is the main element of a Big Society a conclusion that less than 5% of and voluntary groups agree with. Within the parish council group, there was no clear majority view as to the main element of the Big Society, with the highest-ranking option achieving 35% of the vote. Q4: What do you understand to be the main element of the Big Society? % % % % An increase in social action among individual citizens Greater involvement in local public service delivery for the established voluntary 61 50 35 48 16 19 16 18 Fewer council services 9 13 8 10 Other 9 10 4 8
Greater involvement for town and parish in local public service delivery 4 2 27 11 Don t know 2 6 9 6 Is the lack of certainty about what Big Society is a problem? Apparently so. All three groups put lack of clarity/common agreement among local partners of what is expected in their top three when asked what the greatest barriers are to achieving the BIG Society. For parish, it was the top concern, cited by 56% of respondents. Theme 2: attitude Despite a lack of clarity about what Big Society is, across each group the majority were in favour. However the endorsement was far from overwhelming. A tenth said it was not a good thing in principle. A significant proportion did not know if they thought it a good thing, ranging from a quarter of, to 30% of voluntary groups and 36% of parish. Q3: Do you think the Big Society is a good thing in principle? Yes 67 57 54 60% No 10 12 9 11% Don t know 23 30 36 30% The voluntary is consistently more cynical than the other groups. The most popular assessment of Big Society for all three groups was a very measured one - An attempt to create an idealised version of society that is realistic in some communities but unrealistic in others. But a significant number of respondents think the concept is mainly concerned with cuts or shrinking the size of the state. A quarter of and voluntary groups thought Big Society is part of an ideological drive to shrink the state, compared with 15% of parish. On the whole, parish were more optimistic, with more responses endorsing the idea and its viability. groups were more cynical, with half giving a negative answer, and 18% thinking Big Society is a ploy to justify spending cuts. Councils were least likely to think that the Big Society is unachievable. Q5: Which statement best matches your attitude to the Big Society concept?
An attempt to create an idealised version of society that is realistic in some communities but unrealistic in others 36 31 29 32 An achievable attempt to create a society where people come together to solve problems and improve life for themselves and their communities 25 19 34 25 Part of an ideological drive to shrink the state A way of justifying public spending cuts An ideal that is not achievable 25 25 15 22 9 18 15 14 2 7 7 7 Theme: will it work? Despite the general feeling that the Big Society is a good idea, there is widespread doubt that the concept can deliver the current level of outcomes with significantly lower costs, with less than a fifth saying they think this is possible. Q: Is the Big Society capable of enabling the same outcomes to be achieved with significantly less funding? Yes 17% 14% 18% 17% No 57% 65% 44% 55% Don t know 26% 21% 38% 28% Across all groups, most respondents were sceptical that the policy would actually achieve what they believe to be the main tenet of the Big Society increased citizen action. About four times as many respondents thought it would not succeed in this than thought it would. About a tenth of respondents across the groups felt Big Society policy would lead to an increase in social action among individual citizens. But 47% of, 59% or
voluntary groups and 38% of said that the main consequence would be little change but with fewer services and no increase in citizen action. Q 6 What do you think the main consequence of the Big Society policy will be? Little change but with fewer council services and no increase in citizen activity Closer relations between town/parish, the community and voluntary, and principal Greater opportunity for new voluntary and community groups to spring up An increase in social action among individual citizens Greater involvement in local public service delivery for the established voluntary Greater involvement for town and parish in local public service delivery % % % % 47 59 38 48 14 6 21 14 12 11 10 11 12 9 8 10 11 13 6 10 3 2 17 7 There is also widespread agreement that the Big Society will not be achieved within the next five years, with a quarter of all respondents thinking it will never be achieved. Q13: How long will it take for the Big Society to become established? Beyond the lifetime of this parliament It will never become established 57% 49% 50% 52% 21% 33% 22% 25% 3 years 11% 9% 12% 11% 4 years 9% 7% 13% 10% 2 years 2% 2% 3% 2% 1 year 1% 0% 0% 0% Theme: consequences
Although there is strong scepticism among all three groups that the Big Society would increase citizen action or achieve the same outcomes for less, respondents did see opportunities. Closer relations between the three groups was the second most likely consequence selected by (14%) and voluntary groups (21%). About a fifth of respondents thought there would be opportunities for new voluntary groups to spring up or a greater role for the existing voluntary. While 17% of parish thought there was an opportunity for them to get involved in service delivery, only 2% of voluntary groups and 3% of agreed. Q 6 What do you think the main consequence of the Big Society policy will be? Little change but with fewer council services and no increase in citizen activity Closer relations between town/parish, the community and voluntary, and principal Greater opportunity for new voluntary and community groups to spring up An increase in social action among individual citizens Greater involvement in local public service delivery for the established voluntary Greater involvement for town and parish in local public service delivery % % % % 47 59 38 48 14 6 21 14 12 11 10 11 12 9 8 10 11 13 6 10 3 2 17 7 Respondents were less optimistic about the prospects for their own organisations. Most (34%) and voluntary groups (31%) thought the greatest effect for them would be spending cuts. Parish were significantly more positive although a fifth were concerned about spending cuts, almost a third (27%) thought the biggest impact would be more opportunity for them to established stronger communities. Opportunity for them to established stronger communities was also a popular answer from council respondents (21%); alongside the prospect of organisational restructure (14%). About a tenth also thought better working relations with local partners would be the key effect for their organisation. The answers to several questions make it clear that many respondents think there will be fewer council run services in the Big Society. Yet only 3% of said that reduced opportunity to run services would be the key effect for their organisation. Q7: What will the greatest single effect be for your organisation? Spending cuts 34 31 17 26%
