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Frontline voluntary and community organisations are often argued to need capacity building support of various kinds, but, in a context of austerity, how should this be organised and funded? Policy makers and many funders are rethinking the ways in which such support might be delivered. There is incr...
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Frontline voluntary and community organisations are often argued to need capacity building support of various kinds, but, in a context of austerity, how should this be organised and funded? Policy makers and many funders are rethinking the ways in which such support might be delivered. There is increasing interest in ‘demand-led’ capacity building, where frontline organisations choose and purchase the support they require from a range of providers. In what seems to be a far cry from previous models of support during the ‘golden age’ of infrastructure investment, a market for capacity building looks like it is in the making. However we know very little about how this extending market is being constructed and how it works. This paper is the outcome of a short piece of applied research on three ‘demand-led’ capacity building initiatives in practice: the BIG Assist programme, and local schemes in Sheffield and Worcestershire. It considers the challenges involved in designing the architecture for an emerging market in capacity building, and for working within it. Although the three schemes are clearly a departure from existing models of infrastructure support, the study concludes by questioning whether ‘demand-led capacity building’ is an appropriate label given the opaque but important role played by funders and programme operators in the capacity building process.

Abstract Research has long shown that non-profit sector employees report a higher level of job satisfaction than workers in other sectors. This paper investigates trends in job satisfaction using longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey (1992-2008), through models which contain det...
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Abstract Research has long shown that non-profit sector employees report a higher level of job satisfaction than workers in other sectors. This paper investigates trends in job satisfaction using longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey (1992-2008), through models which contain detailed information on individual, job and organisational characteristics. A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition is used to provide an in-depth study of the differential in levels of job satisfaction across sectors, obtained from regression analyses. The results suggest a reduced non-profit premium in job satisfaction over time; the decomposition still confirms the ‘warm glow’ theory for workers within the non-profit sector, underlining relevant differences between sectors in job satisfaction even after controlling for substantive individual, job and organisational differences.

Over late 2009 and early 2010 the Below the Radar work stream at the Third Sector Research Centre undertook a range of interviews with national network groups, practitioners and academics to explore the role and nature of small community groups (Phillimore and McCabe: 2010). These sessions also exam...
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Over late 2009 and early 2010 the Below the Radar work stream at the Third Sector Research Centre undertook a range of interviews with national network groups, practitioners and academics to explore the role and nature of small community groups (Phillimore and McCabe: 2010). These sessions also examined the contexts in which ‘below the radar’ groups became established and their perceived role in the delivery of Government policy. Following the general election in May 2010, further work involving workshops, focus groups and seminars explored the impact of the change in administration on community groups and activities. At this point, prior to the implementation of the Localism Act and the Open Public Services White Paper, the conclusion was that, whilst the emergency budget of June 2010, and subsequent Spending Review in October, raised concerns over funding for the voluntary sector as a whole and community groups in particular, it was ‘too early to tell’ what the full impact of change might be. The following working paper draws on a second round of interviews and focus group activity between February 2011 and January 2012 to essentially explore ‘Big Society – a further year on’: how has policy towards ‘community’ changed? What have been the impacts of change? How have below the radar groups and community sector network organisations responded? What might be the implications of current trends for the future?

With growing interest in social enterprise in the UK, evidence on the scale of their activity is required to show their contribution to the economy. The figure of 62,000 social enterprises has been regularly based on a minimum three year rolling average of the Annual Small Business Survey between 20...
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With growing interest in social enterprise in the UK, evidence on the scale of their activity is required to show their contribution to the economy. The figure of 62,000 social enterprises has been regularly based on a minimum three year rolling average of the Annual Small Business Survey between 2005 and 2007. In this paper we show that different surveys have been based upon samples drawn from widely disparate populations. The Annual Small Business Survey is shown to be dominated by private enterprises (Companies Limited by Share, Partnerships and Sole Proprietors) while other surveys such as the National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, have only looked at particular elements of civil society. By understanding the origins of each source of data, a better evidence base can be developed that draws on the different data sources. While there is still on-going debate about the definitions of social enterprise, careful presentation of data sources can allow those using the data to be clearer about what they are including or excluding. We show how different definitions of social enterprise result in widely differing estimations of the population. Estimations of social enterprise activity may be more reliable as the definitions are more consistently applied. This working paper aims to present data and seeks feedback from the social enterprise community and researchers as part of improving the evidence base.

‘The Big Society’ has become a key element of the Coalition’s Government policy platform, not only on the delivery of public services by the formal and funded voluntary sector but also in terms of communities, more informal third sector activities and individual citizens. Whilst the term itself is r...
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‘The Big Society’ has become a key element of the Coalition’s Government policy platform, not only on the delivery of public services by the formal and funded voluntary sector but also in terms of communities, more informal third sector activities and individual citizens. Whilst the term itself is recent, and accompanied by the ‘new language’ of social action, there are continuities between the current Coalition policy objectives and those of the previous New Labour administration: the devolution of powers to the local level, the reconfiguration of services and promotion of community engagement, empowerment and active citizenship. This working paper explores the debates about, ‘below the radar’ (BTR) community groups and their assumed role in delivering ‘big society’. It argues that the motivators for community action are, and have been, ill understood in policy circles. Further, there is and has been little systematic analysis of the power relationship between the state (both locally and nationally) communities and neighbourhoods which can inform meaningful debate on devolution and localism. The paper examines the implications of the ‘new’ policy environment for small community groups and asks can such activity, which has often been independent of, and operated outside the state, be co-opted to deliver particular government policy objectives?

This paper examines the experiences of a single social enterprise that grew rapidly but ended in failure. Over more than 8 years, the author conducted intensive field research during the social enterprise’s life and held detailed post-mortems with key players after its death. This material is part o...
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This paper examines the experiences of a single social enterprise that grew rapidly but ended in failure. Over more than 8 years, the author conducted intensive field research during the social enterprise’s life and held detailed post-mortems with key players after its death. This material is part of longitudinal research on social enterprise activity in the voluntary and community sectors, (Pharoah, Scott and Fisher, 2004; Russell and Scott, 2007). It is complemented by a review of five studies of social enterprise failure, together with some wider reflections about reporting on various ‘troubles’ (e.g. error, failure and scandal). The primary emphasis is upon problems involved in ‘making sense’, but is illustrated with reference to the experiences of this case study and the limited literature relating to social enterprise failure.

This paper is designed to ‘problematise’ the business/third sector boundary in order to inform future research into third sector theorising or policy development. It sets out some of the reasons behind the development of the concepts of the ‘third sector’ and ‘social enterprise’ in the UK, and brief...
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This paper is designed to ‘problematise’ the business/third sector boundary in order to inform future research into third sector theorising or policy development. It sets out some of the reasons behind the development of the concepts of the ‘third sector’ and ‘social enterprise’ in the UK, and briefly shows the scope and limits of the different theories underpinning European and US-influenced research and practice. It also illustrates some of the many dimensions, motivations and values of the kinds of organisations to be found in this cross-over space, as well as the challenges and opportunities which this diversity creates for any future research or policy creation.

