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Exploring Pathways for Social Organizations to Collaborate with Communities in Building Public Cultural Services: a Case Study of the Mianyang Firefly Social Service Center

Author(s)

Li Ru

Affiliation(s)

School of Political Science and Law, University of Jinan, Shandong, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

In the process of promoting the modernization of national governance system and governance capacity in China, public cultural services are the core component of basic public services. The supply mode of such services has undergone a significant change : the traditional single-channel supply dominated by the government is gradually being replaced by a new model of multi-subject joint supply. The Law of the People 's Republic of China on the Protection of Public Cultural Services has made clear normative provisions on public cultural services. It stipulates that the government bears the main responsibility of providing public cultural services, and various social forces can join in related undertakings to jointly promote the healthy development of public cultural undertakings. The legal text further requires all regions to break down the barriers of administrative division, fully unlock the professional service value of social organizations, and make different participants form a joint governance force in the field of public cultural services. Mianyang is designated as an innovative pilot zone for grassroots governance in western China; however, community-level public cultural services face challenges such as low facility utilization rates (according to data provided by the local culture and tourism authorities, the average utilization rate of community cultural venues is only 42%), a disconnect between supply and demand, and a pronounced issue of limited governance entities. The Mianyang Firefly Social Service Center is a locally registered social organization that has gained valuable experience in coordinating with communities to deliver cultural services; nevertheless, it has yet to establish a standardized public management operational mechanism. Its practical dilemmas and areas for optimization hold significant research value, which can be analyzed and resolved with polycentric governance and collaborative governance frameworks.

Keywords

Public Cultural Services; Social Organizations; Community Collaboration; Multi-Center Governance

References

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