How can social organizations play a role in collaborative governance of urban communities?
如何发挥社区中社会组织的作用？

As urban China continues to develop, social organizations in urban communities are gradually performing certain functions of local governments, thus becoming an important facilitator of community self-governance. This case is derived from Jiancaidongli Compound of Xisanqijiedao of Haidian District in Beijing City. The Compound has explored a collaborative approach to urban community governance by adopting social organizations to link various governing subjects in an organic manner.
随着城市的发展，社区中的社会组织逐渐承接政府的基本职能，成为了社区自治的重要载体。北京市建材东里社区以社会组织为纽带，通过适当的政府化支持与有效的资源共享，解决了社会组织参与社区管理常出现的问题，将多元主体有机地结合起来，为社区协同治理探索了可行的途径。

This urban governance innovation consists of three elements. The first is that the local government provides sufficient support for social organizations. For example, it renovated a space of 280 square meters for residents to enjoy cultural activities. It also recruited social workers to provide various social organizations with professional advices. The second element is that social organizations adopt a multilayered structure. For instance, there are three layers in “Huzhushe” (or “Residents’ Mutual Support Society” in English): head office, branch offices, and groups. Branch offices are independent from each other yet all under head office’s supervision according to the Society’s constitution. This structure has contributed to efficient and effective operation of the Society. The third element is that social organizations inside the Compound practice resource sharing with those outside of the Compound. This practice has proved to have a synergistic effect on the services for the residents of the Compound.
建材东里社区的主要方法如下。第一，适度行政支持。社区所在的西三旗街道投资改造了一栋280平方米的闲置房屋，开设舞蹈室、图书馆、老年棋牌室等，满足居民的基本活动需求。除了提供场地，街道也会雇用社工，为不同社团提供专业指引，丰富居民的文化生活。第二，建立层级分社系统。根据居民的兴趣和特长组建“互助社”这一社会组织。互助社建立了“总社—分社—队”的层级组织体系，各分社在总社的监督下，按规定独立运行，并通过规章制度进行管理，最终确保社区管理的有效运行。第三，有效的资源共享模式。社区里的“爱心有你互助社”打破了传统社会组织的地理壁垒，依靠社区的位置和设施等资源，吸引其他社区具有相同兴趣的居民，从而发挥资源的规模效应。例如，互助社与金隅艺术团、央广老年之声艺术团、街道京剧社、北京义工联盟等专业表演团队合作，组织了多种多样的群众性文化活动。

This case sheds some light on collaborative approach to urban community governance. First, local government needs to allow room for other subjects to participate in community governance. For one thing, social organizations need space for their own development into a key player in urban community governance. For another, residents need space to become governing subjects in their local communities. Second, residents need to participate in self-governance of their communities. Such participation can take various forms (e.g., local democratic elections and consultative decision making), through which residents can also play an active role in the process of community building. Third, resources from outside of local communities need to be utilized to optimize their governance.
该案例对我们有以下几方面的启示：第一，政府要让渡管理空间。一方面，各级政府要为社会组织的发展提供了空间，培育社会组织，使其成为社区管理的重要参与者；另一方面，区街政府要释放部分管制空间，让居民成为治理的主体，取代行政主导的单一社区治理方式。第二，要让公众参与自治。通过民主选举、协商解决的方式，从而实现自我组织、自我管理和自我约束，发挥公众在社区建设中的重要作用。第三，引入外部社会资源进行治理。例如，“爱心有你互助社”基于分享互助原则，从而吸引外部人力资源的进驻与合作，实现有限资源的优化重组，发挥了最大效益，为社区共同管理提供了有力支持。