This paper examines the potential impact of social enterprise on exclusion. The case study research involved participant observation over a two year period. Selection of cases was based on a preliminary typology for social enterprise. Exclusion was conceptualised as multi-dimensional and relative to...
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This paper examines the potential impact of social enterprise on exclusion. The case study research involved participant observation over a two year period. Selection of cases was based on a preliminary typology for social enterprise. Exclusion was conceptualised as multi-dimensional and relative to the standards of the society in which a person lives. The research literature suggests that the aggregate impact of social enterprise on economic dimensions of exclusion is marginal. This is a consequence of a mismatch between policy expectations and what is happening in the field. This study found that different forms of social enterprise impacted on exclusion in different ways. People could become included within a group, but remain excluded by the standards of the society they lived in. This paper outlines these different impacts in order to open up a more balanced perspective on the potential and limitation of social enterprise in combating area based exclusion.

Discussion about, and analysis of, the question of definition and the third sector and civil society more generally has developed to a significant degree in recent years. This paper can be located in a new phase of conceptual research, which seeks to attend to the historical, cultural and politicall...
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Discussion about, and analysis of, the question of definition and the third sector and civil society more generally has developed to a significant degree in recent years. This paper can be located in a new phase of conceptual research, which seeks to attend to the historical, cultural and politically contingent nature of this domain’s boundaries. The process of constructing, adapting and shifting the positioning of boundaries, and movement across those evolving boundaries comes especially into focus. It takes England as a case study, drawing on evidence and argument assembled by the authors in recent and ongoing research efforts, variously conducted with the support of the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) and the European Commission. The paper proceeds by discussing relevant literature; describing recent patterns of policy institutionalisation; and then tries to draw out more analytically how this process has indeed not been associated with a stable and consistent set of definitions and constructs, but rather with unstable and changing formulations, which reflect the playing out of a dual process of decontestation and contention.

Despite a largely indifferent and otherwise sceptical public reception, the ‘Big Society’ has remained a central feature of the Conservative-led Coalition’s project, with David Cameron referring to it as his passion. However, the Big Society has been a rather elusive concept. Academics and commentat...
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Despite a largely indifferent and otherwise sceptical public reception, the ‘Big Society’ has remained a central feature of the Conservative-led Coalition’s project, with David Cameron referring to it as his passion. However, the Big Society has been a rather elusive concept. Academics and commentators seek to understand what it means, what it signals, and what it might imply. It is viewed by critics as providing political cover for the Coalition’s deficit reduction programme and as a Trojan horse for privatisation. Others argue that it represents a significant recasting of the relationship between citizens and the state, as well as providing new opportunities and spaces for voluntary and community activity, recast as social action in civil society. This paper asks what the Big Society might mean for the ‘third sector’ of voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises, and in particular how the changing relationship with the state might be understood. The previous Labour government’s approach has been characterised as the development of a closer ‘partnership’ between state and the third sector. Whilst there are important continuities from this time, a partial decoupling may now be underway in the new political and economic context. Theoretically, this might signal a shift away from the idea of interdependence between the state and the third sector, and towards a model involving separate spheres: from partnership to an emergent ‘trial separation’. To explore this dynamic the paper draws on Friedrich Hayek’s theory of ‘spontaneous order’, suggesting that the Big Society involves some implicit Hayekian assumptions. It concludes by considering the implications of regarding the third sector in such terms.

Since the end of the last century the United Kingdom has been a less united country than it was. In 1999 a separate Scottish Executive (from 2007 the Scottish Government) and Welsh Assembly Government were established, followed later by a new Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, based on a power...
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Since the end of the last century the United Kingdom has been a less united country than it was. In 1999 a separate Scottish Executive (from 2007 the Scottish Government) and Welsh Assembly Government were established, followed later by a new Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, based on a power sharing agreement known from its date in 1998 as the ‘Good Friday Agreement’. A number of key policy making powers were devolved from Westminster to these new administrations; these include policy on and support for third sector activity in the different countries. Since 2000 therefore there have in effect been four separate policy regimes within the UK focused on the activity and organisation of third sector organisations, although, compared to the greater levels of regional devolution existing in many other developed industrial nations, the UK remains a largely centralised state in both political and policy terms. This paper explores some of the key implications of this recent devolution and examines the extent to which it has led to a divergence in policy development and delivery – asking the question, to what extent has devolution led to a divergence in third sector policy regimes across the UK?

Employment services, in the UK as elsewhere, are increasingly delivered outside of the traditional public sector, by organisations from the third, private and even by other constituent parts of the public sector. The Work Programme was launched in a policy environment in which the role of the third ...
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Employment services, in the UK as elsewhere, are increasingly delivered outside of the traditional public sector, by organisations from the third, private and even by other constituent parts of the public sector. The Work Programme was launched in a policy environment in which the role of the third sector was particularly promoted by ministers, yet at the same time concerns about the sector’s role and its perceived marginalisation in large scale high-risk contracts have dogged the Programme. There remains a lack of evidence about what, if anything, is genuinely distinctive about the experiences of third sector organisations compared to providers from other sectors. This paper seeks to explore the experiences of different providers and begins by outlining how the third sector’s role in welfare to work has evolved from 1997 and highlights the emergence of particular issues associated with the third sector organisations (TSOs) delivering employment services. It then draws on interviews with key informants and subcontractors from all sectors in the Work Programme to explore issues around the squeezing out of TSOs, low flows of clients to subcontractors and the ‘creaming and parking’ of hard to help customers. Ultimately it concludes that sector is not the most important factor in accounting for providers’ experiences of the Work Programme, and that it is intersected by providers’ size, the types of services they provide and crucially, the tier in which they sit in the supply chain.

This paper examines different understandings of the emotional role played by activist or ‘grass-roots’ participants for those involved in policy-making. Drawing on findings from an ethnographic study of an interrelated cluster of anti-poverty policy-making forums in Scotland it considers both what i...
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This paper examines different understandings of the emotional role played by activist or ‘grass-roots’ participants for those involved in policy-making. Drawing on findings from an ethnographic study of an interrelated cluster of anti-poverty policy-making forums in Scotland it considers both what informants understand by ‘emotion’ and its role in policy-making from the point of view of informants themselves. In particular it focuses on discussions and observations from the inception phase of this research project in which the nature of emotion was considered and some of the explicit and tacit ‘rules’ about who may be ‘emotional’, when they may do that and how emotion is to be expressed socially. This paper looks at two key aspects of informants’ practice; the special expectations policy forum participants have of activists and community organisation representatives around behaviour and language associated with ‘the emotional’; and participants’ understandings of the relationship between emotion, authenticity and legitimate decision-making when making policy. It concludes by considering how this examination of grassroots emotionality could assist in conceptualising emotional practice and power in policy-making and suggesting some key challenges for both researchers and practitioners.

This paper takes both a practical and critical view of economic analysis in relation to the third sector. It argues that there is no one kind of economic analysis but that a certain form of such thinking, and associated techniques, has become dominant in thinking and practice. That mainstream approa...
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This paper takes both a practical and critical view of economic analysis in relation to the third sector. It argues that there is no one kind of economic analysis but that a certain form of such thinking, and associated techniques, has become dominant in thinking and practice. That mainstream approach is appropriate for certain functions and understandings but can also act to funnel or prioritise certain dimensions of third sector activity, ignoring others. It is important therefore in any economic analytic work on the third sector to engage with different forms of economic theory and practice (such as ecological, or institutional economics) as well as cross-disciplinary approaches (such as geographical or socio-economics). Economic analysis may often just apply to the relative impact of the third sector on accepted statistical dimensions of the economy, such as employment or GDP. This paper argues that this approach misses the many and complex ways in which different parts of the third sector may impact on economic activity in the UK. Ultimately, the aim of this paper is to range over issues of both practical and conceptual importance, in order to enable a more informed and contextualised sense of options, priorities, and possibilities for further in-depth work in the economic analysis of the third sector.

