Full Description
Voluntary action can generate deep loyalties, commitments and high hopes for what it can achieve among different stakeholders. However, the everyday realities of voluntary action are not well understood, allowing unrealistic ideals to influence how different actors understand the sector.
Challenging existing academic, policy and practice conceptions, this book develops a realistic and sophisticated understanding of how voluntary action works in practice. Drawing on case studies from a long-term study of voluntary and community activities in England, it outlines the development of voluntary action over time and presents a nuanced theoretical perspective on the complex and contested nature and dynamics of voluntary action.
Contents
Part I: Introduction
A changing landscape for voluntary action
A relational account of voluntary action
Part II: Voluntary action as a whole: cross-cutting fields of voluntary action
Mission and strategy, governance and leadership
Fortunes, finance and social investment
Performance and impact
Challenges and capabilities
Part III: Voluntary action in parts: organisational fields of voluntary action
Social welfare
Advice services
Family support
Community regeneration
Part IV: Conclusions and implications
Making relational sense of voluntary action
Implications and future directions
Appendix: Data sources and methodology
