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The Annual Award is made by the editors of TPA and JPAE (Journal of Public Affairs Education). This citation describes the significant contribution made by the 2022 winner - Christoph Reichard

This paper represents a personal view of the evolution of the Mulberry Bush School and Organisation. I will define three developmental stages, and within these some "core concepts" which, in my view, have enabled our services to evolve. I will illustrate these with case studies.

The UK Government's National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal (2001) identified ways in which the voluntary and community sectors are to be supported in developing their `capacity'. We can begin to reflect on current practice and experience and identify early trends. This article will draw on a completed evaluation of the development of a community centre funded via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It had as its remit that of increasing local capacity in the community and supporting new employment opportunities. The initiative established a local partnership that had a significant number of local residents and tenants on the management board. The article will suggest that while both the model developed and the expertise of those involved have a number of positive features there are important policy and practice issues still to be resolved. In particular, we need to be clear about both the intended (and unstated) assumptions surrounding `capacity building' and the potential limits to local or neighbourhood partnerships, and the real conflicts of interests they contain. Specifically, we need to think more clearly about securing relative independence for such initiatives, and what this may mean for all parties involved.

Partnerships to lead on urban regeneration initiatives in the UK claim to facilitate inter‐agency working and local involvement. They are presented both as ways of ensuring the effective management of services within neighbourhoods and as potential "change agents" in the way they bring together different (and sometimes competing) interest groups. Regeneration partnerships are, therefore, often the sites of unresolved conflict. This paper, which draws upon interviews with local regeneration managers and local community representatives in Manchester explores possible strategies for resolving such conflict. In particular it suggests that the use of supervision in the public and community sector needs reforming in order to provide externality for those involved.