Community Governance and Partnerships in Scotland and Australia

Over the past two decades we have seen a growing range of collaborative activities both within the state through ‘joined-up’ government (Perri 6, 2005; Shergold, 2004) and between the state, the market and civil society such as community-led initiatives, contracts, inter-organisational cooperation, joint ventures, partnerships, policy networks, public-private partnerships, social networks, strategic alliances and voluntary sector compacts (Giguère, 2002; Sullivan and Skelcher, 2002). The place of the local communities within these new collaborative activities is itself quite complex and there is much debate about the various forms that citizen participation can take (Ball and Maginn, 2005; Bovaird, 2005; Burton, 2004; Cook, 2002). Citizens have always played advisory roles on local boards, development committees and other community associations (Goss, 2001). But public policy now invests people with a wider governance role in partnerships and networks (Municipal Association of Victoria, 2004; Wettenhall and Alexander, 2000).