Day Conference Details and Abstracts

The following papers were presented on 27 October 2004 at the Open University, hosted by Jill Mordaunt:-

• Janet Newman, Open University: Public participation – a New Form of Governance?

• Gareth Morgan, Sheffield Hallam University: Charity Regulation in the UK: The Role of Independent Examiners

• Anne Birgitta Yeung, University of Helsinki: Individually Together Volunteering in Late Modernity: Social Work in the Finnish Church

• Jane Andrews, Aston University: Volunteering for health? An analysis of the health related benefits and risks of volunteering for disabled volunteers

• Rob Macmillan, Sheffield Hallam University: Rethinking local infrastructure: how much ‘room’ for improvement?

The first Annual General Meeting of VSSN also took place: details

Janet Newman, Professor of Social Policy, the Open University: Public participation – a New Form of Governance?

This paper explores the processes of participation within deliberative forums - such as user panels, youth forums, area based committees - developed as a means of encouraging a more active, participating mode of citizenship and of improving welfare services by making them more responsive to users. The research on which the paper is based opens up a number of issues about constraints on the development of 'collaborative governance'. To understand these constraints there is need to locate participation initiatives in the context of government policy; to explore ways in which such policy is interpreted and enacted by 'strategic' managers in local organisations; and to examine the perceptions of members of the forums themselves. The paper concludes that the processes of participation and collaboration are constrained by a number of contradictions in the governance system. The concepts of 'representation' on which they draw limit their capacity to respond effectively to questions of difference and to collective interests or identifications. They open up new political spaces but in the process produce a constrained political imaginary.

Gareth Morgan, Centre for Voluntary Sector Research, Sheffield Hallam University: Charity Regulation in the UK: The Role of Independent Examiners

Policy on Charity Regulation: The Role of Accounts

The UK is currently facing a major review of charity regulation, with new Charities Bills under consideration both for England and Wales and for Scotland, and with a review of charity law expected to begin shortly in Northern Ireland.   Much of the debate in each jurisdiction has focused on issues such as the criteria for charitable status, in particular, the definition of public benefit.

But once a voluntary organisation has met the test of charitable status and has been entered on a register of charities, subsequent regulation depends heavily on the requirement for charities to produce an Annual Report and Accounts (and to complete an Annual Return which mainly includes information from the accounts).  The submission of the Annual Report, Annual Accounts and Annual Return provide the principal means by which the Charity Commission (CC) regulates registered charities in England & Wales. If these documents appear to be in order, then, apart from large charities which receive CC visits, it is very rare for the CC to take any regulatory action towards a charity other than in the case of a direct complaint.  Similar arrangements are coming into force in Scotland under the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR).

It follows that charity accounts are extremely important not just in terms of their overall figures, but in terms of ensuring charities are being properly run.  However, the accounts are of little value unless users of those accounts, including regulators, have some confidence in them.  It follows that the requirements for audit and independent examination of charity accounts are of considerable interest to anyone concerned about regulation of the sector.

Audit and Independent Examination

The Charities Acts 1992 and 1993 and equivalent provisions in Scotland, introduced for the first time in the UK a general statutory regime for scrutiny of charity accounts (Morgan 1999).  In England & Wales, the legislation requires charities over £250,000 income to have their accounts audited by a registered auditor, but below this a charity may opt for an independent examination of its accounts (Picarda 2001).

The concept of audit by professional auditors is well established, but only 7% of registered charities have sufficient income for an audit to be required by law (Charity Commission 2004), so in the majority of cases, the accounts are likely to be scrutinised by an independent examiner.

This regime means that many charities can opt for scrutiny of their accounts by individuals within the sector, frequently volunteers, rather than engaging external accountants.  For example, a treasurer of one charity may well act as independent examiner to another organisation.   Nevertheless, the independent examination regime is laid down in some detail by statute and regulation - it is much more than an informal checking of the books.  Those acting as independent examiners are, in practice, exercising a major role on behalf of regulators in ensuring that charitable organisations comply with a range of statutory requirements.

