Trusting community developers: the influence of the form and origin of community groups on residents' support in Northern Ireland.

Community development and area regeneration partnerships require a relationship of trust between partners in order to be effective. Trust between community representatives and the wider community of residents allows regeneration activities to proceed with least disruption. Residents, however, will want to scrutinize the work undertaken on their behalf. This paper presents the results of a survey-based analysis of residents' expressions of trust in local community groups active in public-community partnerships in Northern Ireland. It identifies three types of community groups; groups led by businesspersons, groups formed from existing community organizations, and groups founded by community and political activists. The analysis shows that the type of community group is a major influence on residents' belief in the representativeness of a group, but not their assessment of a group's ability to deliver successful regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]