Governing and Governance: A Social Housing Case Study

Abstract

This research project concerns the role of members of governing boards of formerly public assets, where these assets are transferred to a private or quasi-public organisation. Members of these governing boards, although drawn from particular constituencies, are meant to be neutral and experts. We use a case study approach and a qualitative methodology. The case study concerns the governing board of a housing association, which was set up to take on the management of properties formerly managed by a local authority (referred to as a 'large-scale voluntary transfer'). The research notes tensions in the notion of neutrality and explores what counts as 'expertise'.governance; neutral; expertise; housing; representatives; transfer