Independent Examination as Self-Regulation

The impact of regulation on the sector has been widely considered, e.g. Rochester (2001), but there has been little consideration of self-regulation.  However, for the reasons above, the independent examination regime offers a fertile means of studying the extent to which the third sector is or is not able to take on a statutory process of self-regulation.  Now that independent examination has been on the statute books for ten years, it is appropriate to look at its effectiveness.

Research Methods

This research began with a series of qualitative studies of independent examiners over the years 1997-2002 as reported previously (Morgan 2002, 2003).  The impact of work by the Association of Charity Independent Examiners is considered (ACIE 2003).  In the light of this, it was considered necessary to establish a detailed benchmark of the current state of the regime.

Accordingly, for the research considered in this paper, a random sample of 700 registered charities was selected for detailed scrutiny of how the independent examination regime was working. Just over 100 of these met the criteria for independent examination, and their accounts as filed with the Charity Commission were individually inspected, read, and scored on sixteen separate variables.

Findings

The detailed analysis of this study will be reported more fully at the presentation, and is available in Morgan (2004), but the main conclusion is that where independent examiners have received appropriate training and support or have been able to access relevant guidance, the regime is working well.  Standards have improved considerably since an earlier, smaller study (Morgan 2000). 

However, the latest study found that there continue to be many cases where charities or their independent examiners are unaware of or unwilling to apply the statutory regime required.  Although the CC is taking action in some cases, it appears that the problems may be explained - at least in part - because the legislation created the independent examination regime without providing any specific resources for training and supporting independent examiners (such support as exists has been through voluntary initiatives within the sector such as ACIE). 

Policy Implications

The proposed new charities bills provided the first opportunity for over ten years to amend the law on charity regulation.  Alongside the debate on public benefit in the proposed new legislation, there is another debate, which has received much less attention, regarding the role of independent examiners.

The new draft Charities Bill proposed for England and Wales (Home Office 2004) plans to increase the threshold for independent examination to include charities up to £500,000 income, but with a statutory requirement for independent examiners of charities between £250,000 and £500,000 to hold a relevant professional qualification.  The debate surround this clause in this Bill (clause 24) is a fascinating insight into how for the Government is prepared to accept the self-regulatory concepts which underpin the concept of independent examination.   The draft Bill, as published, defines the "relevant professional qualification" in terms of membership of long established bodies, but the Association of Charity Independent Examiners is pressing for inclusion of its own qualification (which is accessible to volunteers and others within the sector).

Conclusion

The conclusion of the paper is that the third sector should welcome initiatives such as the independent examination regime, which permit self-regulation.  However, to achieve the levels of compliance expected, especially if independent examiners are to be required to hold specific qualifications, means significant resources are needed to support those who are to undertake such self-regulatory tasks.

References

ACIE, 2003.  Association of Charity Independent Examiners Welcomes Charity Commission Campaign on Charity Accounts (Press Release Oct 2003 - available at www.acie.org.uk).

Charity Commission (2004).  Facts and Figures at www.charitycommission.gov.uk (Latest Quarterly Figures Aug 2004).

Home Office, 2004.  Draft Charities Bill (Norwich: The Stationery Office Cm 6199).

Morgan, Gareth G (1999).  The Changing Face of the Charity Treasurer and Bookkeeper: Assessing the Impact of the Charities Act 1993 in Charity Law & Practice Review, 6(2), pp89-114.

Morgan, Gareth G (2000).   Patterns of Independent Examination: ACIE Research at the Charity Commission in Independent Examiner 2(2), p8.

Morgan, Gareth G (2002).  Self-Regulation in the Voluntary Sector: An Investigation of Charity Independent Examiners in Proceedings of the NVCO Researching the Voluntary Sector Conference, University of Nottingham, September 2002.

Morgan, Gareth G (2003) A Statutory Regime for "Lay Audits": Assessing the First Five Years of Charity Independent Examiners (British Accounting Association Annual Conference, Manchester, April 2003).

