Current policy encourages 'partnerships' - between statutory organisations and professionals; public and private sectors; with voluntary organisations and local communities. But is this collaborative discourse really as distinctive as the Labour Government claims? How far do contemporary partnerships exemplify an approach to governing which is based on networks (as distinct from hierarchies and markets)?
Partnerships, New Labour and the governance of welfare:
provides an up-to-date critical analysis of partnerships;
addresses the highly topical theme of 'partnerships' as the means of achieving joined-up government;
presents empirical evidence from a wide range of welfare partnerships;
examines the relationships between local welfare partnerships and the management of those partnerships by central government;
reveals the imbalance of power which characterises many contemporary partnerships.
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It is essential reading for academics and students of contemporary social and public policy and for those with an interest in networks and other theories of welfare governance.
Martin Powell is a Professor of Health and Social Policy at the University of Birmingham. Martin’s main research interest is in the British welfare state, especially the NHS. He has written or edited some 19 books, including some being translated into Chinese, Korean, and Polish. He has written over 80 peer reviewed articles, and he is a former editor of the journal ‘Social Policy and Administration’.
Kirstein Rummery is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Stirling, the co-director of the Centre on Gender and Feminist Studies and a senior fellow of the Centre on Constitutional Change.