Mj Alessandrini

Building social capital through blood donation: the social futures project

The concept of social capital has been around for a number of decades and latterly has become a focus of governments’ attention as the social capital project. It has proved to be a very useful concept in the public policy domain and a large body of knowledge is developing around its core ideas and application to community building initiatives [1]. However, the meaning ascribed to this term could mean different things to different people as it readily lends itself to wide interpretation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of social capital and the implications of this concept for the blood sector, faced as it is with the challenge of maintaining sufficiency of blood supply at a time of disruptive social change. The thesis underlying this paper is that over the past decade we have lost the strong connections to our communities typical of our earlier history, and need to rediscover our essence as community-based organizations if we are to rise to the challenge and satisfy the intent behind our visions and missions. The advent of globalization, supported by successive governments, with its attendant economic rationalist outlook has done much to disrupt the social bonds of our communities. The larger, more traditional enterprises and workplaces that were the major participants in blood programmes have disappeared and here been replaced by the more numerous institutions of the new economy. The adoption of the trappings of the new corporatism and managerialism [2] by our health departments has done little to enhance public health and well-being in the pursuit of economic benefit. The symptoms of this disorder are reflected in the application of market logic to non-market activities [3] (e.g. privatization of public services, treatment of services as commodities, purchaserprovider agreements and a focus on short-term performance measures). It is only relatively recently that these departments have taken a greater interest in the achievement of the longer-term social goal of creating healthy communities. Many assumptions are made regarding the meaning of social capital as a term, its impact and its presence. While it may seem obvious that something akin to social capital would be evident when individuals agree to participate in blood donation, how then should organizations proceed in order to maintain an adequate supply of blood? In Australia donation rates are comparatively low at 3–4%, and the pool of eligible individuals is shrinking as donor selection criteria become more stringent. While it is important for the blood sector to participate in social capital enhancing activities, it must also be recognized that there are intense demographic factors at work that must also be addressed.

Place-based Strategic Planning: The Politics of Participation

The Global Financial Crisis has placed considerable pressure on government service delivery responsibilities throughout the world. This comparative analysis of the participative policy-making approaches and their impact examines the political processes of negotiation and developing consensus. Participative democracy is the foundation principle of Oregon Shines and Tasmania Together, and to varying degrees in the three Australian cases examined here: Growing Victoria Together, South Australian Strategic Plan and Territory 2030. How effective have these regional planning strategies been compared government-driven planning projects? Tasmania Together has been globally recognized as innovative and unique in its process and outcomes because of its bottom-up structure. A comparison of Oregon, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory illustrates the various styles adopted in engaging citizens, and its impact.