This paper explores different dimensions of below the radar (BTR) activity and some of the key variables that need to be considered. It seeks to define what we mean by ‘below the radar’ activity and identify different radars that might form the focus of research. It is clear from discussion aroun...
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This paper explores different dimensions of below the radar (BTR) activity and some of the key variables that need to be considered. It seeks to define what we mean by ‘below the radar’ activity and identify different radars that might form the focus of research. It is clear from discussion around BTR activity, that it is necessary to move beyond simplistic definitions that focus on registration to a more sophisticated approach encompassing a range of different radars. Similarly, there is a need to move away from a deficit model, which makes negative assumptions about what it means to be ‘below the radar’. We have tried to develop a sampling frame to differentiate BTR activity from more mainstream activities being researched by other work streams. We want to ensure that small community based actions are also included in the economic/impact, service delivery and social enterprise elements of TSRC research. Our exploration of the characteristics of below the radar activity culminates in a series of issues to be researched further, rather than reaching definitive conclusions. Our understanding, and classification, of such activity will evolve, as we use theoretical and empirical knowledge to inform our thinking. Thus, while we have outlined our initial thoughts around defining BTR activity, we expect this thinking to be influenced by the findings from our fieldwork. The next step for the BTR work stream is to develop a methodology to explore the full range of BTR activity sketched out in this paper.

Fifty at Fifty (50 at 50) combined longitudinal quantitative data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Survey, i.e. the National Child Development Study (NCDS), with qualitative biographical interview data from the associated Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS) to investigate long term patt...
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Fifty at Fifty (50 at 50) combined longitudinal quantitative data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Survey, i.e. the National Child Development Study (NCDS), with qualitative biographical interview data from the associated Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS) to investigate long term patterns of participation and volunteering.

Participation, volunteering, non-participants, longitudinal research, mixed methods, motivations, barriers, life-course, pathways, National Child Development Study, Social Participation and Identity S...
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Participation, volunteering, non-participants, longitudinal research, mixed methods, motivations, barriers, life-course, pathways, National Child Development Study, Social Participation and Identity Study, panel data

‘Real Times’ is the Third Sector Research Centre’s qualitative longitudinal study of third sector organisations, groups and activities. Over a three year period the study is following the fortunes, strategies, challenges and performance of a diverse set of fifteen ‘core’ case studies of third sector...
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‘Real Times’ is the Third Sector Research Centre’s qualitative longitudinal study of third sector organisations, groups and activities. Over a three year period the study is following the fortunes, strategies, challenges and performance of a diverse set of fifteen ‘core’ case studies of third sector activity, and their relations with a number ‘complementary’ case studies. This report introduces the core case studies through summary sketches, and provides a descriptive account of the research up to the end of the first wave of fieldwork.

This paper seeks to give an overview of the origins and development of Tenants and residents’ associations (TRAs) amongst Gypsies and Travellers. As well as identifying good practice it outlines recent legal events which may stimulate further TRA development on Gypsy and Traveller sites. This Workin...
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This paper seeks to give an overview of the origins and development of Tenants and residents’ associations (TRAs) amongst Gypsies and Travellers. As well as identifying good practice it outlines recent legal events which may stimulate further TRA development on Gypsy and Traveller sites. This Working Paper aims to contribute to a wider debate between the tenants and residents of Traveller sites, those involved in their management and others active in the promotion of tenants empowerment in the wider housing sector.

Housing associations (HAs) could be regarded as the ‘distant uncle’ of the third sector in England. Their experience of 40 years of capacity building, struggles around combining public service delivery while preserving some independence and shifting from charity to social entrepreneurial models has ...
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Housing associations (HAs) could be regarded as the ‘distant uncle’ of the third sector in England. Their experience of 40 years of capacity building, struggles around combining public service delivery while preserving some independence and shifting from charity to social entrepreneurial models has considerable relevance for other third sector organisations. Their hybrid financial model places housing associations squarely between the state and the market. While the core activities of associations in constructing and managing affordable housing is a crucial contribution to society, greater attention is often given to their social investment and neighbourhood activities when considering their added value. While larger associations are sometimes seen as having grown away from third sector roots, the importance of generating a social as well as a financial return and the impact of successful neighbourhoods on their business results is generally recognised. Recent policy and regulation issues have included a legal challenge to the non-public status of housing associations, a major review of regulation and adjustments responding to the credit crisis and recession and most recently responding to the Coalition Government, including public expenditure reductions and the Big Society agenda. While the housing association field was, for 40 years, tightly structured around a single dedicated funding and regulatory body, the Housing Corporation, since 2008 it has had separate regulatory and funding bodies each of which relate to other social landlords as well. This looser field structure may have important implications for the future evolution and identity of housing associations. Further research on the sector could address the adaptation of the housing association sector to the new government, localism, neighbourhood focus and social investment impacts, mergers and alliances and responding to efficiency and accountability agendas.

This paper reviews emerging evidence about how the UK third sector is measuring its performance and impact. Impact measurement has become an increasingly important activity for third sector organisations in recent years, yet impact – and how to measure it – remain contested issues in policy, researc...
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This paper reviews emerging evidence about how the UK third sector is measuring its performance and impact. Impact measurement has become an increasingly important activity for third sector organisations in recent years, yet impact – and how to measure it – remain contested issues in policy, research and practice. By examining what we think we know about how third sector organisations undertake impact measurement and identifying areas for further research, this paper therefore aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion and debate about whether, and how, organisations should measure their impact. This review examines five key questions: how is impact and its measurement understood in existing research, policy and practice? what do we know about who is undertaking impact measurement in the sector? why are organisations measuring their impact? what practices and approaches organisations are using to measure impact? and key challenges and implications of impact measurement for the sector. Research on impact measurement is at an early stage, and has thus far tended to be boosterist in nature; nevertheless this review reveals a growing concern that requirements and demands for impact data from third sector funders are taking precedence over the requirements and needs of beneficiaries and service users. In this context, approaches which focus on organisational learning are being developed from within the third sector.

There is much current policy and practitioner enthusiasm for using social enterprise to tackle the problems of the homeless population, particularly those in the most acute housing need such as rough sleepers, hostel users and those in other forms of temporary accommodation. This paper brings togeth...
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There is much current policy and practitioner enthusiasm for using social enterprise to tackle the problems of the homeless population, particularly those in the most acute housing need such as rough sleepers, hostel users and those in other forms of temporary accommodation. This paper brings together two sets of research literature on social enterprise and homelessness to address the question ‘how does social enterprise respond to the needs of homeless people?’ The paper provides an overview of the current policy context before identifying different ways in which social enterprise responds to those homeless people in the most acute housing need. The research literature demonstrates that social enterprise involves balancing a tension between social and economic objectives. This poses challenges for social enterprises in the homelessness field. Existing case study research shows that social enterprises offering homeless people the opportunity to earn an income have proved unable to generate sufficient surplus to address the wider social support needs of their client group. Social enterprises contracted to deliver state services may face pressure to abandon those clients with the most complex needs as they prove unprofitable to work with. However social enterprise would appear to offer opportunities to those homeless people with less acute needs, particularly in conjunction with other Third Sector Organisations.