Greater opportunity to establish stronger communities Organisational change/restructuring Better relations with local partners in the public and voluntary 21 11 27 20 14 9 6 10 14 9 14 12 Other 6 17 15 14 Worse relations with local partners in the public and voluntary Less opportunity to run services Less opportunity to establish stronger communities Greater opportunity to run services 5 5 4 5 3 4 1 2 2 4 1 2 1 9 14 8 Theme: barriers All three groups believe that the public s lack of appetite, spending cuts and lack of clarity over the definition of Big Society are the greatest threats to its success. However, the importance they place on the three concerns differs. For the voluntary, spending cuts are the greatest threat (60%), while for it is public apathy (54%) and for parish it is understanding (56%). Lack of time and capacity also features highly. A significant number think that the policy could actually have the reverse effect to that desired about a fifth across the board, and 29% of voluntary groups think that in seeking to create a Big Society, inequality will be exacerbated. Almost a fifth of and voluntary groups are worried that silos at the national level could scupper their efforts locally. Q12: What are the three greatest barriers to achieving the Big Society? (Please tick three) Lack of appetite among communities and citizens 54 31 46 44 Public spending cuts 53 64 40 51 Lack of clarity/common agreement among local partners of what is expected 45 44 56 48
Lack of capacity of the voluntary and town and parish Not enough time among communities and citizens 40 29 39 36 29 26 35 29 That in seeking to create a Big Society, inequality will be exacerbated Barriers created by silo actions/mentality at national level Lack of trust between local partners Lack of capacity by principal 20 29 12 20 18 18 6 14 14 19 14 16 10 8 7 8 Willingness of principal 7 17 23 16 Other 6 8 6 8 Willingness of voluntary 2 3 8 5 Theme: partnership working have much more faith in their ability to deliver the Big Society than they do in other partners 78% said they had the capacity themselves. They also show more faith in the voluntary (62%) than parish (42%) and the wider community (38%). 40% of principal listed Lack of capacity of the voluntary and town and parish as one of the three main barriers to the Big Society (Q12) However, they do not doubt the will of the voluntary to delivery, with 77% saying the does have the will. They were less convinced by the will of parish (42%) and wider civil society (36%). Councils faith in the voluntary is not reciprocated 35% of respondents from voluntary groups thought council had the will, and 55% thought they had the capacity. Though they rated above parish on both counts. For their part, parish thought voluntary groups have greater will but less capacity than. The total sample rated wider civil society at the bottom for both will (35%) and capacity (38%). Q10: To what do the following local partners in your area have the capacity to enable/empower greater community involvement in co-design and co-production of services? Wider civil society Town/parish 62 69 51 59 38 44 35 38 42 37 66 48 78 55 64 65
Q11: To what do the following local partners in your area have the will to enable/empower greater community involvement in co-design and co-production of services? Wider civil society Town/parish 77 82 56 71 36 41 27 35 42 34 67 48 78 38 49 53 Although local want to be involved, principal and voluntary in general do not consider them as part of the picture in service delivery Q6: What do you think the main consequence of the Big Society policy will be? Greater involvement for town and parish in local public service delivery % % % % 3 2 17 7 Looking at in more depth, there is strong support among (75%) and parish (71%) that ward councillors have an important role to play in Big Society. Most in the voluntary agree, but at 48% the response was less overwhelming. However, across all groups there is less optimism that ward councillors have the will to pull of their important role. Councils and parish where most optimistic, with 62% and 61% respectively saying they thought councillors had the will. The voluntary was much less optimistic, at 35%. Q8 How important are ward councillors to the success of the Big Society initiative? % % % % To a great 30 10 23 20 Some 45 38 48 43 great/some 75 48 71 63 Neither 8 20 11 14 Little 11 15 8 12 Very little 6 16 10 11 little/very little 17 31 18 23 Q9: How willing and able are ward councillors to take on a role in the Big Society?
To a great 10% 0% 9% 6% Some 52% 35% 52% 45% great/some 62% 35% 61% 51% Neither 15% 31% 16% 21% Little 18% 18% 16% 18% Very little 5% 16% 7% 9% little/very little 23% 34% 23% 27% One in seven council and voluntary respondents thought the biggest effect of Big Society for their organisation would be better relations with local partners in the public and voluntary. For parish the figure was one in ten. Trust between partners was also a concern: one in seven and parish and a fifth of voluntary groups thought it was a barrier to success. Theme: Big Society in action Examples given illustrate the widely different views on what the Big Society entails. The answers show some of the confusion and cynicism, as well as a few positive views (Direct quotes from answers given to Q14: Q Do you know of an example of the Big Society in action, if so how/where?) Running Tourist Information Centres and Conveniences A local youth club about to launch as a result of resident involvement and leadership...but hugely supported by the local strategic partnership to see it through the quicksand of Regulation. Yes loads - it's hardly new e.g. voluntary groups doing litter picks and beach clean ups Lincolnshire Carers Partnership - Carers involved in co-production of support service Mutualisation of allotment plots A dance school that developed in one of the most deprived areas of Poole as a result of local people identifying an opportunity The magistracy shift in public attitude towards recycling There is no examples of a real Big society, for the reality of such a concept can never be achieved because of the greed and selfishness of all players on a personal basis No. It's a myth. All examples provided to date are so insignificant in terms of scale and impact as to be meaningless hype.