Managerialism meets community development: contracting for social inclusion?

The government-funded Neighbourhood Support Fund (NSF) programme, launched in March 2000, sought to tackle exclusion among disaffected young people in the most disadvantaged areas of England. NSF reflected a decisive policy shift - rejecting state-centric youth service provision in favour of direct funding of community-led initiatives. This article highlights important tensions between the government's aim of promoting innovative, community-based solutions and its emphasis on the rapid 'delivery' of tangible improvements. It raises questions about the capacity of local authorities and community-based groups to champion such initiatives. Early evidence suggests that implementing such a 'joined-up' approach requires a framework which is more conducive to collaboration between the statutory, voluntary and community sectors than that which currently exists