Invitation to join us for the NSW Fabian Social Policy Network Workshop on Community Services.
With the results of the survey we sent to members a month ago, we have designed a schedule of policy workshops that address the major issues of contemporary social policy or lack thereof. The first workshop will look at community services. This includes the various funding mechanisms, models of delivery, and social planning frameworks. The aim is to identify the most effective models of community service delivery in embedding agency and increasing social connectivity. We hope this will lead to an advocacy plan to protect those services. Please RSVP at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QQ8JFYJ
Brief Outline:
Opening session:
Defining the issues: open discussion: what policies do we need to make a good society, and how do social and community services affect lives?
Funding and delivery: The questions of competitive tendering and subcontracting versus locally generated and or collaborative planning
Suggested issues
o Decision-making and designing services: bottom up or top down –or mix?
o The role of big agencies versus local community-based ones
o Competitive tendering and its flaws
o Commercial or NFP service delivery
Examples:
Children's services
Domestic Violence Services
Education (Primary and Secondary)
Analysis: potential/ current limitations/proposals