This paper reports on research to develop and implement an innovative methodology to find and map what lies beneath the third sector radar. By using and adapting tools used in the 1990s for the well-recognised work of LOVAS (Local Voluntary Activity Surveys) we sought to identify all community activ...
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This paper reports on research to develop and implement an innovative methodology to find and map what lies beneath the third sector radar. By using and adapting tools used in the 1990s for the well-recognised work of LOVAS (Local Voluntary Activity Surveys) we sought to identify all community activities in two small local areas of England. This revealed a diverse range of 58 self-organised activities going on in and around 11 streets of England – groups that do not appear on regulatory listings and thus tend not be included in wider statistical trend analyses on the third sector. Six ‘types’ of below-groups were identified from the study. Most were embedded into their local community and operated within a very specific socio-cultural context delivering services to their immediate local communities. Our findings also revealed a combination of ways in which groups obtain resources from their own users by ‘tapping in’, and obtaining resources from others, ‘tapping out’. In addition, the work shows that several of these groups are also distributing resources to others, ‘giving out’. The findings also highlight the importance of the opportunities arising from publically shared-spaces and the support from paid and unpaid staff operating in the buildings that they use.

The Big Society agenda has generated a great deal of critical comment in the media, in the third sector and amongst think tanks, and has stimulated some early analysis from the academic community. Despite strong backing from the Prime Minister, it has an unsettled presence and an uncertain future in...
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The Big Society agenda has generated a great deal of critical comment in the media, in the third sector and amongst think tanks, and has stimulated some early analysis from the academic community. Despite strong backing from the Prime Minister, it has an unsettled presence and an uncertain future in political debate and the policy process. The third sector is seen as a key agent of change in the Big Society vision, yet there is precious little evidence of how members of third sector organisations understand and assess the idea, nor of the extent to which they embrace it. This paper assesses the changing fortunes of the Big Society as a narrative, and explores how it has been received in third sector circles. Drawing on data from a qualitative longitudinal study of third sector organisations, two contrasting responses emerge: overwhelming scepticism, combined with an awareness of potential opportunities ahead, and a need for participants to ‘position’ their organisations and activities in relation to the Big Society.

This paper explores processes of change and development within asylum seeker and refugee-led associations in Glasgow. I argue that adopting a life-cycle approach to association emergence and continuity (Werbner 1991a: 15) provides a more rounded and sophisticated understanding of not only the factor...
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This paper explores processes of change and development within asylum seeker and refugee-led associations in Glasgow. I argue that adopting a life-cycle approach to association emergence and continuity (Werbner 1991a: 15) provides a more rounded and sophisticated understanding of not only the factors giving rise to such groups, but also of processes of change within groups. By problematising the ‘refugee community organisation’ label, I suggest that the focus on ‘refugeeness’ fails to attend to internal diversity, specifically relating to changing and differentiated immigration status within such associations. Exploring an externally constructed fictive unity using Werbner’s framework provides one way to challenge these effects. Rather than see this framework as made up of linear stages, I argue that groups move through and between stages of associative empowerment, ideological convergence and mobilisation simultaneously and that features differentiating stages may be co-present. This paper is relevant for policy-makers, practitioners and third sector organisations and can aid thinking about how to move beyond labels in approaching broader questions, practices and experiences of ‘settlement’, integration, belonging and social cohesion.

This paper explores whether nonprofits are increasingly adopting mixed revenue strategies, and the sustainability of these strategies over time. We constructed a panel using NCCS (National Centre for Charitable Statistics) data from 1998 and 2007, and divided nonprofits into three groups: commercial...
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This paper explores whether nonprofits are increasingly adopting mixed revenue strategies, and the sustainability of these strategies over time. We constructed a panel using NCCS (National Centre for Charitable Statistics) data from 1998 and 2007, and divided nonprofits into three groups: commercial, donative and mixed revenue. We found no evidence that nonprofits are increasingly adopting mixed revenue strategies. Mixed revenue strategies appeared less sustainable over time than predominately commercial or predominately donative strategies. Our results suggest that for most nonprofits, relying predominately on either commercial or donative revenue is a more stable equilibrium than attempting to achieve a balanced revenue mix. Exceptions may be those nonprofits, such as arts organisations, where there is a natural alliance between donors and customers.

This paper explores how the different voices and interests of the third sector, political parties and media have shaped and reflected the policy agenda over the course of the 2010 general election campaign and into the early post-election period. Using research methods which combined documentary ana...
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This paper explores how the different voices and interests of the third sector, political parties and media have shaped and reflected the policy agenda over the course of the 2010 general election campaign and into the early post-election period. Using research methods which combined documentary analysis with qualitative interviews with key policy actors in the third sector, we examine the relative success of different campaigning methods in an election that was unique both in its uncertain electoral outcome and in terms of the relative consensus that political parties expressed at the outset towards the third sector. A range of third sector and political manifestos are considered, highlighting the ideological significance of the language employed and assessing the impact of one against the other. Attention is drawn to the raised profile achieved by the third sector early in the election campaign and reflected in its coverage in the three main political parties’ manifestos. This was followed by a relative lack of substantive sectoral discussion during the unusual period of the election and purdah, when the sector concentrated upon a consolidation and commentary role. The Conservative’s Big Society agenda lost momentum during the election, and the Citizens UK ‘fourth debate’ prompted an unexpected late surge of media interest in the sector. The new political realities of the post-election period have seen refocus on policy development and rebranding, return to third sector campaigning and realignment in sectoral–state relations in the context of a (revived) Big Society politics.

The focus of this paper is on the changing policy environment for voluntary action under the new Labour governments at the turn of the twenty-first century. This was a period of rapid policy change with a rise in the profile of voluntary action to rival, if not outstrip, that at any point in the pre...
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The focus of this paper is on the changing policy environment for voluntary action under the new Labour governments at the turn of the twenty-first century. This was a period of rapid policy change with a rise in the profile of voluntary action to rival, if not outstrip, that at any point in the previous century. This rising profile was also accompanied by terminological change, and debate, in effect the creation of a new entity – the third sector. The paper reviews the institutional and policy changes introduced by the Labour governments between 1997 and 2010, setting these in the context of previous political and policy development of the sector. It concludes by assessing the extent to which this constituted a new and distinctive policy regime, characterised by the notions of partnership and mainstreaming, and speculates on the future prospects for this in changing economic and political circumstances.

