From next Monday, Slugger will play host to a series of blog essays and on-the-ground interviews on the subject of community asset transfer (see this piece on the Guardian’s blog for an idea of what it actually is). Here’s the Asset Transfer Unit’s description:
…asset transfer is a shift in management and / or ownership of land or buildings, from public bodies, (most commonly local authorities), to communities, (community and voluntary sector groups, community enterprises, social enterprises, etc).
The main purpose is to convene a series of coherent conversations (if we can) here on Slugger, and across a number of social media networks (hashtag, #CATJRF).
The context is a research programme conducted by Queens University in Belfast for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which takes a depth look at how it is being implemented on the ground; what its potential is for future development; its political pros and cons. In short the aim is to give the report some living context.
At the moment, I am keen to source as many views and experiences on the subject as we can convene over the two weeks period. You can participate in a number of ways:
- submitting a blog essay to me ([email protected]) with a word limit of between 400 and 600 words;
- contributing to our live blog on Thursday 23rd from the project seminar at Queens;
- flagging articles or projects either here on Slugger or on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus and tagging, where appropriate with #CATJRF (so we can find it).
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
