The institutionalisation of neo-liberalist discourse has significantly changed the way in which the relationship between government and community organisations is described and regulated in Australia. These changes are most clearly articulated in government policy discourse as a move away from ‘funding’ community service organisations, to ‘purchasing’ the delivery of services. Under previous funding models, responsiveness to community need was emphasised. Local knowledge was valued and community organisations were largely viewed as best positioned to assess local needs and to design services to the meet those needs. In contrast, new highly regulated funding models have created a change in discourse that positions the community organisation as a seller of services to the government. In the ‘quasi-market’ the government is usually the only (or main) purchaser of services. As the sole purchaser, the government is now (potentially) responsible for specifying the nature of services that they are prepared to purchase. These changes in positioning have been accompanied by significant devolution of previous government provision of human services to the non-profit sector, and are supplemented by considerable changes in regulation practices. The principal questions asked in this research are: How have the changes in discourse and practice at the government level influenced existing discourse and practices in community organisations? How have changes in discourse and practices within and among community organisations affected their capability to operate in a way that is consistent with the values inherent in community discourse? This research approaches the research questions from a Social Constructionist epistemology informed by the work of Michel Foucault and also neo-institutional theorists. This research implements Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as the methodological framework to draw out and analyse tensions that arise from a contest of the discourses of ‘community’ and ‘managerialism’. This research critically examines emergent structures and practices of community organisations in New South Wales (NSW) through the critical analysis of relevant texts and data from four focus groups and nineteen interviews of management committee members and coordinators from community organisations throughout NSW Australia, with a focus on Greater Western Sydney. The way in which these changes at the government level have been translated in discourse and practice at the organisational level, has resulted in a number of tensions within and among community organisations. The major tensions that emerged, and are discussed and analysed in this research, were: Increased managerialism and the impact on ‘traditional’ beliefs – or the ‘institutional myths’ – of community discourse and practice. Increased reliance by governments on community organisations and the effects of this on organisational capacity: A shift of emphasis in accountabilities coupled with increased ‘professionalisation’ and the impact on ‘community representation’. Need or desire for alliances among community organisations and the impact of this on diversity and individual responsiveness. With these tensions came significant frustration and hardship as traditional strategies became more difficult to action in the quasi-market. Much of this tension was due to the use of one discourse to interpret another. What is required in community organisations is an increase in ‘critical consciousness’ to develop a ‘cultural literacy’. This study identified a number of strategies that were assisting community organisations to re-define their position in the new discursive context. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/273605 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | O'Shea, Peri, University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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