Personalisation is the latest dynamic in the long and complex relationship between the third and public sectors who work within the field of social care. It has been seen as both an opportunity for third sector organisations (TSOs) to have the freedom to deliver the more flexible and holistic suppor...
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Personalisation is the latest dynamic in the long and complex relationship between the third and public sectors who work within the field of social care. It has been seen as both an opportunity for third sector organisations (TSOs) to have the freedom to deliver the more flexible and holistic support that they aspire to, but also a potential financial challenge due to the need to compete for more individualised purchasing of care. In this paper we respond to calls to move beyond seeing personalisation as a ‘blanket’ approach and experience, through exploring the impacts within the particular field of carer support. Building on a literature review and a stakeholder event, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with those working in the third sector, and those in related policy and commissioning roles within the public sector. These interviews highlighted the fact that despite different perspectives on the scale and nature of change required, the move towards more personalised support was seen as a positive development for carers. Benefits that were reported included opportunities to pursue personal interests, to have regular breaks from caring and to improve the relationship with the ‘cared for’. However, such impacts were seen to be reduced through lack of public sector funding, complicated and lengthy assessment and financial procedures, and carers’ personal ability and capacity to take up the potential opportunities. The aspiration of personalisation (that is, more individualised and flexible support determined and led by the recipients) was seen by most interviewees as being in line with the values of TSOs who work in this sector. In principle this would mean that TSOs are well placed to respond to carers through a personalised model of care which would therefore be of benefit to carers and TSOs. However, there were also concerns that through their emphasis on quality and fair wages for staff, TSOs may struggle to compete with other providers if carers act as ‘individual consumers’ seeking to get the most service possible from their personal budget allocation. Other interviewees viewed many TSOs as having become complacent and no longer responsive to the changing needs and aspirations of carers, and for them these competitive pressures would either force the existing organisations to change or lead to their decline. Personalised support for carers reflects debates in broader public policy regarding the distinctiveness (or not) of the third sector, and the most beneficial approach through which the public sector should engage with and provide funding to TSOs. Furthermore the connected market pressures will arguably test out in practice if carers do value and will therefore pay for services provided by TSOs. Ultimately though, if personalised support for carers relies on discrete public sector funding, then the chances of significant progress being made in a time of austerity seems unlikely. Success will depend on TSOs being able to identify and draw upon other funding routes (including carers purchasing services out of their own resources) and mainstream services embracing the needs of carers alongside that of the cared-for.

Much has been written about personalisation and the potential that this agenda holds for change within welfare services. Although carers have been identified as an important group in translating personalisation into practice we know very little about how the third sector might support carers in orde...
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Much has been written about personalisation and the potential that this agenda holds for change within welfare services. Although carers have been identified as an important group in translating personalisation into practice we know very little about how the third sector might support carers in order to make personalisation effective. In this paper we examine the literature to identify the existing evidence base available to examine the impact of personalisation on carers. We find that this evidence is limited at best and therefore set out those areas of further research which we argue are required to inform third sector practice. We illustrate these areas of further research via some real-life case studies in order to root these examples in everyday practice.

This paper explores two sector-based case studies of social innovation in community-led housing that have taken root in the last ten years: community land trusts (CLTs) set up to ensure access to affordable homes in perpetuity and self-help housing organisations set up to bring empty homes back into...
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This paper explores two sector-based case studies of social innovation in community-led housing that have taken root in the last ten years: community land trusts (CLTs) set up to ensure access to affordable homes in perpetuity and self-help housing organisations set up to bring empty homes back into use. These innovations benefit from a groundswell of support, as their specialised local focus and people-centre approach to housing has strong resonance with policy agendas of localism and community empowerment in England. Yet to take root such innovations need more than rhetorical support; they require practical and ideological strengthening to secure flows of resources and legitimacy required for survival alongside professionalised and better resourced forms of organisation. This paper compares the forms of support provided by intermediary organisations that have been used to facilitate the growth and diffusion of these community-led housing models. It describes how the CLT sector has scaled up to create a formal institutional framework operating at different spatial scales to support locally-rooted community groups and considers the implications of this for the self-help housing sector, which has shown a preference for ‘viral’ solutions that focus on small-scale projects and community leadership. While intermediary support is clearly of importance, there are tensions in its provision, as sectors that scale up may begin to question local independence and dilute community ethos, while viral solutions may face challenges in accessing technical skills and resources without becoming overburdened or diverted from initial objectives. The paper concludes that while partnerships with technical experts that act as intermediaries may be crucial for the diffusion and expansion of CLTs and self-help housing, there are tensions in accessing technical skills and resources in a manner that maintains the local scale, accountability and unique added value of community-led housing.

There is a growing interest in social networks and the potential that exploring them brings to understanding development and change in communities. Equally, there has been substantial investment over the past decade in community capacity building aimed at enabling communities to have a voice in deci...
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There is a growing interest in social networks and the potential that exploring them brings to understanding development and change in communities. Equally, there has been substantial investment over the past decade in community capacity building aimed at enabling communities to have a voice in decision making processes, establishing independent organisations to meet local needs, or developing communities’ ability to manage local assets and services. These themes, of voluntary action, community organising and asset transfer, influence policy across both the New Labour and Coalition administrations. Indeed, if anything, the Localism Bill and Open Government White Paper places even higher expectations on communities in terms of local governance and the delivery of services. Yet, little is known about how those active in small, below the radar, community groups gain the skills, knowledge and resources they need to meet their goals and objectives, whether political or service driven. Indeed, the assumption which has underpinned ‘capacity building’ initiatives, and remains a core element of the Community Organisers Programme, has been that skills are best developed through formal training and education. In this context, the following working paper, based on a series of pilot interviews with 15 community groups that began their activities as informal or ‘below the radar’ community organisations, aims to explore: • What types of resources, social networks and skills do communities harness to reach their goals? • How do they acquire those skills and resources? • What can exploring the social networks involved in delivering community actions tell us about how community groups emerge, develop and evolve? • What kinds of policy and practice is needed to support access to the kinds of social networks, resources and skills that community groups need to get on in their local contexts?

There has been a rapidly growing interest in longitudinal research methods and dynamic analysis in recent decades. A longitudinal research gaze offers the promise of seeing things differently, and of understanding the dynamic processes involved in social change, of what happens next and why. This pa...
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There has been a rapidly growing interest in longitudinal research methods and dynamic analysis in recent decades. A longitudinal research gaze offers the promise of seeing things differently, and of understanding the dynamic processes involved in social change, of what happens next and why. This paper explores the potential of qualitative longitudinal research for developing understanding of the dynamics of the third sector. The Third Sector Research Centre has embarked upon a qualitative longitudinal study of third sector activities called ‘Real Times’. The paper sets out the thinking behind the study. As well as providing a basic description of the rationale, design and structure of ‘Real Times’, the paper discusses the methodological interest in qualitative longitudinal research in the third sector, the substantive contextual issues the third sector is experiencing as the study takes place, and some of the theoretical thinking involved in the study. In particular it discusses three theoretical ‘imaginings’ which inform the research: the different temporalities involved in the third sector; a ‘relational’ account of the third sector as a contested field; and lastly the idea of strategic action in context.

Self-help housing ‘involves groups of local people bringing back into use empty properties that are in limbo, awaiting decisions about their future use, or their redevelopment. It differs from self-build housing which involves constructing permanent homes from scratch’. It responds to the bigger pic...
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Self-help housing ‘involves groups of local people bringing back into use empty properties that are in limbo, awaiting decisions about their future use, or their redevelopment. It differs from self-build housing which involves constructing permanent homes from scratch’. It responds to the bigger picture of entrenched problems in society today including homelessness and unmet housing needs, empty homes, unemployment and low levels of construction skills, planning blight, neighbourhood dereliction and fear of crime, and low levels of local economic activity and enterprise. Yet despite these potential benefits self-help housing remains a small scale and largely unrecognised part of the housing third sector. TSRC research has been exploring the reasons for this limited and the ways in which its potential could be harnessed by local groups and key partners and the types of policies that might enable this. This case study report is one of a series of outputs from TSRC research on self-help housing. It was produced to present evidence drawn from eight case studies of a variety of models of self-help housing in different local contexts to inform a consultation with policy makers, funders, umbrella groups and self-help housing projects held at St George’s House, Windsor in December 2010. The report describes the case study projects and potential benefits of self-help housing in meeting a variety of public policy outcomes, and presents evidence on the barriers and enablers and critical success factors found in the case studies. It raises a number of questions that were explored further in the Consultation event leading to policy recommendations. It is published here to provide wider access to the TSRC research data on which the Consultation report to be published by BSHF draws. The TSRC working paper that preceded this work (Mullins, 2010) and a separate briefing paper on implications for tackling homelessness (Teasdale et al, 2011) can be downloaded from the TSRC website.