Morgan, Gareth G (2004).  Statutory Self-Regulation in the Third Sector: The Case of Charity Independent Examiners (International Society for Third Sector Research, Toronto, Canada, July 2004).

Picarda, Hubert QC (2001).  Independent Examination of Charity Accounts 2001 in Charity Law & Practice Review 7(2), pp93-108.

Rochester, Colin (2001).  Regulation: The Impact on Local Voluntary Action in Harris, M & Rochester, C (eds) "Voluntary Organisations and Social Policy in Britain" (Basingstoke: Palgrave).

Anne Birgitta Yeung, University of Helsinki: Individually Together Volunteering in Late Modernity: Social Work in the Finnish Church

Present-day individuals are both freer from the cohesion of traditions and traditional social networks and more tied to new kinds of networks and bonds. The broad theoretical framework of the present study concerns the late modern dimension of independence versus dependence. The objective of this research is to understand the phenomenon of church volunteering in the dynamic interplay between social independence and dependence, particularly in relation to social ties and religiosity. This aim has been realized by an empirical inquiry focusing on social ties, altruism and helping, and motivation of volunteering. The motivation for the research lies in the question of what is happening to communal church volunteering in our times of individualistic ethos.

The study consists of four articles and an introductory essay. The articles pose five specific questions on church volunteering under the covering theme of late modern changes. First, taking social work as an indicator, how has the status of the church altered during the 20^th century, and what are the particular effects of the recession of the 1990s? Second, is the relation between social capital and religion and churches relevant, and what is the meaning of the social capital framework for actual church volunteering? Third, how does church volunteering promote social cohesion, societal social capital? Fourth, what characterizes the religiosity, altruistic willingness and social ties of church social work volunteers? Fifth, what motivates church volunteers to engage in such activities and to remain committed, and what role is played by social ties and religiosity? Along with empirical survey and interview data, the four articles utilize secularization, social capital, and motivation theories to answer these questions, which all reflect the larger dimension of independence versus dependence in late modern social ties and religiosity.

The introductory essay brings together the findings in the four articles in order to see the linkages between them and explore the main research objective. This exploration is constructed around the overall questions concerning societal ties: whom does church volunteering bond and why (chapter 4) and does it bond society (chapter 5)? Prior to answering this question, it is necessary to explain the phenomenon of church volunteering in the introductory essay by looking at its context, historical origin and the characteristics of the Finnish case as well as the recent challenges it has faced (chapter 3).

First, whom and why does church volunteering bond? Finns participate in volunteer work actively by international standards. Church volunteering is also higher in Finland than in many other countries. Volunteer motivation and commitment include a cycle of getting and giving. Social proximity as a motivational element is more underscored in the results than in most previous literature. Altogether, late modern volunteer motivation appears in the results as surprisingly complex. The appeal of volunteering may concern the outward elements of an individual in the numerous ways of action, proximity, newness, and giving. Volunteer motivation may also be more inward oriented towards varieties of thought, distance, continuity, and getting. It is concluded that volunteer motivation includes various elements and changes over time along these coordinates.

The challenge of commitment is underscored in all late modern associational activities. Commitment in volunteer work is enhanced by "selving”, a feeling characterized as: “this is my thing!”. The findings show that features of late modernity such as reluctance for long-term commitment and experiences of uncertainty might actually promote altruistic desires and the search for continuity and proximity through volunteering.

The results provide a more diverse picture of the linkage between faith and volunteering than many previous studies. Religiosity is deeply interconnected with the other motivational dimensions in volunteering, yet very central motivation for few. Personal religiosity relates specifically to altruism and the concreteness of activities in that volunteering is an arena for putting one´s values into action.  More religious people seem to participate in church volunteering more often. Interestingly, different forms of religiosity (ranging from the importance of God to churchgoing) have this effect. While members of smaller congregations, e.g., Pentecostals, volunteer for their churches much more often than Lutherans, the results suggest that private religiosity, passive in participation, may foster volunteering, but not necessarily in the church context. The research also adds to the literature by introducing concepts of “religious altruism” (core in activities and in helping, faith as its additional angle) and “altruistic religiosity” (core in faith, helping as its manifestation).

