Paper short abstract:

This paper considers the impact of anthropological perspectives of "community" to local government discourse. Situating the paper within the practical reality of life within a small borough council, the paper grapples with the global and meta-narratives of "community" and "development" within the context of government policy. The paper argues that the application of anthropology is essential both through the formulation of local government policy and in its implementation.

Paper long abstract:

Anthony Cohen suggested that "community is that entity to which one belongs, greater than kinship but more immediately that the construction we call society" (1985:15). For local government in Britain notions of community are constantly at the fore ranging from community safety programmes to community education schemes, to health and community wellbeing, and the broader definition of community development. Within each of these policy arenas emerges a notion of community constructed by the state. A notion which defines communities as bounded entities, receivers of state services, where the poor are defined as "in need" of "development". This paper explores the author's practical application of anthropological concepts into his world of work in managing a community development function for a local council. Critical to this approach has been a wider facilitation of colleagues and decision makers in the de-construction of community as a term and an alternative ontological appreciation of development practice in a British context.