Self-help housing ‘involves local people bringing back into use empty properties for their use, organising whatever repairs are necessary to make them habitable’ (http://self-help-housing.org/). This is usually based on a time-limited licence or lease, but sometimes on a permanent basis, and there a...
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Self-help housing ‘involves local people bringing back into use empty properties for their use, organising whatever repairs are necessary to make them habitable’ (http://self-help-housing.org/). This is usually based on a time-limited licence or lease, but sometimes on a permanent basis, and there are possibilities for asset transfer. Models of self-help housing range from informal community housing projects, to social enterprises that also involve construction skills and other training for homeless people, young people, refugees and other disadvantaged groups as part of a more holistic approach to providing housing and employment. Self-help housing constitutes a small part of the housing-related Third Sector. However it epitomises a form of bottom-up organisation that once played a more important role, particularly in the late 1970s when municipal housing schemes were delayed by public spending cuts, leaving empty properties which had already been acquired, and were then brought into use by ‘short-life groups’. Now there would appear to be a similar opportunity in the context of reductions in public expenditure and policy support for self-help. Self-help housing seems to tick all the right boxes in offering a low-cost approach to meeting community housing needs (particularly for single people and couples who are not usually given priority for social housing), and maintaining some momentum in regeneration programmes while offering work training and experience to those participating. However, while there are a number of successful self-help projects, these are generally small scale and ‘below the radar’. To be successful, self-help housing organisations need to secure a supply of properties, funding, volunteers and residents. Further research is required to identify how these success conditions can be met, drawing on the experience of self-help housing projects from the different organisational models identified above in different local contexts. It will be important to relate these experiences to contemporary policy and financial drivers and to use the research to engage with policy makers, property owners and funders and with self-help models in other service areas.

The ‘Right to Request’ initiative was introduced by the Labour Government in 2008 as a process through which NHS clinicians and managers working in England could seek to develop a social enterprise to deliver Community Health Services. Building on the experiences of the Social Enterprise Pathfinder ...
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The ‘Right to Request’ initiative was introduced by the Labour Government in 2008 as a process through which NHS clinicians and managers working in England could seek to develop a social enterprise to deliver Community Health Services. Building on the experiences of the Social Enterprise Pathfinder Programme it addressed key barriers that had been identified such as NHS staff transferring their current pension entitlements and security over the initial contract lengths. It also provided access to the Social Enterprise Investment Fund which could be used to support staff groups in completing their business cases and bringing in external consultancy and support. The Coalition Government continued the scheme, and it is estimated that approximately 10% of the community health services currently provided by Primary Care Trusts are in the process of completing their business cases or have already launched as social enterprises. The University of Birmingham have been supporting managers and clinicians within the West Midlands who are seeking to develop a social enterprise. In this paper we reflect on their experiences and the response of the local health systems in which they work. We identify that there have been a number of barriers to staff who were keen to pursue this option, and make recommendations for what could be done to encourage and support NHS staff to set up social enterprises in the future. The findings and recommendations are also of relevance for other parts of the public sector in which a ‘right of challenge’ is being introduced.

This Working Paper updates the analysis of the Coalition government’s Big Society policy agenda first published in 2010. It explores the policy context for the Big Society initiative and the key features of the policy programme developed by the Coalition since 2010. It then outlines some of the cont...
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This Working Paper updates the analysis of the Coalition government’s Big Society policy agenda first published in 2010. It explores the policy context for the Big Society initiative and the key features of the policy programme developed by the Coalition since 2010. It then outlines some of the contradictions and challenges within this policy programme, and for the relations between the third sector and the state more generally. It is also pointed out that the Big Society is an English political discourse with different policy developments now taking place within the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. An earlier version of this paper was published in Voluntary Sector Review, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 379-90. This version will also be published as a chapter in The Welfare State Reader, 3rd edition, F. Castles, I. Nauman and C. Pierson (eds.) Polity Press, 2012.

With the growing interest in measuring the social impact of third sector activities, there have been a range of approaches developed. One of these, social return on investment (SROI) has received particular attention and is being promoted by third sector organisations, as well as public and private ...
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With the growing interest in measuring the social impact of third sector activities, there have been a range of approaches developed. One of these, social return on investment (SROI) has received particular attention and is being promoted by third sector organisations, as well as public and private bodies. This paper examines this approach in detail and identifies a series of issues that require further investigation. These include technical and methodological issues related to this adjusted cost-benefit analysis such as quantifying the value of social benefits, and attribution; the judgement involved in setting indicators; whether projects deemed successful based on an SROI analysis can provide the basis for replicability and scaling up; and the ways in which SROI is being used by stakeholders. Through examining these challenges in detail, the approaches to measuring social impact can be strengthened, standardised and made more rigorous. While the issues raised here are essential to developing SROI further, they are also valid for more general discussions regarding the proving and improving of the value added by the UK third sector.

Contributing towards building a foundation of knowledge on the black minority ethnic (BME) third sector, this paper offers an introductory resource on research in this field. The paper begins with discussion on the (contested) concept of a BME third sector (BME TS) and the existing narrative of dist...
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Contributing towards building a foundation of knowledge on the black minority ethnic (BME) third sector, this paper offers an introductory resource on research in this field. The paper begins with discussion on the (contested) concept of a BME third sector (BME TS) and the existing narrative of distinctiveness; it then goes on to highlight the importance of robust comparative analyses to identify empirical trends of difference between subsectors in order to examine the policy implications for the different subsectors. In an attempt to bring together a disparate collection of material on the BME third sector the remaining section of the paper provides brief overviews of material about different types of organisation that might constitute the BME TS in the broadest sense of the term. These include: refugee and asylum seeker organisations (RCOs), faith based organisations, diasporic immigrant community organisations, black organisations, gypsy and traveller organisations and multicultural organisations. In closing, the paper identifies gaps in the current research base that will be of interest to the wider research community and will inform TSRC's cross-cutting equality research programme.

This paper demonstrates that social enterprises can exhibit multiple faces to different stakeholders in order to access resources. The research involved a longitudinal case study of a group of Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers producing a theatrical play based upon their collective experiences. Pa...
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This paper demonstrates that social enterprises can exhibit multiple faces to different stakeholders in order to access resources. The research involved a longitudinal case study of a group of Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers producing a theatrical play based upon their collective experiences. Participant observation enabled a deeper understanding of the phenomena under investigation. The approach to analysis was inductive, drawing out themes for further investigation. This paper focuses upon one particular theme: the role of organisational impression management in resource acquisition. Key findings are that the social enterprise is seen and presented in different ways by different internal stakeholders; social enterprises can use organisational impression management to demonstrate multiple faces to different resource holders in order to acquire resources; however the resource holders are not passive recipients of impression management. Each has a strategic interest in the social enterprise being presented in a particular way and the social enterprise needs to be seen to conform to these impressions.

