Time banking – new social currency or waste of time?

Abstract

Purpose

The aims of this article are to introduce and explore the concept of time banking and then to give an example of how one housing association, the CHS Group, is trying to apply this to its social investment work in Cambridgeshire. Along the way, the article seeks to explore some of the related concepts such as co‐production, bartering, and social capital. Its purpose is to brief other housing and social care practitioners about recent developments in thinking and practice around community organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The article summarises key information about time banking, publishes the detail of a proposal to produce a social support time banking project, and draws conclusions about future directions.

Findings

There are numerous questions still to answer, such as: How we can enable all of our staff, resources permitting, to think and act in a community organising way? How best to engage and support customers in participating? How to avoid this being seen solely as a response to cuts in statutory funding, rather than a way of releasing civic potential and capacity to produce a more personalised support? How to reorganise performance management systems to include community organisation? How should staff and organisational time banking be organised in the context of providing closely regulated services, and managing risk while working with vulnerable group? Are there enough people out there who want to, or have the capacity for engagement, and if so how best to reach them?

Research limitations/implications

This is not unique primary research: the methodology is to use existing published documents and documents from within CHS Group. The article is limited by the absence of statistical data.

Practical implications

There are some lessons and ideas about how to structure a programme using timebanking to support vulnerable people in communities.

Social implications

Finding the right answers to the questions might assist services providers and customers to navigate through the impending welfare reform and social funding cut backs.

Originality/value

The article explores approaches to time banking used by a variety of agencies including the Department of Health POPP programme as applicable in social housing.

Citation

Lashko, G. (2012), "Time banking – new social currency or waste of time?", Housing, Care and Support, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 161-168. https://doi.org/10.1108/14608791211288561