16 May 2007

The VSSN day-conference on 16 May 2007 was hosted by London South Bank University at the Keyworth Centre. Alex Murdock (Head of the Centre for Government and Charity Management) welcomed participants and chaired the morning session.

The first paper was given by Sylke Schnepf from Southampton University who presented early findings from her research looking at the profile of people who donate to charities involved in overseas development (including gender, education and income). The discussion which followed Sylke's presentations highlighted how difficult it was to understand people's motivations for giving to particular causes. Her final report is due out in July.

The next paper was presented by Mike Aiken from the Open University and IVAR. Mike's paper was an exploratory paper examining the implications of local voluntary organisations delivering contracts to agencies from either the third sector or the private sector. Mike examined more specifically the potential challenges of sector hybridisation. This raised interesting comments from the audience around the notions of distinctiveness and added value.

Before lunch, the VSSN Special General Meeting took place, led by the chair of VSSN, Peter Halfpenny. Peter began by introducing VSSN's executive officer, Matthew McClelland who recently started in this new post. This was followed by an update from the Membership Secretary, Gareth Morgan, who informed us that the new version of the VSSN Members Directory was now available to members. The three proposed amendments to VSSN's Constitution (i.e. institutional membership, voting system and deletion of material which is now 'spent') were voted by the members present. Following a brief update from participants regarding forthcoming publications, lunch was served. Minutes and other details of the Special General Meeting are available here.

The afternoon session was chaired by Mike Locke from the Institute of Volunteering Research. This session started with a paper by André Esteves Oliveira from the University of Sheffield. Andre's paper looked at training programs for volunteers in Portuguese sports organisations and reflected upon the increasing professionalisation of volunteer sports administrators. His presentation provided the opportunity to talk more generally about volunteer attitudes towards training.

The next paper on volunteering in nature conservation was presented by Nick Ockenden from the Institute for Volunteering Research. Nick's paper commented upon the expert-lay divide which continues to influence volunteering in this field, despite a growing number of conservation organisations having a more community-based approach. The discussion following Nick's presentation outlined the need to further explore how lay knowledge can contribute to scientific and social outcomes.

The final paper of the day was given by Ingo Bode from the University of Edinburgh. Ingo's paper looked at how the German conceptualisation of civil society differs from the one prevalent in Anglo-Saxon countries, which is based on the assumption that civil society, the state and the market are separate. The emphasis in the German tradition is more on linkages and interconnections, and this understanding of civil society, Ingo argued, could address some of the limitations of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. His presentation led to a stimulating debate, which was particularly relevant to earlier discussions on the blurring of boundaries between sectors following Mike Aiken’s paper.

Abstracts and Papers

‘Don’t mention the war’ … but: Could Britons draw lessons from a German approach to ‘organized’ civil society? Dr Ingo Bode, SSPS, University of Edinburgh

Abstract: So much has now been written on civil society, its evolution and its role in modern life – yet, recent debate in Britain about both the hot issue of political independence and the tricky economic role of voluntary organisations illustrate that we still are in a theoretical mess. One reason for this, the submitted paper argues, lies in shortcomings of the Anglo-Saxon tradition of making sense of civil society. In this tradition, the voluntary, or ‘Third’, sector has often been conceptualized by using dichotomic distinctions between state and civil society on the one hand, and between associational and economic agency on the other hand. However, when it comes to understanding the role of voluntary organizations in contemporary Western society (irrespective of national traditions), this conceptualization presents some drawbacks. In particular, it ignores those interfaces which constitute, and reproduce, civic agency within organisations operating beyond state and market. On the one hand, it downplays the entanglement of civic actors with various departments of the modern state. On the other hand, it obliterates the economic character of much civic action in contemporary society, including where this character has now become acknowledged tentatively (like in Britain). The ‘German tradition’ of grasping both the relation between state and civil society and interlinkages of civic and economic rationales in ‘Third sector’ activities can help overcome some of the Anglo-Saxon limitations. It enlightens the interfaces between civic activities, statutory action and socio-economic agency – and, in particular, it allows to think these spheres of action as highly interconnected. Somewhat paradoxically, it is precisely through this interconnection – rather through an opposition to the state and an abnegation of economic functions – that ‘organized’ civil society has become a societal force on its own – not just in Germany, but throughout major European societies.

Ingo Bode, at present lecturer at the School of Social and Political Studies at the University at Edinburgh and fellow of the Institute of Sociology of the University Duisburg-Essen (Germany) from which he holds a doctoral degree. Academic stays at universities in Canada, France and Britain. Research focus on the sociology of the nonprofit sector and on social policy, including on international scale.

Recent international publications include: (with Adalbert Evers & Andreas D. Schulz), Social Enterprises: Can hybridisation be sustainable? In: Nyssens, Marthe (Ed.), Social Enterprises. Between Markets, Public Policies and Community, London: Routledge 2006; Disorganised Welfare Mixes. Voluntary agencies and new governance regimes in Western Europe, in: JESP (19) 4, 2006.

Contracting with the private sector for services: new challenges for the third sector? Mike Aiken, Visiting Research Fellow at the Open University and Research Associate, IVAR

The contracting out of state services to third sector organisations has become a dominant part of the UK policy environment (Audit Commission 2005, Kendall 2003). Larger charities and social enterprises have been enthusiastic although there has recently been some caution (NCVO 2006). Discussions, in third sector studies, have focussed on the dilemmas of contracting with the state. One implication that has received little attention is where voluntary organisations deliver services on contract directly to private sector organisations.