Second, does volunteering bond society – and how? Volunteering is considered to contribute to societal cohesion in three ways in particular: volunteerism as communal, concrete action, as a promoter of societal emotions and solidarity, and as a sustainer of trust, norms and the values of caring and communality. Religion may also promote societal bonds even in late modernity. Individual religiosity promotes social cohesion, especially as a shared action: 1) the religious context offers places to meet like-minded people, and 2) religiosity encourages a cohesive spirit and bonds among individuals. These factors also 3) promote mutual altruism, and 4) the will to spend more time together, including outside volunteering. The church institution promotes societal bonds by, first, providing mental as well as actual frames of reference that sustain norms and values, second, offering venues for communal activities and networks, and third, being a highly trusted reference point. Social work is argued to play a particularly central role in all three.

The conclusions (chapter 6), return to the objective of the research by offering remarks on societal ties, religiosity, and the altruism of church volunteering as illustrations of the interplay between late modern social independence and dependence.

First, the results on social ties indicate that the interest in social interaction endures for some people through volunteering particularly. The role of social ties in the present research is more central than in most volunteer motivation studies. My results also put more emphasis than several previous studies on informal gaining of fresh experiences and perspectives in volunteering, not so much on actual learning per se. The poles of independence and dependence mingle in individual experiences: many people long for and enjoy even quite intimate social encounters and networks in church volunteering, even though such networks are generally restricted by choice only to volunteering. However, volunteering may also offer meaningful interaction while a person wishes to limit his/her social networks. The individual may experience being a member of a group even though s/he might actually volunteer only every now and then and never (wish to) meet a larger volunteer group. Formal social ties (such as volunteering organized by associations) have now, to certain extent, become the informal ones.

Second, religiosity is a strong potential base for cohesion, and smaller religious institutions promote cohesion and congregational volunteering among their members much better than the Lutheran church. However, the findings illustrate that volunteering is an arena for various forms of late modern “selving”, fulfilling identity reflection and personal interests. Volunteering is one possible way of expressing religiosity, both in overt and subtle forms. For Lutherans this often takes place in a non-church context. Late modern religiosity, including volunteering, is a question of privatized choice, but the results show that the content of this choice may resemble the values and traditions in the church. The church may remain as one reference point for values even if people enact their values and religiosity through volunteering, without, for instance, attending services.

The findings underscore the three-fold role of the church in bonding the entire society: sustaining societal norms and values, offering venues for collective action, and acting as a maintainer of trust. The role of church social work is particularly important in each of these. The church seems to play a central role in the maintenance of the cultural tradition of altruism, and seemingly sustaining this societal norm of altruism even in the pluralist and somewhat secularized present-day context.

Third, the results emphasize altruism and concern more than some previous research. The findings show that altruism endures strongly in late modernity – altruism and individualism by no means exclude each other. While church volunteers are specifically altruistic, religiosity and altruism are diversely interconnected in volunteering overall. The findings show that there are religiously motivated individuals who prefer to volunteer outside the church context. The results illustrate “altruistic individualism”: realization of one´s interests, identity, and personality through a relation with others. Altruism seems a holistic life course matter.

The study also considers from various viewpoints why Finns seem more altruistic than other nations and why they are so active and time-spending as volunteers. At the societal level, Finnish altruism seems to represent a cultural continuity, even in late modernity. The Finnish church sustains the societal norm of altruism even – paradoxically perhaps particularly so – in the present-day pluralist and somewhat secularized context.

Altogether, the results draw a picture of complementary polarities of volunteer work. Volunteerism includes moves along the late modernity processes, such as individualization, yet also indications of its countermoves. More than many other forms of social action, volunteering is an arena for both ends of the dimension from independence to dependence: change, personal search, individualistic wishes and individuality, as well as continuity, everyday life activities, collectivistic wishes and communality take place in volunteering.  

The results altogether suggest novel conceptualizations in the late modernity perspective: overall selving, altruistic individualism, as well as religious altruism, and altruistic religiosity.

