Building The Third Sector

• Winner of the 1997 ARNOVA Award for Distinguished Book in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research The private third sector has largely displaced public universities and bureaucracies as Latin America's leaders in social science and related policy activities. In many nations, these private research centers have become the main workplace for intellectuals. Mostly think tanks, they are influential political institutions, often making strong contribution to democratization. The success of these research centers marks an unsurpassed triumph for international philanthropy, but it also raises questions about the proper role and structural home for research and advanced study. Levy shows how the centers' success often undermine a region's struggling universities while failing themselves to fulfill higher education's fundamental mission. Levy deals broadly with regional developments, yet systematically identifies and analyzes the crucial subpatterns. He integrates impressive empirical data with conceptual perspectives on nonprofit organizations, comparative politics, and comparative education as well as Latin American studies.

This NAO report (HC 132, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780102954579) examines ChangeUp and Futurebuilders, two Cabinet Office programmes designed to build the capacity of the "third" sector. The Third Sector consists of non-governmental organisations which are value driven and which principally reinvest their surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives. The sector includes voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals. It is distinguished from the other two sectors of the economy, public (government) and private (business). Both ChangeUp and Futurebuilders were introduced by the Home Office in 2004 to address the findings of a 2002 Treasury review that the third sector's ability to contribute to the delivery of public services was constrained by a lack of capacity. The NAO examined the impact of these programmes on frontline third sector organisations, and looked at whether they are likely to meet the Government's objectives for building capacity. For both schemes it is not yet possible to establish if the programmes have provided good value for money. The report's findings and recommendations to improve the management of these programmes include: that when designing future policy initiatives, the Office of the Third Sector should build in adequate arrangements to evaluate and measure performance from the outset; a transfer between old and new financial systems has impaired the assessment of the costs and benefits of the ChangeUp programme and that the Cabinet Office and Treasury should advise departments of the importance of preserving adequate financial information; the Office of the Third Sector should identify examples of sustainable services; the Cabinet Office needs to formulate a plan for the long-term management of the assets created by the Futurebuilders fund.

The third sector is defined as non-governmental organisations that are value driven and reinvest their surpluses to further social, environmental, or cultural objectives. They include voluntary and community organisations; social enterprises; and cooperatives and mutuals. The four major areas of common interest between the sector and Government are: enabling greater voice and campaigning; strengthening communities; transforming public services; and encouraging social enterprise. These areas form the basis of the Government's proposed framework for partnership over the next ten years.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the role of the third sector--voluntary or nonprofit groups--in the delivery of public services in the United Kingdom. It details the historical development of the relationship between the government and the third sector, reviews major debates and controversies that have accompanied the increasing reliance on third-sector work in recent years, and explores the various fields in which third-sector activity is prominent.

This is the 11th report from the Public Administration Select Committee (HCP 112-I, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215521545) and focuses on public services and the third sector. Third sector organisations include charities and not-for-profit organisations as well as social enterprises. Government has been commissioning more public service deliveries from such organisations and the Committee, in this report, seeks to assess the impact of that policy approach, looking at the effects both on government and the service users as well as the public at large. The main claim for the use of third sector delivery service is that they can deliver a distinctive service that will improve the outcomes for service users. The Committee could not find evidence to corroborate that claim and believes that the Government's priority ought to be a greater understanding of the needs of the users of particular services and then identifying the organisation best placed to fulfil such services. The Committee believes such appointments should be based on merit as established through the tendering process but that importance lies with the commissioning authorities designing service specifications which play to the strengths of the best placed organisations. The Committee further states that "intelligent commissioning" is key, and that judgements about the use of a contract or grants, the importance of price on who wins the contract and whether there is scope for innovative methods of service delivery are important in getting the best result. The Committee also identified risks, and that it is important users of such services should not be affected whether a service is provided directly by the State or contracted out and that the Human Rights Act (PGA 1998. Chp. 42, ISBN 9780105442981) and the Freedom of Information Act (PGA 2000 Chp. 36, ISBN 9780105436003) should be extended to cover all organisations providing public service. For Volume 2, oral and written evidence, see (HCP 112-II, ISBN 9780215521552).

Trying to do good deeds does not guarantee that a nonprofit organization will succeed. The organization must do good deeds well. This textbook offers a blueprint for nonprofit success, adopting a strategic perspective that assumes vision, mission, strategy, and execution as the pillars upon which success is built. While many experts on nonprofits argue that fundraising is the single key to success, William B. Werther Jr., and Evan M. Berman show that effective fundraising depends largely on how the nonprofit is positioned and how it performs. They address such issues as leadership and board development, strategic planning, staffing, fundraising, partnering, productivity improvement, and accountability. Emphasizing the context of nonprofits and detailing improvements than can be made by managers at all levels, the book strikes a balance between policy discussion and practical usefulness. Written for use in graduate courses in nonprofit management, Third Sector Management will also be invaluable to directors, staff, volunteers, and board members of nonprofit organizations.

This book provides a critical account of the third sector and its future in Europe. It offers an original conceptualization of the third sector in its European manifestations alongside an overview of its major contours, including its structure, sources of support, and recent trends. It also assesses the impact of this sector in Europe which considers its contributions to European economic development, citizen well-being and human development. The Third Sector As A Renewable Resource for Europe presents the findings of the Third Sector Impact (TSI) project funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7). It recognises that in a time of social and economic distress, as well as enormous pressures on governmental budgets, the third sector and volunteering represent a unique ‘renewable resource’ for social and economic problem-solving and civic engagement in Europe.

Civil society organizations, nonprofits, national and international nongovernmental organizations, and a variety of formal and informal associations have coalesced into a world political force. Though the components of this so-called third sector vary by country, their cumulative effects play an ever-greater role in global affairs. Looking at relief and welfare organizations, innovation organizations, social networks, and many other kinds of groups, Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Terry Nichols Clark explore the functions, impacts, and composition of the nonprofit sector in six key countries. Chinese organizations, for example, follow the predominantly Asian model of government funding that links their mission to national political goals. Western groups, by contrast, often explicitly challenge government objectives, and even gain relevance and cache by doing so. In addition, Kallman and Clark examine groups in real-world contexts, providing a wealth of political-historical background, in-depth consideration of interactions with state institutions, region-by-region comparisons, and suggestions for how groups can borrow policy options across systems. Insightful and forward-seeing, The Third Sector provides a rare international view of organizations and agendas driving change in today's international affairs.