The trans-European EMDELA research (2006/7) examined third sector organisations delivering work and training to excluded communities. It found that the outsourcing of services, alongside civil service cutbacks, had resulted in contracts being increasingly ‘bundled’ to include a broader geographical area and wider range of services. This tendency has been noted in recycling (Slater 2006) and Job Centre Plus contracts (Davies 2006). Such processes favour larger national organisations in bidding processes – from either third or private sectors – which then sub-contract to locally-based organisations to deliver specialised elements. Hence local voluntary organisations start to deliver contracts to agencies from either the third - or private - sector.

This paper is an early exploration of the implications. How might the distinctive values of third sector organisations, local knowledge and trust, as well as policy structures such as compacts and Local Strategic Partnerships, be affected? Using ideas from institutional theory (DeMaggio & Powell 1991), and notions of the hybridisation of the third sector (Evers 2005), the paper asks whether contracting with the private sector provides a new wave of dilemmas for the third sector.

Mike Aiken worked for nearly 20 years in the UK voluntary and community sector and is now a social researcher specialising in the third sector. He is a research associate at IVAR, Birkbeck College, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Open University. In 2006 he was shortlisted for the Michael Young prize and his chapter ‘towards market or state’ was published in Routledge’s Social Enterprise volume.

Training programs for volunteer administrators in Sport Clubs; André Esteves Oliveira, Management School, University of Sheffield

The growing complexity of sport is making the job of Sport Clubs’ Volunteer Sport Administrators (VSA) increasingly difficult. There might be a gap between the competencies they possess and the ones needed for the management of their organisations. In Portugal, pressures by Sport Clubs stakeholders - government agency, national associations, and city councils - have lead to the creation of several training programs.

This study analyses the training programs held in this country against the existing literature and similar programs held in other countries. The discussion is centred on promoters, participants, format (schedule, duration, content, method, trainers) and certification.

The goal is to critically reflect upon the experiences and strengthen the debate around the goals and processes of the training programs for volunteers in sport organisations.

André Esteves Oliveira is at present a PhD candidate at the Management School, University of Sheffield.

Previous Education: Graduated in Sport and Physical Education by the Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal; Master in Sport Management by the Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal; PhD candidate - Management School, University of Sheffield

Professional Experience: Teaching Assistant on the Sport Management Cabinet of the Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Porto from 1999 to 2006

Volunteer Experience: International Judge of the European Hockey Federation and the International Hockey Federation; Member of the Umpires Committee at the Portuguese Hockey Federation since 2002

Oliveira A, Sarmento J, Carvalho M, Bilhim J (2005). Formação de Dirigentes Desportivos Voluntários [Training for Volunteer Managers in Sport]. Revista Portuguesa de Gestão de Desporto, 1 (2): 53-61.

Oliveira, A.; Sarmento, J.; Carvalho, M.; Bilhim, J (2003). Training for Volunteer Managers in Sport Clubs. Proceedings of the 11th Congress of the European Association for Sport Management. Stockholm [CD-Rom].

Carvalho M, Oliveira A, Sarmento J, Oliveira N (2003). The Legal framework of Volunteer Sport Managers. Proceedings of the 11th Congress of the European Association for Sport Management. Stockholm. pp. 227-228.

Volunteering for nature: the impact of the expert-lay divide; Nick Ockenden, Institute for Volunteering Research

The number of people volunteering in nature conservation throughout the UK has increased considerably in recent years. This paper will explore some of the reasons for its continued growth and development. At the policy level, faith in top-down and expert-led approaches to the management of nature has been eroded. This has happened while interest in the role of communities in forming part of the solution has increased. The UK has seen a subsequent growth in ‘community-based conservation’, with many thousands of volunteers actively involved through hundreds of organisations each week.

Despite this growth, an expert-lay divide continues to influence the development of volunteering in nature conservation. This paper will explore the continued debate around the place of ‘non professional’ volunteers in the management of what many see as ‘science-based’ conservation problems. Impacts including differing understandings of the objectives of participation, the value of volunteer outputs, and the wider social benefits of volunteering will be discussed.

A number of nature conservation organisations that involve volunteers have recently changed their outlook to place people at the centre of their mission. Such moves have been welcomed by many and resisted by others. This paper will conclude by asking whether an improved understanding of the place of people in relation to nature can help to address some of the current expert-lay issues facing volunteering in nature conservation.

This paper has been informed by research completed as part of a literature review into volunteering in the natural outdoors on behalf of the Countryside Recreation Network during 2007.

Nick Ockenden is a Research Officer at the Institute for Volunteering Research. He is currently involved in a variety of projects, including an exploration of volunteering in the natural outdoors, an evaluation of the Learning Volunteering Programme at the Natural History Museum, and the publication of a booklet exploring the impact of volunteering on government policy.

Giving to development: who gives to overseas causes?; John Micklewright (Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute, S3RI) and Sylke V. Schnepf (School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton)

Donations to overseas charities are an important source of funding for development assistance from rich industrialised countries. But little is known about the nature of these donations. The literature on charitable giving focuses on total donations to all causes and does not identify separately the pattern or the determinants of giving by cause. We investigate giving to overseas causes using UK household survey microdata that record donations to different types of charity. First, we analyse the clustering of giving to different causes taking also gender differences into account. In a second step, we examine the association of giving to development with socio-economic background, including education and income. Thirdly, we investigate whether people giving to overseas causes differ in their characteristics from people donating to other causes. The analysis distinguishes between the decision to give at all and the amounts that are given.

Sylke V. Schnepf is a Research Fellow at the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute. She is currently working on an ESRC funded project on "Giving to Development" that investigate the factors that influence donations to development charities considering both inter-vivos donations and bequests.

Day Conference Abstracts, Report and Papers