The following list of sources gives a brief overview of research into the nature of the relationship between the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and the state. It includes journals, research centres, infrastructure organisations who undertake research and relevant government publications.
Journals
Voluntary Sector Review
This is a new journal, with the first issue having been published in March 2010, published by The Policy Press. It covers the full range of issues relevant to VCS studies, with contributions from a number of academic disciplines.
Social Enterprise Journal
www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.thm?id=sej
Published by Emerald, this is the first journal to focus specifically on social enterprise, and publishes research that examines a range of topics related to this sector.
Voluntas
www.springer.com/social+sciences/journal/11266
A worldwide journal which looks at what occurs in the space between the state, market and household sectors. It includes contributions from economists, lawyers, political scientists, sociologists and social and public policy analysts.
Research centres and groups
Third Sector Research Centre
The Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) was established with funding from the Economics and Social Research Council, the Office of the Third Sector and the Barrow Cadbury Trust, in order to provide a stronger research base on the VCS in the United Kingdom. It is a collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham and Southampton, and is headed by Professor Pete Alcock.
To date, the TSRC has published over forty working papers on a variety of topics around the theme of VCS research. These are available on the TSRC website at http://www.tsrc.ac.uk/Publications/tabid/500/Default.aspx. Those that are particularly relevant to this themed section are:
Alcock, P. (2009), ‘Devolution or Divergence? Third Sector Policy across the UK since 2000’, TSRC Working Paper 2.
Lyon, F. (2009), ‘Measuring the value of social and community impact’, TSRC Working Paper 7.
Bovaird, T. and Löffler, E. (2009), ‘User and community co-production of public services: fad or fact, nuisance or necessity?’, TSRC Briefing Paper 12.
Kendall, J. (2009), ‘Losing political innocence? Finding a place for ideology in understanding the development of recent English third sector policy’, TSRC Working Paper 13.
Macmillan, R. (2010), ‘The third sector delivering public services: an evidence review’, TSRC Working Paper 20.
Westall, A. (2009), ‘Value and the third sector: working paper on ideas for future research’, TSRC Working Paper 25.
Dickenson, H. and Glasby, J. (2010), ‘The personalisation agenda: implications for the third sector’, TSRC Working Paper 30.
Alcock, P. (2010), ‘Partnership and mainstreaming: voluntary action under New Labour’, TSRC Working Paper 32.
Kendall, J. (2009), ‘Volunteering in Europe in the noughties – what would Beveridge have thought?’, TSRC Working Paper 37.
Clifford, D. and Backus, P. (2010), ‘Are big charities becoming increasingly dominant? Tracking charitable income growth 1997–2008 by initial size’, TSRC Working Paper 38.
Voluntary Sector Studies Network
The Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN) was formed in 2003 as a UK wide organisation for researchers with an interest in the activities of organisations between the market and the state. It aims to promote and facilitate the sharing and publication of research and to encourage contact between researchers in relevant fields of enquiry. To achieve this, it runs regular conferences and seminars, as well as running its own journal, Voluntary Sector Review.
The VSSN also run an e-list, where discussion on VCS-related subjects takes place and details of conferences and other events are listed. Details on how to sign up to the VSSN e-list are available at www.vssn.org.uk/discussion/index.htm.
Infrastructure organisations
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is a membership organisation which supports voluntary organisations and social enterprises across England. NCVO undertakes research in order to develop an evidence base on voluntary sector issues, including on the participation of VCS organisations in public service provision. This is available on the NCVO website at www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/policy-research-analysis
The NCVO has also begun, since the 2010 General Election, compiling an evidence base on the Big Society, actively contributing to the debate and developing and implementing detailed policy proposals. There is also space for discussion on the NCVO website, at www.vssn-vol.org.uk/thebigsociety.
Institute for Volunteering Research
The Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) is the research arm of Volunteering England, in partnership with the Department of Social Policy and Education and Birkbeck, University of London. They carry out and commission research on different aspects of volunteering, and disseminate the findings. They also support researchers in the field of volunteering, and seek to facilitate knowledge transfer.
The IVR website has a large evidence bank of over 200 items, including research, reports, bulletins, publications and journal articles, which is searchable using key terms. The evidence bank is available at www.ivr.org.uk/evidence-bank.
Commission for the Compact
The Commission for the Compact is an independent body responsible for overseeing the Compact between government and VCS organisations. It was established in April 2007. While it is sponsored by the Office of Civil Society, it is independent of government. The Commission seeks to promote effective partnerships between the public and VCS, by raising awareness and implementation of the Compact, undertaking research, developing an evidence base on the Compacts progress and sharing good practice. The Commission is not a regulatory body and does not have any legal powers. The research and evidence base of the Commission can be found at www.thecompact.org.ul/information/100023/publications/.
UK Government
The Big Society
The Big Society is a key Coalition policy, underpinning their welfare reforms, rhetoric around the democratisation of education and policing, and is their most significant social policy to date. The website, with colourful graphics and short film, is currently fairly sparse, but expect more information to be added as and when. In the meantime, the document of the speech which launched the Big Society agenda, published on 18 May 2010, is called Building the Big Society, and can be downloaded from the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/407789/building-big-society.pdf.
Office for Civil Society
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/voluntary-sector.aspx
Prior to the 2010 General Election, this was known as the Office for the Third Sector, with the change of name reflecting the contentious political debate over what one calls the sector. The Office for Civil Society is a department of the Cabinet Office, and is led by Nick Hurd MP, the Minister for Civil Society.
Department of Health
www.dh.gov.uk/liberatingthenhs
The White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, was published on 18 July 2010, announcing the government's aim to create the largest social enterprise sector in the world. The White Paper and its accompanying consultation papers can be downloaded from the Department of Health website.
