What has happened to the 'big society'?

The public services white paper , released last week, contained precious little reference to the "big society". The prime minister David Cameron has already been forced to re-launch the agenda on several occasions. Surveys show that a many people still do not identify with the concept, or understand what it entails; last month even Philip Blond, the architect of the policy, accepted it had not been clearly articulated to the public. Is it time to give it up as a bad job? Our recent research suggests that the overall picture is not so bleak. Based on public data and new polling, we have been able to map where appetite and capacity for the idea lie, and which areas of the country perhaps might suffer the most from a move towards a big society service delivery model. At our launch event for this research, we had some interesting comments and feedback from representatives of both local government and the voluntary and private sectors. Their insight offered some perspectives on how the concept might actually be realised. A common criticism of this agenda was that it being done already. It's true: the bare bones of this big society agenda, as demonstrated in the white paper, have long been evident in Britain's public services. Volunteers have for decades played a prominent role in helping run services; the difference now will be about scale. The challenge then is less about kick-starting big society style action, more about working out where good work is taking place and scaling it up into something resembling a new service model. The white paper spelled out its underlying principles, and ideas in the paper – such as diversification, subsidiarity and tighter accountability for citizens and communities – do resonate with so-called big society principles. There is perhaps an implicit hope in re-launching the big society that it will suddenly spring into action. The reality, needless to say, is different. The differentiation between communities, even within communities, is such that the development of a new service settlement will look radically different in Cornwall than it does in Oxfordshire. The variation in organisational scale within the voluntary sector suggests that the ability of town hall and Whitehall to rely on third sector partners will be dependent on the state of the charity market in each area. A prime concern that may have been overlooked in the furore over spending cuts is whether or not citizens are well positioned to take on the responsibilities being asked of them. Yes, some of them may struggle to find the time to take on some voluntary work at their local youth offender institution, but of those that can, what personal capabilities do they have and are they appropriate to the task at hand? The key points that emerge from our research, and from subsequent feedback, demonstrate uncertainty and variation. The claim that "We're doing this already" demonstrates that the prime minister is not entirely mistaken in pursuing this agenda: his mistake might instead be to do so with vigour from the centre. His goal, frustratingly for him, cannot be imposed but must grow organically, and certainly with variation, from within communities themselves. 'Realising community wealth: Local Government and the Big Society' was published in June and is available here . Tom Symons is acting head of research at the New Local Government Network . This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional . Join the local government network for more comment, analysis and debate direct to your inbox.