Much has been written about the reasons for and impact of marketisation on charities, their clients, and wider civil society. A central component of the marketisation thesis is that charities are substituting grants and donations with commercial revenue. However there is no consensus in the existing...
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Much has been written about the reasons for and impact of marketisation on charities, their clients, and wider civil society. A central component of the marketisation thesis is that charities are substituting grants and donations with commercial revenue. However there is no consensus in the existing literature as to whether the two sources of revenue are substitutes or complementary. This paper shows that between 2003 and 2007 there was a significant increase in the proportion of overall revenue attracted from commercial sources by charities in England and Wales. Using our preferred Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimation model we show that the annual persistence of commercial revenue over time was 44%. In particular, a +10% change in grants and donations was associated with a -3.1% change in commercial revenue. Thus commercial revenue is an inelastic substitute for grants and donations. We therefore conclude that charities are succumbing to market forces.

Personalisation has been identified as being ‘a cornerstone of the modernisation of public services’ (Department of Health, 2008: p. 4) and much interest in this concept has arisen recently. However, there is a high degree of confusion over what personalisation is and the types of changes that will ...
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Personalisation has been identified as being ‘a cornerstone of the modernisation of public services’ (Department of Health, 2008: p. 4) and much interest in this concept has arisen recently. However, there is a high degree of confusion over what personalisation is and the types of changes that will be associated with this agenda. There are many ways in which the concept of personalisation might be interpreted, all of which have different implications for service users and service providers, particularly in terms of the mechanisms which have been introduced to try and facilitate these changes. Personalisation has a considerable history and has the potential to offer very different services to those that have been delivered in the past. Moreover, the underpinning philosophy of the personalisation movement is aligned with the types of values which a number of third sector organisations have been advocating for some time. Personalisation is more than a passing political fad and third sector organisations need to think carefully about how they will respond and shape the many changes which have already started to happen and that will increase in momentum over the coming months. This paper sets out the major features of the personalisation agenda and drawing on existing evidence sets out the key research, policy and practice implications of this for the third sector. Personalisation offers the potential for much improvement in terms of the way in which individuals with care needs are supported, but might also potentially mean significant changes for providers involved in the delivery of welfare services. It is important that third sector bodies understand these implications and are able to respond to these appropriately or else risk losing out in this change process.

Over 2009-2010, the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) undertook work to identify the current state of knowledge on small, below the radar, community groups and activities. This highlighted the lack of research into the contribution of grass-roots or amateur arts organisations make in communities....
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Over 2009-2010, the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) undertook work to identify the current state of knowledge on small, below the radar, community groups and activities. This highlighted the lack of research into the contribution of grass-roots or amateur arts organisations make in communities. This gap in knowledge is substantial, given that there are an estimated 49,000 such groups in England. In partnership with the Universities of Exeter and Glamorgan as well as Voluntary Arts, and with financial support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Connected Communities programme, the Centre undertook a scoping study to assess the lessons from the academic and grey literature across the arts, social sciences and voluntary sector. This identified a range of different impacts and outcomes in terms of amateur arts groups. For individuals, participation in arts based activities ‘for their own sake’ could promote their mental health and wellbeing. Some involved, particularly young people, made the transition from amateur arts to paid employment in the creative industries. Improvements in educational attainment and functioning in the work-place were also reported as positive outcomes in some of the literature. Claims were also made about the economic role such activities play in communities: through the hire of village halls, the management of local assets, equipment hire or the employment of professional artists in, for example, preparing for performances. However in this, and other areas, there was a lack of empirical evidence exploring or quantifying the exact nature of impact. The measurement of the impact of amateur arts was explored further with members of grass-roots arts networks at a day conference in October 2011 at Cecil Sharp House (Conference Report – Growing the Grassroots: the contribution of amateur arts to communities). It is the hope of the current partners that further research can be undertaken over 2012 to develop a practical toolkit for assessing the outcomes of amateur arts activities in communities.

The policy context surrounding the work of third sector organisations in employment services has undergone major changes since 1997. This review outlines the major developments in the field and collates the evidence pertaining to the third sector's experiences. It finds that the current situation ...
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The policy context surrounding the work of third sector organisations in employment services has undergone major changes since 1997. This review outlines the major developments in the field and collates the evidence pertaining to the third sector's experiences. It finds that the current situation can be seen as a major acceleration of the previous government’s policy model. This model is based upon a small number of large government contracts, greater flexibility for providers and payment contingent on results. The review explores the main areas of controversy arising from these developments. These include fears that the third sector is being squeezed out of employment services provision, reports of unfair relationships between third sector subcontractors and prime providers, and concern that the hardest to help individuals are not sufficiently provided for by current policy. The review concludes by highlighting areas of missing knowledge about third sector employment services that future research needs to address.

This paper examines research evidence, argument and policy development on the third sector and public service delivery over the last five to ten years. Forty-eight separate pieces of research published between 2004 and 2010 on the themes of public service delivery, commissioning and procurement are ...
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This paper examines research evidence, argument and policy development on the third sector and public service delivery over the last five to ten years. Forty-eight separate pieces of research published between 2004 and 2010 on the themes of public service delivery, commissioning and procurement are reviewed. This body of literature represents the research response to the new third sector public sector delivery landscape which has developed out of the UK Labour government’s interest in promoting the sector’s role in service delivery. The review examines four themes developed from the literature: emerging commissioning and procurement practices; the experiences of third sector organisations in the new service delivery landscape; the support needs of third sector organisations, and the impact of the new service delivery landscape on third sector organisations. By examining what we think we know and suggesting priorities for ongoing research, the paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion of the sector’s role in service delivery. The third sector’s experience of the new service delivery landscape has been somewhat mixed and varied. But new questions will be asked about the sector’s experience in an era marked by public finance retrenchment and under different political and ideological priorities. As a ‘stock-take’ and a baseline for a new economic and political context, the review indicates where research attention has been focused, and where it hasn’t. Overall greater attention appears to have been given to the voices and concerns of staff involved in TSOs, rather than other stakeholders such as trustees, volunteers and particularly TSO members and service users. By contrast, far less research attention has been given to the nature of the services commissioned, whether new commissioning processes are leading to service improvement, and fundamentally what difference services make.

The third sector, understood as a diverse group of charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises, is facing a radical upheaval in its multiple political and economic environments. Drawing on data from Real Times, a qualitative longitudinal study of third sector organisa...
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The third sector, understood as a diverse group of charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises, is facing a radical upheaval in its multiple political and economic environments. Drawing on data from Real Times, a qualitative longitudinal study of third sector organisations, this paper explores how different case study organisations are affected by and have navigated this shifting context. We explore these questions using a ‘field’-based theoretical perspective on social and organisational life (Bourdieu 2005, Emirbayer and Johnson 2008, Fligstein and McAdam 2012). Fields are seen as arenas within which actors convene to advance their interests and purposes amidst evolving rules and understandings about what the field is, how it operates and what is at stake. Fields are overlapping and nested; constituted at different levels from the third sector, through vertical policy domains down to individual organisations. We explore how our case study organisations enact various strategies and tactics in order to manage this period of economic and political change and maintain or advance their position in a field; a struggle for ‘room’. We focus on three interrelated issues – staff redundancies and organisational restructuring; mergers and acquisitions; and repositioning and branding – and examine how these shed light on the contested nature of fields and the tensions at the heart of organisational change and reproduction.

