‘Where angels fear to tread’: How are third sector organisations navigating across the risky terrain in advocating on contentious issues?

• In Event: CSOs’ Advocacy and Risk Management

Abstract

Third sector organisations have a long and proud tradition of advocating for people in need of support, even when the issues they are facing are unpopular and where there are risks involved in speaking up. However, which issues are contentious and which are relatively unproblematic change over time and space. This paper will report on the preliminary findings of an exploratory study focusing on two such issues that are very sensitive, invoke very strong feelings of pain and anger, and where the middle ground between opposing perspectives seems to be getting further apart. These two issues are 1) gender identity and 2) the Palestinian crisis. The researcher is not taking a position on these issues (although she does have them) but is primarily interested in 1) how voluntary organisations are responding to the increasing politicisation of these issues and 2) whether they can play a role in developing more nuanced understandings of how we can move beyond entrenched and binary interpretations.

This project is in its early stages of development so much of the presentation will be on
theory building from several contexts. One is methodological; see, for example, Miller (2020) on discernment and Sharma et al (2023) on ‘qualitative data collection in extreme circumstances’ in which researchers working in a variety of topics often considered ‘no-go’ reflect on the ways in which they adapted and developed responses to unusual circumstances; identifying the need for trust building, patience, reflecting on boundaries and positionality. Secondly, recent developments in feminist theory specifically focusing on developing an ‘ethics of care’ (Fotaki and Pullen 2023 offer some helpful contributions. Thirdly, the ongoing work on decolonising our research assumptions, in particular, Prior’s (2007) work on reconciliation.

The presentation will also include early/ provisional fi dings from the first pilot interviews. These will be carried out with staff working in specialist interest, advocacy groups, who maintain a responsibility for the strategic orientation of the organisation’s external work.

References

Fotaki, M. and Pullen, A. (2023) Feminist theories and organizational practices Organization studies DOI: 10.1177/01708406231209861
Miller, K. (2020) Discernment in management and organizations Journal of management, soirituality and religion 17/5: 373-402

Prior, D. (2007) Decolonising research: A shirt towards reconciliation Nursing Inquiry 14/2: 162-168
Sharma, P., Toubiana, M., Lashley, K., Massa, F. Rogers, K. and Ruebottom, T. (2023) Honing the craft of qualitative data collection in extreme contexts Journal of management inquiry DOI: 10.1177/10564926231194271

Author

• Christina Schwabenland, University of Bedfordshire