Timebanking is a community currency where people exchange skills and services with time instead of money. They have been supported in adult social care policy as an innovative mechanism to encourage community self-help as part of the 'Big Society' and Personalisation agendas to involve communities in care. Despite claims that timebanks are an example of co-production and facilitate well-being and social capital, the evidence for these assumptions is limited. This research addressed this deficit in the research through an evaluation of timebanks in England. The thesis presents data from a Realistic Evaluation using participatory methods with six person-to-person timebank case studies. An exploration of context, process, outcomes and output data suggested that timebanks were not working in the way that has previously been assumed; person-to-person exchanges were rare, timebanks produced small outputs, and improvements in the well-being and social capital outcomes for members were modest. Several factors impeded the implementation of timebanking including a paternalistic culture, a preoccupation with risk assessment, resource shortages and practical barriers that limited member participation. The extent to which timebanks were an example of co-production was questionable, as their mechanisms changed such that they became unrecognisable from the theory initially described. The research identifies lessons for the implementation of timebanks and co-production in England, and generates theories about in what contexts timebanks work best. The exploration of the challenges faced by timebanks provides transferable lessons for similar schemes that attempt to involve communities in social care.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:686829 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Naughton-Doe, Ruth |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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