Partnership working has been driven by the policy of the last Labour administration, which aimed to make the third sector more efficient and aligned to the delivery of a range of public services. Since the election of a coalition government in 2010 these drivers have not lessened but have been re-as...
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Partnership working has been driven by the policy of the last Labour administration, which aimed to make the third sector more efficient and aligned to the delivery of a range of public services. Since the election of a coalition government in 2010 these drivers have not lessened but have been re-asserted. Interest in externalisation has been reinforced by the drive for efficiency, made more pressing by the financial crisis, deficit reduction programme and resulting public spending cuts in 2010-2011. The current government has been in many respects radical in its approach to service delivery, with the promotion of a ‘Big Society’ involving new and expanded roles for third sector organisations (TSOs) in public service delivery, expanded roles for mutuals and co-ops (particularly in health), and the ‘community right to challenge’. These all have implications for the way in which TSOs enter into partnerships, with each other, public and private organisations. The working paper is based on a full evidence review. It considers the main forms of partnership working, governance and accountability, and looks at outcomes and evaluation. Key emerging directions are the growth of the commissioning agenda, an increasing emphasis on TSO/private sector partnerships as part of a supply chain, and greater application of outcome-based approaches linked to payment by results.

This paper explores the development of the UK Gypsy and Traveller third sector and details factors which have impeded development. This includes a lack of resources and skills but also illustrates how in recent years important progress has been made in community development. The paper concludes that...
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This paper explores the development of the UK Gypsy and Traveller third sector and details factors which have impeded development. This includes a lack of resources and skills but also illustrates how in recent years important progress has been made in community development. The paper concludes that the current cutbacks and reduction in resources for community development, combined with new policies that Gypsies and Travellers perceive as being hostile towards them, could undermine progress made. The paper argues that ’positive action’ combined with greater community involvement in service delivery could strengthen the Gypsy and Traveller third sector and foster intercultural dialogue and promote inclusion. Processes evident in other branches of the third sector (McCabe et al., 2010). The paper is relevant to a number of TSRC work streams, particularly ’Below the Radar’ which explores the role, function, impact and experiences of small community action groups or organisations.

‘Below the radar’ has become a short-hand term for small community groups who are either not registered with the Charity Commission or other regulatory bodies and or are registered but lack a regular, substantial annual income. Much of the existing research into the Third Sector has focused on forma...
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‘Below the radar’ has become a short-hand term for small community groups who are either not registered with the Charity Commission or other regulatory bodies and or are registered but lack a regular, substantial annual income. Much of the existing research into the Third Sector has focused on formal, larger, organisations leaving gaps in the knowledge base around the nature and function of small groups and more informal activities which happen at a community level. The following working paper is based on interviews with representatives from national community sector organisations, development agencies, members of policy fora and academics with a background in community based research. It explores the scale, scope and functions of ‘below the radar’ activity in the Third Sector, why people become active within their community and the factors which both help and hinder community based action. Finally the paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of ‘below the radar’ action, issues of accountability and asks the question – are their features that make more informal community organisation and activity distinctive.

This paper provides a broad sweep across the ideas and practices around ‘value’, and how these relate to third sector organisations and activities. It argues that the current focus on outcome-based ‘social value’ by academics and policy-makers is limited and only part of how third sector organisatio...
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This paper provides a broad sweep across the ideas and practices around ‘value’, and how these relate to third sector organisations and activities. It argues that the current focus on outcome-based ‘social value’ by academics and policy-makers is limited and only part of how third sector organisations operate, why they exist, or how they contribute to society. It also shows how the new measurement approaches, predicated on ideas of blended value, open up opportunities for resources and impact but may downplay the inevitable conflicts in outcomes, stakeholder concerns, and ignore moral values or processes. These new measurement approaches also attempt to add together outcomes which cannot always be easily combined. The paper suggests ideas for a research agenda that begins to fill gaps in current understanding, and reweights policy and practice to better ‘value’ and support diverse third sector activity.

There is considerable support in the literature for the idea that volunteering helps improve employability and acts as a route to employment. Policy initiatives are consistent with this message. We analysed longitudinal evidence from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to test this theory. Our...
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There is considerable support in the literature for the idea that volunteering helps improve employability and acts as a route to employment. Policy initiatives are consistent with this message. We analysed longitudinal evidence from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to test this theory. Our analysis found that volunteering has a significant, but weak, effect on employability in terms of entry into work. The frequency of volunteering, however, makes a difference to its effects on employment outcomes. The effects also vary according to demographics. The evidence on job retention is weaker, and volunteering appears to have zero or even negative effects on wage progression. While the BHPS has limitations for this kind of analysis, we suggest that too much has been made of the link between volunteering and employability, and indeed that intention is infrequent among volunteers.

Much attention has been paid globally to the concept of social enterprise. However, beyond the notion of trading for a social purpose, there is little consensus as to what a social enterprise is or does. Existing academic literature provides a bewildering array of definitions and explanations for th...
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Much attention has been paid globally to the concept of social enterprise. However, beyond the notion of trading for a social purpose, there is little consensus as to what a social enterprise is or does. Existing academic literature provides a bewildering array of definitions and explanations for their emergence. This is because the label social enterprise means different things to different people across different contexts and at different points in time. This conceptual confusion is mirrored among practitioners. A wide variety of organisational types have had the label attributed to them or have tried to claim the label for themselves. Using the example of the United Kingdom, where social enterprise has been heavily promoted and supported as a site for policy intervention, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of how the meanings of social enterprise have evolved and expanded over time. This enhances understanding of a fluid and contested concept constructed by different actors promoting different discourses connected to different organisational forms.

The term ‘below, or under, the radar’ has become a short-hand term often applied to describe small voluntary organisations, community groups and more informal or semi-formal activities in the third sector. This paper presents the findings of a literature review which explores understandings of th...
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The term ‘below, or under, the radar’ has become a short-hand term often applied to describe small voluntary organisations, community groups and more informal or semi-formal activities in the third sector. This paper presents the findings of a literature review which explores understandings of the term ‘below the radar’ and its usefulness in thinking about community based organisations and activities. The paper also uses the literature to explore the nature, role, and focus of small scale organisations and activities, as well as the challenges they face. It draws on a wide range of materials and an academic literature which has tended to focus on either concepts of ‘organisation’ rather than more informal community activity, or particular ‘sub-sections’ of the third sector; Black and Minority Ethnic groups, Refugee and Migrant Organisations, arts and cultural groups; rather than the small scale sector as whole. Finally, it identifies gaps in the current literature and contentious questions relating to our knowledge of ‘below the radar’ community groups and activities.

‘Below the radar’, community organisations and activities, Black and Minority Ethnic groups, Refugee and Migrant Organisations, rural community action, faith communities, arts and cultural identity, A...
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‘Below the radar’, community organisations and activities, Black and Minority Ethnic groups, Refugee and Migrant Organisations, rural community action, faith communities, arts and cultural identity, Angus McCabe, Jenny Phillimore, Lucy Mayblin.

Claims for the distinctiveness of third sector organisations are a relatively widespread and familiar feature of third sector commentary and analysis. This paper reviews relevant theoretical and empirical research to examine the idea of distinctiveness, arguing that such claims remain inconclusive. ...
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Claims for the distinctiveness of third sector organisations are a relatively widespread and familiar feature of third sector commentary and analysis. This paper reviews relevant theoretical and empirical research to examine the idea of distinctiveness, arguing that such claims remain inconclusive. Informed by a view of the third sector as a contested ‘field’, and drawing on Bourdieu’s notion of ‘distinction’, the paper suggests that research attention should focus additionally on the strategic purpose of claims for distinctiveness, rather than simply continue what might be a ‘holy grail’ search for its existence. The paper uses this argument to complicate and extend the idea of the third sector as a ‘strategic unity’, and concludes by suggesting some further lines of enquiry for third sector research.