POWER TO THE PEOPLE
top-down government policy. People might like to volunteer for their community, but they might be rather less likely to do so for the government. “Small community organisations play a
major role in community activities, but many of them are formed out of opposition to central government policies,” says Professor Alcock. “The government might want to encourage community organisations, but it can’t necessarily expect a positive response.” Indeed, opposition and protest are common drivers for community action – the Countryside Alliance and anti-fox hunt ban groups being obvious examples. There might be also an inherent tension
between a central drive for local action and the independence of local groups. A recent TSRC Working Paper, Understanding the distinctiveness of small scale, third sector activity, examined the scale and impact of small, idealistic community groups. A survey showed how flexibility and independence was seen as a major strength by these groups. “You are free to say what you want, independent and not tied to any funding, funder or project delivery targets,” as one of the respondents put it. As they only are accountable to their own
members, small and informal organisations can choose to be radical in their philosophy and actions. “For some, being below the regulatory radar was an advantage to small groups enabling
The future may be that third sector service providers become larger in size and fewer in number
them to operate differently from the mainstream. Not constrained by bureaucracy or regulation they could do what they wanted, change their approach when necessary, and be radical,” the Working Paper points out. If these small local groups were to become part of concerted community action, this independence would be challenged. The Big Society vision might offer new opportunities for individuals, but it will also pose new challenges for organisations. The trend for third-sector organisations to provide public services has been growing over the last decade. Big Society plans foresee that this growth will continue, with both traditional public sector actors and charities bidding for contracts for public services. But increasing third sector forays into the public sector could come at a cost. In order to ensure that services meet legal standards and are properly managed – for instance in providing health care or schooling – all actors delivering public services will need to be following the same set of procedures.
“The distinction will become less clear between public sector institutions and third sector organisations, and a consequence of this is that the third sector providers risk losing their original identity,” warns Professor Alcock. “As service providers they could become
dependent on public funding, losing some of their independent status. The organisational costs
People might like to volunteer for their community, but they might be rather less likely to do so for the government
that come with the delivery of public services can change the nature of the organisation, making it bigger and more businesslike.”
Frances Tomlinson predicts that the next few years might see an increasing polarisation in the third sector, between large public service providers and small organisations preferring to focus their activities outside this area. “Mergers, collaborations and sub-contracting will probably become a trend, with fewer and bigger organisations emerging as a result,” adds Professor Alcock. He points to last year’s merger between Help
the Aged and Age Concern to Age UK as being an indicator of what may be to come. It seems that times are changing for the third sector in the age of Big Society. n
Arild Foss is ESRC Copy Editor i
Third Sector Research Centre Contact Professor Peter Alcock Email
p.alcock@
tsrc.ac.uk Web
www.tsrc.ac.uk
Contact Frances Tomlinson Email
f.tomlinson@
londonmet.ac.uk
Community Service Volunteers Web
www.csv.org.uk
AUTUMN 2010 SOCIETY NOW 15
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