Jane Andrews, Aston University: Volunteering for health? An analysis of the health related benefits and risks of volunteering for disabled volunteers

By drawing upon data collected as part of an empirical study into the volunteering experiences of disabled people, this paper examines the effect that prolonged volunteering has on the health and well being of 47 wheelchair users who volunteer.

The benefits that volunteering can have in promoting positive mental health amongst older volunteers has been well documented (Wheeler et al, 1998: Van Willigen, 2000: Musick & Wilson, 2003). However, there remains a large gap in knowledge regarding the effect that volunteering can have on the health of working age people who, because of illness or disability, are not in full-time paid employment. Thus, in focussing on the impact that volunteering has on the physical and mental health and overall well-being of disabled people living with neurological and/or muscular-skeletal impairments this paper contributes to the understanding of the unique experiences of disabled volunteers.

Conversely, by looking at the affect that an individuals ill-health may have on the nature and value of the voluntary tasks undertaken, the paper also addresses sensitive questions relating to the quality of the volunteering activities undertaken by volunteers living with chronic illnesses. It concludes by arguing that despite facing numerous health related barriers, disabled volunteers are making a valuable and significant contribution both to their local communities and to society as a whole.

References:

Wheeler J.A., Gorey K.M. & Greenblatt B. (1998). The beneficial effects of volunteering for older volunteers and the people they serve: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Aging and Human Development. Vol. 47. 1. 69-79 

Van Willigen M. (2000). Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course. The Journals of Gerentology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Vol. 55. 5. S308-S318.

Musick M.A. & Wilson J. (2003). Volunteering and depression: the role of psychological and social resources in different age groups. Social Science and Medicine. Vol. 56. 2. 259-269

Rob Macmillan, Sheffield Hallam University: Rethinking local infrastructure: how much ‘room’ for improvement?

The recent publication of ‘ChangeUp’, the UK government’s framework for capacity building and infrastructure, is part of a wider process of re-examining the voluntary and community sector’s infrastructure. For central government, this is intrinsically linked to the capacity of the sector to shape or deliver publice services. For different parts of the sector itself, the agenda leading up to and beyond ‘ChangeUp’ has been a catalyst for an extensive debate about the role, financing and overall health of infrastructure provision.    

Whilst in recent years there have been a number of studies of VCS infrastructure, and a great deal of policy discussion, there appear to be significant gaps in our knowledge. In particular, on the ‘demand side’, do we have a clear sense of what forms of external support are most wanted by voluntary organisations and community groups, and how it should be provided? Or in terms of the ‘supply side’, what can we say about the capacity of infrastructure, including questions of the quality and effectiveness of services and support?

This paper looks at some of these questions through an in-depth examination of the position in one sub-regional area in the north of England, based on a study supported through the Home Office ‘early spend’ fund for local infrastructure. The fund was designed to enable local infrastructure bodies to map existing services against needs and priorities, in preparation for the ChangeUp ‘main spend’ programmes. The paper has two specific aims:

• to outline and discuss new empirical evidence regarding the demand for, and supply of, VCS infrastructure services and support, based on an extensive survey and a series of consultative workshops, and
• to examine how local infrastructure bodies are responding to the uncertainty of a changing agenda, alongside the ‘carrot’ of additional resources.

New evidence is outlined indicating different patterns of access to external infrastructure support across a range of issues. Notably, there appear to be consistent differences in the apparent ‘propensity’ to use external infrastructure support, for example between small and larger organisations and across different geographical contexts. In addition, there appears to be a great deal of informal support offered amongst groups, sometimes away from traditional local infrastructure providers. Alongside this evidence, the paper then examines the response amongst infrastructure providers both to the challenge of an uncertain institutional environment, and of how they negotiate between themselves the dilemmas of collaboration and competition.

The paper is informed by the view that UK voluntary sector research seems to have better developed theories of the relationship between the sector and the state, than of relationships within the sector itself. However, these two dimensions need to be linked, and the paper concludes with some tentative theoretical reflections on the contested ‘field’ of local infrastructure provision.